Algeria
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Cheikh Larbi Bensari
Tlemcen, Algeria
Archival Overview
The supreme patriarch of Gharnati Andalusian classical music in Tlemcen, who preserved hundreds of ancient Andalusian suites and performed at the 1900 Paris Universal Exposition.
Biographical Record
Cheikh Larbi Bensari was born in Tlemcen and apprenticed under Cheikh Mohamed Benchaabane. An extraordinary virtuoso of the traditional two-string Andalusian 'Rbab' and violin, he possessed an encyclopedic memory containing the complete poetic repertoire and rhythmic cycles ('Inqilab' and 'Mseddar') of Granada.
In 1900, Bensari represented Algerian classical culture at the Paris Universal Exposition, astounding international musicologists. In 1932, he led the Algerian delegation to the historic First International Congress of Arab Music in Cairo. Over nearly a century of life, he trained generations of musicians, ensuring the survival of Tlemcen's Gharnati heritage.
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Final Resting Place
Perpetual MemorialTlemcen, Algeria