Tomorrow Wednesday at 8:00 p.m., on the occasion of the Sudan Country Focus 2024, Casa Árabe in Madrid is organising the concert The Two Niles and the Full Moon with the Sudanese singer Yassir Khairy, who will be accompanied by the voice of the Palestinian Rawan and the multi-instrumentalist Wafir Gibril. Tickets can be purchased online at this link.
Sudanese music is rich and diverse, reflecting the country’s cultural and ethnic variety. It is deeply rooted in traditions that blend African, Arab and Nubian influences. From mawwal, the vocal style of Sudanese music, characterised by improvised poetry sung over simple melodic lines, to modern Sudanese pop, to the strong Sufi tradition, the variety in Sudanese music is astonishing.
The concert at Casa Árabe will be largely a tribute to Mohammed Wardi, a Sudanese singer, poet and composer of Nubian origin. Wardi played various instruments, such as the Nubian kissar, and sang in both Arabic and Nubian. According to Sudanese essayist and critic Lemya Shammat, he is an “inspirational figure in Sudanese music and culture, whose prolific talent and enormous contribution remain unsurpassed in Sudan”. Considered one of Africa’s finest singers, his songs deal with themes such as romance, passion, Nubian folklore, heritage, revolution and patriotism.
Yassir Khairy has been a practising musician since 1985. He studied at the Academy of Music in Khartoum and came to the Netherlands in 1999, where he began to spread Sudanese culture, and in particular Nubian culture, which is part of his identity. He has participated in many prestigious festivals in Europe. On the national day of the Netherlands he had the honour of representing all refugees by singing together with musicians of different nationalities.
