JINNAN AL ANDALUS
Jinnan Al Andalus “Gardens of Al Andalus” is a Sufi music formation that draws it´s inspiration from the vast legacy of spiritual qasidas and muwashahat poems left to us by Sufi masters of Spain, North Africa and the Middle East, including Ibn Arabi, Rabia Al Adawiyya, Shushtari, Harrak, Busayri and others. The repertoire of “Jinnan Al Andalus” is a journey of the spirit that takes us from the famous gardens of the Cordoban Caliphate, Granada and North Africa, to the no less famous gardens of Damascus, including a variety of musical styles, rhythms and maqamat (musical modes) that can found in each region.
The word “Jinnan” or Gardens, has both an earthly and spiritual meaning, referring to the beautiful gardens of Al Andalus and the Orient, and in a more profound sense “Janan” can also mean “heart” and “soul”.
“God is beautiful and loves Beauty”, with these wonderful words we wish to invite you to join us on our spiritual journey through Al Andalus and let you be transported by both the beauty of its melodies and the exalted meanings of the poetry.
Qasida by Abu-l Hasan al Shushtari (Guadix 1212 - Egipto 1269)
“Drink from the cup of the those who are pure,
And you will see wonders.
In the company of the people of knowledge,
And a non intoxicating wine.
You chose us one day,
And you are equal to none.
I discovered they were a people of Love,
In the presence of the Divine.”
Qasida from the "Diwan Al Harraq" Shaykh Muhammed Al Harraq (1772 - 1845)
أماطت عن محاسِنها الخمارا
فغادرْتِ العقولَ بها حُيارى
وبثّت في صميم القلبِ شوقاً
توقَد منه كلٌ الجسمِ نارا
وألْقَتْ فيه سراً ثم قالت
أرَى الإفشاءَ منك اليومَ عارا
وهل يسطيعُ كتْمَ سرِّ صبُّ
إذا ذكِر الحبيبُ لديْه طار
“Layla drew away the veils of her beauties
So the intellects departed, bewildered by her
She spread yearning to the innermost heart
By it, the entire body was set on fire
She cast a secret into it, then said:
´Today I see divulgence straying from you!`
Yet can one whose love pours out, conceal the secrets?
If when the Beloved is mentioned in his presence, he soars!”
