Jawa

Jawa is a seven-man ensemble of master musicians from Syria, Palestine, Morocco and Belgium, dedicated to keeping alive the heritage of Aleppo’s ancient treasury of classical Arabic song, an orally transmitted tradition under threat from the chaos of the Syrian war, as the Sufi masters gradually disappear from the scene. Jawa presents a repertoire of carefully chosen songs, originally performed acapella, expertly crafted through their arrangements for classical instruments – ney, ud, five-string violin, qanun and percussion. Each piece commences with an instrumental improvisation by one of the musicians, establishing the maqam (melodic mode) before the stately singing voice of Khaled Alhafez enters, beginning the song as the ensemble ushers in a floating, virtuosic frame of increasingly complex rhythms and melodic flourishes. Music of passion and love for the joyful quest for sacred ecstasy.