Salim Fergani
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Salim Fergani

Grenoble, Rhône-Alpes, France

Grenoble, Rhône-Alpes, France
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Nuba Sika - Soirée à Lille
La Noria des Modes - 2007

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Bio

Cheikh Salim Fergani is a maestro of Maluf (also known as Maâlouf) music. Fergani was born in 1953 in Constantine, in a family of musicians and artisans, embroiderers, since the “Beys”(Otoman princes) period. He is the eldest of hadj Mohamed Tahar Fergani’s sons, the leader of Music in Constantine and the grandson of sheikh Hamou Fergani (1884-1912), the famous hawzi singer and the Sufi Aissaoua group.

From this strong musical familiar surroundings, he had a gift for music, since he was young. His father taught him Arab Andalusian music. His uncle, Mohamed Seddik Fergani (1913-1995), named Zouaoui, introduced him to the techniques and the art of the ud (Arabic lute).
Since 1968, he started his professional carrier with his father Hadj Mohamed Tahar Fergani in recordings. At the same time, despite of his father’s presence, Cheikh Salim Fergani interacted with other sheikhs of Constantine who taught him more about ’Maluf, Mahdjuz, Hawzi, Arubi, Quadriates and Zadjel.
He has excellent memory, which allows him to assimilate information easily. Like his father, he devoted himself exclusively to music, to improve his knowledge, learning from cheikh Abdelkader Toumi (1906-2005), a remarkable encyclopedia. After long years, this relationship has played a key role in Salim Fergani’s life and in the music of Constantine.
Salim Fergani improved his skills, close his father, as a member in the familia orchestra. He also performs as a musician and singer with his own group.
He has performed concerts, made recordings and has been featured on TV, letting the public discover an artist with talent and knowledge of the music of Constantine during the 1970’s.
Since the 1980’s, he's had brilliant international career that led him to Europe, Asia, Africa and the United States of America. His control on the musical repertory and the ud, his understanding of communication, his rigor and human qualities made him an artist particularly demanded by international cultural institutions.
Written and translated by Benderbal Hichem. Edited by World Music Central.



Arab Andalusian Music
The Algerian classical music named ‘’Indalousy,’’ or Andalus, is the heiress of Arabic music, the synthesis of the ancient eastern civilization. The musical scale is essentially Greek, the modes are Persian ‘’segha (sika), Tchahar-Gah (Djarka) while the rhythms have maintained their Arabic origin: Raml, darj, etc.
In the West there is Ziriab, fruit of the contact between Magreb (Northwestern Africa) and Medieval Andalusian music. This music gave birth to a system of 24 nubas based on theoretical rules on the influences of metaphysical cosmogony and symbolisms. After the end of Moorish Spain 1492, this musical tradition migrated to the big cities of North Africa, such as Fez, Tlemcen, Algiers, Constantine, and Tunis. Essentially melodic, Algerian classical music, named Andalus (or Andalouse)’ is maintained due to an oral tradition in which there are some difficulties in symbolizing by the system of western notation.
This tradition is represented in Algeria by three schools : Tlemcen or ‘’Ghernati’’ from Granada, Algiers or ‘’Canaa’’ of Cordoban tradition and Constantine, ‘’ the malouf school’’ from Seville.
The nuba is an instrumental and vocal composition in a certain order of rhythmic rules and models. Each nuba is built on a mode (tabaa) from which it is named. A different rhythm is associated to each movement .This can be followed directly or by an intermediate short instrumental piece. A large part is unexpected. Each nuba is played at an hour of the day. Therefore, there were 24 nubas. The tradition has each nuba made on a theme adapted to the hour at which it is played. The themes generally discussed are religious life, love, and nature. Both Arab and Andalus people of North Africa use instruments such as the ud (lute), the qanun, fiddles, nay (flute) and percussion. The ud is generally an essential instrument to which one can add 2 or 3 other instruments and percussion.