Jawa is the power of passion, a heritage born of sorrow. This passion flows from the love that remains in our memory from what has been transmitted from one heart to another since ancient times. The love for songs that were heard in Aleppo’s sufi takiyaand zawiya, the places that were dedicated to them, spread through the city. The sadness is born from the fear of seeing this passion disappear in the diaspora that is scattered across the four corners of the world. Jawa decided to provide a musical accompaniment to Aleppo’s sufi heritage, which was originally performed a capella, with a carefully chosen selection of pieces. This vocal repertoire is interpreted in a new and expertly crafted form by musicians from Syria, Belgium, Palestine and Morocco.

The album is divided into 5 waslas, a series of pieces in a maqam (melodic mode) that follow one another in form and speed.  The maqam gives its name to the wasla. Each wasla starts with an improvisation by one of the musicians who gives his vision of the maqam. He prepares the singer through his playing and the sound of the instrument. Next comes the muhawash/moshar – from the Syriac musrata which signifies rhythmor hymn. The muhawash/moshar is a musical form in which the singer can show his command of the maqams. It is characterised by long and complex rhythms. Next it is the turn of the quodud which signifies the union of words in a familiar melody, or vice versa. These have a simpler rhythm and structure. The pieces follow one another in the same wasla according to the speed and dynamic, from slow to fast, from complex to simple, from long to short. They mark the passage from sadness to joy, from earth to heaven, where the soul leaves the body and takes flight towards the creator according to Mevlana jelal eldin el Roumi, the master of the Mevlevi brotherhood.

These waslas are accompanied by the dance of whirling dervishes who express the joy and love of the divine. The dancer dresses first in black, symbolising the life he leaves behind him, far from ego and others, leaving the earthly world to turn towards the celestial kingdom. Dressed in white, symbolising death, he turns to join eternity decked in a long felt hat, the kawouk, in reference to the grave stone.