Dhafer Youssef Sounds of Mirrors

Some musicians experience a sacred and deeply intimate relation with their art. When a 19-year-old Dhafer Youssef discovered Indian music in Vienna, where he was studying classical music, it had the effect of a bewildering epiphany on him. Hindu sonorities struck a deep chord within Dhafer’s musical soul – thirty years later, the Tunisian composer reminisces : « I was both filled with wonder as well as deeply convinced that one day I would be performing alongside the most legendary players of Indian music ». A memorable show from Ali Akbar Khan, the master of Indian sarod, at the Wiener Konzerthaus in Vienna came to seal the deal for the vocalist and oud master. From then on, Dhafer Youssef lived and breathed Indian music. Or was it Indian music that had appointed him to become its messenger?