Songs from Sudan
This programme is dedicated to Sudan. Since 2023, the country has been torn apart by a devastating war. We look back with a bit of nostalgia at its rich urban music scene, which flourished primarily between the 1960s and the 1980s.
We will mainly listen to popular songs from the capital, Khartoum, and the surrounding region. This ”urban” music is characterised by a unique blend of local vocal traditions and rhythms, poetic Arabic influences, Western instruments, African and American musical styles, including jazz, reggae, and other popular genres. At the same time, it conveys a distinctly Sudanese spirit—warm, humane, and tender—that gently flows through the melodies like the Nile itself.
We will listen to songs performed by, among others, Abdel Karim Al Kabli, Sayed Khalifa, Mohammed Wardi, Abd el-Gadir Salim, Abdel Aziz Al Mubarak ..etc.
Song by Al-Tayeb Abdallah about longing to the homeland
Until the secession of South Sudan in 2011, Sudan was the largest country in Africa. It remains home to an exceptionally rich and diverse mosaic of peoples and cultures. Despite the devastating recent war that has afflicted the country since 2023, this remarkable musical heritage continues to live on especially among the Sudanese diaspora.
