Court musician. Al-Mansur Al-Yahudi was court musician for the Umayyad Caliph Al-Hakam I in Cordoba, Spain in the early ninth century. An historical source from...
Joseph Albarandi lived in Baghdad during the tenth century. Sources suggest that he was of Babylonian origin and probably lived his whole life in Baghdad. According to his...
Gil Aldema was born in the Borokhov neighborhood (today Giv'atayim), Israel. As a child, he played piano and violin and studied harmony under composer Paul Ben-Haim. In 1947, while serving in...
Haim Alexander (b. Berlin, 1915, immigrated in 1936, lives in Jerusalem), like Ehrlich, is also sometimes considered as one of the first generation, but indeed he acquired formative...
Composer Leon Algazi was born in Iepuresti,
Yardena Alotin (Tel-Aviv, 1930-1994) is the only well known woman composer of her generation. She studied with Partos (also with Boskovich, Seter, Ben-Haim), and in 1975-6 she served as...
Born in Lvov, (today Ukraine), studied music in Vienna, and officiated as a cantor in Europe and South Africa before immigrating to the U.S. in 1961 where he was a...
Cantor-composer, teacher and Thalmudic-scholar. Born in Vilna. Studied Talmud in Courland and cantorial arts in Berdichev with Yeruham Blindman. Officiated as cantor in Slonim...
In the early 1960’s, Jo Amar was a Mizrahi music star. He combined ‘paytanut’ and poetry to create classic hits like “Barcelona,” “Ismach Moshe, “Shir Hashikor,” “Harini Shar,” and others. Amar...
- A Polka Mazurka
- Niggun of the Meggid of Mezerich From the album, "The Hasidic Niggun as Sung by the Hasidim." This dance niggun is the seventh and last in a series of niggunim sung by Bratslav Hasidim as they dance after the Shabbat evening service on Friday night. Some have attributed the niggun to R. Dov Ber, the meggid of Mezerich.
- Kol B'ru'ei (Padua, Italy) From the album, "Italian Jewish Musical Traditions from the Leo Levi Collection (1954-1961)." The poem depicts "all creatures" singing and praising the unity of God, and was recited in the Italian rite during the daily morning prayer. This melody was sung only on Rosh Hashanah (New Year) in the Italian tradition of Padua.
- Yigdal From the album, "Judeo-Carribean Currents, Music of the Mikve Israel-Emanuel Synagogue in Curaçao," performed by Gideon Zelermyer. The Yigdal is part of the ceremonial section of the liturgical order of Shabbat and the Holy Days in the Curaçao synagogue. It is one of the ending hymns of the service.
- Eres Chiquita y Bonita From the album, "Judeo-Spanish Moroccan Songs for the Life Cycle," sung by Alicia Bendayan from Tetuan. This is a song about courtship, related to the Jewish rituals that mark the events of the life cycle.
- Sweet Shalt Be My Chant From the album, "Kulmus Hanefesh," performed by Yair Harel on voice and tar, and Matti Kovler on voice and piano. A sacred hymn attributed to Rabbi Yehuda ha-Chasid, this is a Chabad tune with a near-Eastern arrangement.
- Lyr II From the album, "The Music of the Mountain Jews." Lyr is a genre found among all Turkish peoples, consisting of long, complex compositions usually comprised of three parts.
- Gilu ha-Galilim (Rejoice Galileans) From the album, "Nights in Canaan, Early Songs of the Land of Israel (1882-1946)." This is a Second Aliyah (1904-1914) song which became an integral part of the historical repertoire of Hebrew song. Both native-born and newly arrived pioneers sang this song in all circumstances.
- Saperi Tama From the album, "With Songs They Respond: The Diwan of the Jews from Central Yemen." This is a girdle poem by Se'adia ben Amram. Saperi Tama is sung to many melodies and is one of Yemenite Jewry's most common poems.