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Through the Musical Water Routes project, Architect Aziza Chaouni and Composer /Percussionist Susie Ibarra propose a walking meditation and a musical experience which invites the public to interact and contemplate the visible and invisible manifestations of water of the Medina of Fes.

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The audience will stop at 7 sites, each representing a different facet of the manifestation of water in the medina of Fez. In three of these sites, the Noria square, Souk El Henna, and the Seffarine square, they will be introduced to the history of the site’s architecture and history, then they can listen the to live music compositions specially created for each space by Susie Ibarra. While reminiscent of the water that still runs or once was in the 3 sites, Ibarra’s music is composed from a myriad of local percussion sounds of metal, brass, bronze, wood, skins and glass blended with traditional Sufi and Gnawa music from the city and contemporary aesthetic.

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For the 4 remaining sites, which are spatially interspersed between the 3 aforementioned sites, the Jnane Sbil Gardens dam, the water clock Dar El Magana, the bathroom and ablution area Chrabliyine and the Zaouia Moulay Idriss, drawings, a description and ambient sound recording are presented.

Musical Water Routes of the Medina of Fes honors the history of rivers and water routes in the Medina, the sacredness of water and its use, while expressing it in a palette to invite an urban community today to interact and reflect upon the future of the Medina’s water heritage.

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This mobile app will showcase the compositions for each site, a four-channel mixer, information about the history and architectural characteristics of the sites, and posts for musical creations and comments. The public could download the application for free and experience the Musical Water Routes at any time of their choosing.

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