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Fawanees Masr

One of the many alluring things about today’s Egypt is its capacity to surprise at every turn, and a sampling of its traditional folk music should reflect the extraordinary diversity of its many identities.  Fawanees Masr meets this considerable challenge in a friendly and genuine way, without any of the clichés and superficiality that are so often attached to folk music.    In Music of the River Nile, Ayman Khoury has painstakingly produced an authentic musical journey along the Nile, one of the oldest inhabited areas in the world, where Ancient Egyptian musicians are known to have played harps, flutes, double clarinets, lyres and percussions - some dating as far back as 4,000 years ago, when music formed an integral part of Ancient Egyptian rituals and daily life.  This pharaonic heritage is very much alive today, and the same instruments Ancient Egyptians once played are those that the desert Bedouins, the Sa’idis and Nubians of Upper Egypt, and the urban people of Cairo and Alexandria still play today.   Ethno-musicologist Jean Lambert, specialist of Arab music, guides you in this exotically beautiful journey along the River Nile, and commentates the five important regional and religious styles, spotlighting for you the remarkable instruments that accompany the musicians.

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Watch Past Performances

Music of the River Nile 6/13/05: Music of the River Nile

Enjoy the exotic sounds of the Nubians, the desert Bedouins, the people of Upper Egypt and the Delta, and the mysticism of the Sufi chants from Fawanees Masr in Music of the River Nile.

Music of the River Nile

Enjoy the exotic sounds of the Nubians, the desert Bedouins, the people of Upper Egypt and the Delta, and the mysticism of the Sufi chants from Fawanees Masr in Music of the River Nile.

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