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# Smithsonian’s Freer and Sackler Galleries Present Transcendence: A Virtual Sufi Music Festival
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/smithsonian-freer-sackler-virtual-sufi-music-festival/
- Published: 2020-09-14T16:30:18.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T16:49:56.000Z
- Description: Join the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art for a free online music festival featuring world-renowned musicians from India, France, Iran, and Morocco.
- Author: National Museum of Asian Art
- Tags: Announcement, Event Announcement, Freer|Sackler, Smithsonian Institution, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-small, #Import 2025-11-24 07:41 (2019, 2020, part 2)

Through dance, recitation, poetry, and prayer, Sufis have long engaged with the spiritual practices of *dhikr* (remembrance) and *sama* (listening) to gain transcendence and enlightenment. Passed down from teacher to student for generations, the traditions of Sufi music serve as chains of spiritual knowledge.

[*Transcendence*](https://s.si.edu/3mbmVHX?ref=hyperallergic.com) is a free four-part series featuring celebrated artists who underline the regional richness of the Sufi musical tradition. Performances take place at noon every Wednesday from September 16 through October 7, 2020.

## [Sufi Songs From Manganiyar and Langa Communities, Marwar, Rajasthan, India](https://s.si.edu/3mbmVHX?ref=hyperallergic.com)

[ Led by world-renowned Anwar Khan, masters of qawwali demonstrate a form of Sufi singing inspired by poetry. To convey devotional intensity, vocalists draw out phrases and repeat verses accompanied by rhythms of handclapping and drumming. ](https://s.si.edu/3mbmVHX?ref=hyperallergic.com) 

**When:** Wednesday, September 16, 12pm (EDT)  
**Where:** [Zoom](https://bit.ly/35woABQ?ref=hyperallergic.com)

## Spiritual Poems from the East

The great Islamic poets and Sufi poets of Morocco inspire singer Walid Ben Selim. Musician Marie Marguerite Cano accompanies the singer on the harp. Ben Selim sings and recites his own poetry and experiments with spoken word, rap, and hip hop. 

**When:** Wednesday, September 23, 12pm (EDT)  
**Where:** [Zoom](https://bit.ly/3mik9Rt?ref=hyperallergic.com)

## Persian Mystic Songs From Omar Khayyam and Farid al-Din Attar

Sahar Mohammadi sings of love and longing as presented by Persian Sufi poets Omar Khayyam and Farid al-Din Attar. Mohammadi’s powerful voice, coupled with a deep knowledge of Persian lyrical poetry, offers a nuanced and original interpretation of classical Sufi music. 

**When:** Wednesday, September 30, 12pm (EDT)  
**Where:** [Zoom](https://bit.ly/2GJHQ4x?ref=hyperallergic.com)

## The Andalusian Samâ of Tétouan

Zainab Afailal performs Sufi-inspired Andalusian songs from southern Spain and Morocco. She sings devotional music based on two forms of Arabic poetry — the *muwashah* and the *Zajal* — from eleventh- and twelfth-century Spain. Afailal performs in a mode for generations believed to be reserved only for male performers.

**When:** Wednesday, October 7, 12pm (EDT)  
**Where:** [Zoom](https://bit.ly/3hdveiM?ref=hyperallergic.com)

**For more information on *Transcendence: A Virtual Sufi Music Festival* and to register for a performance, visit** [**asia.si.edu**](https://s.si.edu/3mbmVHX?ref=hyperallergic.com)**.**

*This festival is made possible through support from the Lilly Foundation Religion and Cultural Institutions Initiative.*