Artist: Hanna AhroniLP: Songs of Israel
Song: "Artza Alinu"
"...We have ploughed, sowed, but not yet reaped."
[ listen ]
Song: "Tzel-Tzel"
"...At the village square near the well, the shepherds dance as they
water the sheep. The reed flute and the drum loudly sound and ring
as the well gurgles. Tzel-tzel, the sheep."
[ listen ]
Song: "Artza Alinu"
"...We have ploughed, sowed, but not yet reaped."
[ listen ]
Song: "Tzel-Tzel"
"...At the village square near the well, the shepherds dance as they
water the sheep. The reed flute and the drum loudly sound and ring
as the well gurgles. Tzel-tzel, the sheep."
[ listen ]
Yesterday after work I finally went to see Waltz With Bashir, the Israeli animated movie nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at this year's Oscars. It's a fascinating, thought-provoking film about Israel's invasion of Lebanon in the early 1980s, in which a soldier tries to piece together memories of his own involvement in the war. What troubles him most is the part he may have (unwittingly?) played in the Sabra and Shatila massacre, in which hundreds or perhaps thousands of Palestinian refugees were slaughtered. Though the film left important questions unanswered (it wasn't the fim's aim to answer all questions on the issue, of course), I was impressed to see an Israeli film playing on American screens that dealt with these issues. Afterwards, I decided to post something from Israel that's a bit on the lighter side. You can find a career timeline for "petite songstress" Hanna Ahroni here and these are the notes from the back of this 1959 record:
Hanna Ahroni was just a baby when her Yemenite father and
Eritrean mother brought her to Israel. The family first settled
in the hills surrounding the Holy City of Jerusalem, then moved
to the banks of Lake Kinnereth in the Galilee. There, young
Hanna tended her parents' sheep, singing traditional Biblical
songs as she worked, in a voice that was one day to draw the
most glowing plaudits of audiences and critics the world over.
She was discovered by M. Wallin while singing her songs in
the fields of the Galilee. Wallin, the famous Israeli impressario,
brought the girl to Tal Aviv, where she was tutored in all
phases of music and drama, and where she mastered
the eight languages in which she can sing fluently. Her
remarkable four-octave voice was developed with delicate
care, preserving the natural qualities with which nature
and her heritage had endowed her.
At fourteen, Hanna made her concert debut, and later
became the singing star of Wallin's Revue Theatre and
Music Hall. She then appeared on radio, made a number
of recordings, and before long Israel's foremost composers
were writing especially for her unusual voice.
Miss Ahroni has appeared in two motion pictures: "Song of
Israel" and "Tel Aviv." On a recent world tour, the petite
songstress enchanted vast audiences in Paris, Monte Carlo,
Cannes, Amsterdam, Brussels, London, Mexico City, Capetown,
Johannesburg, San Juan and Caracas.
In this album, Hanna Ahroni sings a collection of traditional
Biblical songs as they were sung thousands of years ago. you
will also hear songs of modern Israel, exciting new legends in
the making. She sings them all with a deep sentiment and
warmth, a dramatic virtuosity, drawing freely from her
remarkable vocal resources, the end product of which
is a thrilling listening experience.
Sam Grossman, conductor and arranger for the album, possesses
a wide range of musical experience that runs the gamut from
his radio and motion picture work with the late opera star
Grace Moore, to fifteen years with the famous "Hit Parade."
Background photo for cover courtesy of the Israel Government Tourist Office.
[ Hanna Ahroni ]
Eritrean mother brought her to Israel. The family first settled
in the hills surrounding the Holy City of Jerusalem, then moved
to the banks of Lake Kinnereth in the Galilee. There, young
Hanna tended her parents' sheep, singing traditional Biblical
songs as she worked, in a voice that was one day to draw the
most glowing plaudits of audiences and critics the world over.
She was discovered by M. Wallin while singing her songs in
the fields of the Galilee. Wallin, the famous Israeli impressario,
brought the girl to Tal Aviv, where she was tutored in all
phases of music and drama, and where she mastered
the eight languages in which she can sing fluently. Her
remarkable four-octave voice was developed with delicate
care, preserving the natural qualities with which nature
and her heritage had endowed her.
At fourteen, Hanna made her concert debut, and later
became the singing star of Wallin's Revue Theatre and
Music Hall. She then appeared on radio, made a number
of recordings, and before long Israel's foremost composers
were writing especially for her unusual voice.
Miss Ahroni has appeared in two motion pictures: "Song of
Israel" and "Tel Aviv." On a recent world tour, the petite
songstress enchanted vast audiences in Paris, Monte Carlo,
Cannes, Amsterdam, Brussels, London, Mexico City, Capetown,
Johannesburg, San Juan and Caracas.
In this album, Hanna Ahroni sings a collection of traditional
Biblical songs as they were sung thousands of years ago. you
will also hear songs of modern Israel, exciting new legends in
the making. She sings them all with a deep sentiment and
warmth, a dramatic virtuosity, drawing freely from her
remarkable vocal resources, the end product of which
is a thrilling listening experience.
Sam Grossman, conductor and arranger for the album, possesses
a wide range of musical experience that runs the gamut from
his radio and motion picture work with the late opera star
Grace Moore, to fifteen years with the famous "Hit Parade."
Background photo for cover courtesy of the Israel Government Tourist Office.
[ Hanna Ahroni ]
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