Given the success of last year’s first edition, Muziekpublique and ICTM Belgium organize, once more, a cycle of discussions about six musical traditions and the cultures from which they originate.

Get to know musical traditions through a variety of voices, points of view and interpretations. The themes that will be tackled in these introductory sessions are the context of performance, the conditions in which it exists and the events that have marked the history of these traditions. In a cosy atmosphere, sitting around a table in the Foyer of the Théâtre Molière, the public will take part in an introduction prepared by the presenter, interrupted by periods of exchange among the participants.

Tunisian music developed thanks to the junction of diverse Mediterranean, African and Oriental cultures. After a general presentation of the Tunisian musical panorama, we will talk about its history. Though there are written sources about this music, it was passed on, for centuries, orally. Musical notation only appeared later, shaking up the modes of transmission and the musical practice.

We will approach certain essential theoretical elements of Tunisian music, its modes and rhythms, which show us traces of the different cultures that form it.

Amel Sdiri, a singer and educator, learned her art in Tunis. She practices classical lyrical as well as Arab singing. Belonging to the tradition of divas of the likes of Oum Kalthoum, Fayruz etc, Ms Sdiri is also a first class violinist. She combines her singing, string instruments and even percussions with great ease.

An initiative of Muziekpublique & ICTM Belgium