Khemaïs Tarnane

Khemaïs Tarnane was born in Bizerte to a family of Andalusian descent, mastering sacred vocal suites and traditional lutes in Sufi zawiyas. Moving to Tunis in 1917, his exceptional talent on the oud and encylopedic recall of oral nawbat made him the preeminent authority on Tunisian traditional music.

In 1934, alongside Baron Rodolphe d'Erlanger and Mustapha Sfar, Tarnane co-founded the Rachidia Institute to rescue Tunisian classical music from Westernization and decay. He served as the master teacher of generations of performers, composing iconic classics for Saliha and other legends.