In our ‘living room’, Karin van den Boogaert receives all manner of World Music performers.
This time a rerun of the Amsterdam Andalusian Orchestra performing at the ‘Pieternel’ chapel of The St. Peter’s Church in Utrecht, on 16 January 2015.
Recently, in October 2024, this orchestra received the ‘cultuurfondsprijs’, an important Dutch cultural prize, with a healthy prize money of 100.000 euros. The Cultuurfonds praised their music’s diversity and their pioneering cross-genre productions, building bridges between cultures and generations through the power of music.
The performance in 2015 was commendable for several reasons. More people than ever were present, enjoying beforehand some of the delicious bakes our dear Carolien had made. The age-old St. Peter’s Church formed a beautiful setting, the performance of the orchestra testimony to the well-deserved cultuurfondsprijs. So, listen and experience it for yourself.
The Amsterdam Andalusian Orchestra embodies the musical heritage of Andalusia. Music, literature and science flourished in this part of Europe between the 9th and 15th century. At that time, it was called Al-Andalus and was home to a population of diverse ethnic backgrounds and religions. Today, the Amsterdam Andalusian Orchestra tells the story of Al-Andalus and what it means to our society, through music, theatre, literature and education. Literature is very much woven into Andalusian music.
The repertoire is quite varied. 
We list three YouTube-links as an example:
Tarab (classic Andalusi)
Soefi Andalusi
Chaabi Andalusi (a popular modern version)
The musicians:
1. Mohamed Chairi: vocals, violin
2. Dwight Breinburg: vocals, violin
3. Mohamed Ahaddaf: oud
4. Jaafar Lougemani: violin
5. Brahim Afzan: percussion/tambourine
6. Emad Ghajjou: percussion
7. Abdelgafour Attahiri: vocals
