Ashwaaq | Festival du Monde Arabe 2026

At the heart of ASHWAAQ, the words of the Sufi philosopher and mystic Ibn Arabi become breath, vibration and passage. Amir ElSaffar explores the universal power of love, the inner quest and the search for unity within the world’s diversity. This creation brings the voice into dialogue with a string quartet, exploring the microtonal resonances of maqam and the possibilities of polyphony rooted in Arab traditions. ElSaffar imagines a soundscape where melodies answer and transform one another, revealing another way of inhabiting music through listening, boldness and nuance. An Iraqi-American multi-instrumentalist based in New York, ElSaffar creates work at the intersection of Iraqi maqam, contemporary jazz and Western classical music. Syrian singer Khaled Al-Hafez joins him with his warm voice and a performance style combining precision and grace, for a celebration in which poetic and musical legacies meet across cultural and disciplinary boundaries.