The main attraction of this event was
Dr. Coleman Barks who flew in from
Athens
,
Georgia
. Dr. Barks has the distinct credit of introducing Mevlana
Jelaluddin Rumi, the 7th Century Saint, teacher, mystic and poet
to North American audiences. He has translated 15 books of Rumi
and has dedicated the past two years for his magnum opus – The
Big Red Book – a translation of Rumi’s Mathnavi which was
available for sale and signing. Dr. Barks has been reciting Rumi
for over twenty years but his deeply resonant voice only improves
with time. For those who heard him then and now, it’s clear that
he has aged to perfection and evolved into a Sufi. Dr. Barks’
lifework express ecstasy with an openness, whimsy, and
practicality that make the everyday resonate with the sacred; that
make the everyday holy. The audience couldn’t get enough of him.
Against a classical background of pipes, organs and stained glass
windows, Dr. Barks told stories, read poetry, chanted, laughed and
recited. He was accompanied on the Cello by Anne Bourne who is a
talent unto herself. Without much rehearsal, the two of them
connected as though they were soul mates. Ms. Bourne would pick up
where he left off and vice versa until her lilting voice, and the
deep bass voice of Dr. Barks soared to the highest rafters of this
stunning church sanctuary creating an ambiance that was
breathtaking.
There were other artists who also added
to this spiritual event bringing the best of their talent and
spirit. Garo Altinian presented Rumi through Turkish and English
songs, accompanied by profound poetry. He was accompanied by Agah
Ecevit on the ney;Fatih
Tandogan on the Bander (frame drum); Amir Amiri on the Santur,
Rafi Karsli on frame drum and Leslie Gabriel Mezei reciting
vocals.
Following this the audience was
mesmerized and regaled with an extraordinary rendition of Rumi by
Irshad Khan, who is one of the best musicians of today. He has
been called the Mozart of India, and his contribution to this
event was to sing Rumi in English on Sitar accompanied on Duff
(frame drum) – a first. Irshad Khan got a standing ovation and
the audience didn’t want him to leave. But there was more.
The Jerrahi Sufi Order of Canada were
the grand finale of this amazing night. They took the stage with
their musical instruments ranging from Ney to bander, santur,
cello, violin and vocals, they performed zikr to the most
uplifting and spiritual musical accompaniment while their Shaikh
Tevfik Adoner chanted verses and poetry. Two of their sema-zens
had driven in from
USA
and they whirled for almost one hour. The audience was mesmerized
and one person was heard to say that there had to be some higher
presence for them to be able to whirl the way they did. The
Jerrahi Sufis got a standing ovation for more than 5 minutes as
the program ended on a high note through eloquent closing remarks
presented by Dr. Fuad Sahin who is recipient of the Order of
Ontario
and an age-old practitioner of the spiritual path of Islam.
Rumifest was the brainchild of Noman
Siddiqui, a young composer and mystic at heart whose ambition is
to inspire the mind and soul through music and to promote soulful
music & arts events as a force for unity and global peace. He
succeeded in doing this and more, as the largely non-Muslim
audience commented on experiencing the spiritual message of Islam
and seeing the “other” face of this faith, as they have never
had an opportunity to do so.
One of the attendees has this to say:
I've returned home from Rumifest spiritually ecstatic from the
uplifting experience! At one point in the final act, I even picked
up the nerve to ask my neighbors if we could hold hands; a tribute
to the sense of union to which Sufism aspires.”
