The funeral of the great master of the art of Malhoun, Haj Mohamed Bouzoubaâ, who died on Wednesday in Fes following a long illness, took place the same day after the Al Asr prayer at the Lakbab cemetery in Fes.

A large crowd composed of members of the deceased's family, several artists and friends as well as ordinary citizens, accompanied the doyen of this authentic music to his final resting place, thus paying a final tribute to one of the illustrious talents of Moroccan song.

In testimonies collected by MAP, many researchers and artists highlighted the artistic contribution of the deceased to the Moroccan cultural heritage through the promotion, perpetuation and transmission of the art of Malhoun to young generations, deploring the loss of one of the great figures of the Moroccan artistic scene.

They also praised an unparalleled artist who dedicated his life to the praise and glory of the Prophet Sidna Mohammed, peace, blessings and prayers be upon Him, stressing that the passing of the late Mohamed Bouzoubaâ is a great loss for the sublime art of Malhoun. The researcher in the field of "heritage arts", Mohamed El Gouzi, indicated that the late Bouzoubaâ was one of the ancient talents of the authentic art of Malhoun in Morocco, noting that the deceased belonged to a Sufi family and was imbued and trained by his father, the late M'hamed Bouzoubaâ, also considered one of the doyens of the art of Malhoun.

The deceased, who was president of the Malhoun orchestra of the Fes regional radio, contributed largely to the promotion and preservation of this sublime art through his performances executed with magnificence and finesse, he added.

For his part, the Malhoun poet, Abdelmalek El Youbi, stressed that the great master of the art of Malhoun was able to sing a set of kassaides (poems) in a distinguished manner thanks to his pure and sweet voice, noting that he recorded and sang more than 120 songs focused on the themes of love and religious and national holidays.

The name of the late Bouzoubaâ remains engraved in the national collective memory like the other figures who have amply contributed to the preservation of the art of Malhoun, such as Abdelkrim Guennoun, Lhoucine Ben Driss and Driss Benjelloun. Among his most famous songs, we can cite "Khaddouj", "Rfak Ya Maliki", "Damlij" and "Mohammed saheb Chafaâ".