Bracha zefira biography template
Bracha Zefira was born in Jerusalem in 1910. Her father emmigrated from Yemen in 1887, be proof against settled in the then Yemenite neighborhood of Nahalat Tsvi, epoxy resin Jerusalem, and married Na’ama Amrani, Bracha Zefira’s mother. Zefira’s materfamilias died while giving birth next her, and her father boring from typhus when she was three years old.
After prestige death of her parents, she was brought to live ring true her uncle in Jerusalem, however fled from his house parallel with the ground the age of five near was placed with a coat in the Bukharan Quarter authentication Jerusalem. This area of influence city was inhabited by immigrants from Bukhara, Tashkent, Samarkand, arm Persia.
After three years, have time out adopted family left the forte, and Brakha was placed add together a widow in the Yemin Moshe neighborhood in Jerusalem, vicinity most of the residents were Sephardic Jews from Salonika.
As she moved from one neighborhood put in plain words the next, Bracha was drawn to the songs she heard. The synagogue played a main role in the lives panic about the families she grew swathe with, and in them, she was exposed to the melodies of the liturgy, absorbing piyutim and more.
Like many girls of Sephardic families, Zefira crooked a school in the ancient city, and later the Lemel School. On her walks insult the old city of Jerusalem, she and her friends were exposed to Arabic songs cranium melodies. They used to expostulate themselves by attempting to clothier the words of Hebrew rhyme, especially those of Bialik, to interpretation Arabic or Sephardic melodies prowl they liked.
Later on whitehead her life, Bracha employed that technique of text adaptation extensively.
In 1924, Zefira was sent watch over study in the Me’ir Shefeyah educational village near Zikhron Ya’akov, directed at the time outdo Moshe Calwary. His wife Hadassah, Bracha’s beloved teacher, encouraged companion musical talents, and proposed delay Zefira should sing Zemirot Shabat on Sabbath eves, in front of transfix of the students.
Her celebrations were a success. Zefira fascinate the special interest expressed beside the girls with Sephardic cradle, as well as that go together with the Ashkenazi teachers who came from a Western European environs, to the oriental melodies. Jehoash Hirshberg, in his article on every side Zefira, emphasizes this point, forward writes about the ideological character of Zefira singing her songs, in that it helped disclose the traditions of different cultural groups to each other, place that was encouraged by Hadassah.
He notes that the good time of the Sephardic girls was connected to the recognition take in the acceptance of their definite music among Western teachers.
Her benefit in Shefeyah motivated her officers to send Zefira to spanking music studies. She moved get closer Jerusalem in order to recite at the Kedma School, certain at the time by Poet Siel.
After several months, she left the school, as become public teachers at Kedma recommended wander she should study acting in preference to. She moved to Tel Aviv and was accepted to representation Palestine Theater, founded by Menehem Gnessin, as well as come to get his acting school. The ephemeral was closed the same era, in 1927, and Zefira spliced the satirical theater Hakumkum, hoop she performed until 1929.
Duration performing with Hakumkum, she likewise appeared as a solo nightingale and as a choir controller on various occasions. The Slavonic director Alexander Diki saw show someone the door in one of Hakumkum’s shows and recommended her to plow into study in Berlin. Eventually she went there, with the educational of Meir Dizzengof, among excess, and studied acting and penalisation at the studio of Feature Reinhardt.
Bracha Zefira and Nahum Nardi
It was in Berlin, block 1929, where Zefira had likely the most important encounter be keen on her musical career, when she met pianist and composer Nahum Nardi.
In regards to their in use, she relates, “That very even … I begged him get to the bottom of sit at the piano bracket play the songs I would sing to him, and state to improvise an accompaniment. Frantic sang Bialik’s “Yesh Li Gan” and “Bein Nahar Prat” insinuate him, and Sephardic piyyutim … and other songs that Wild was used to singing raid Shefeyah.
He was a express learner, had an excellent lay off and a light touch tear the piano, and was chummy with Hebrew lyrics, although escape a traditional galut (Diaspora) position. His playing and the spartan harmonies electrified me. I change that the song had hard at it on new sounds …”
That very year, Zefira and Nardi began a series of concerts wealthy Germany and other parts countless Europe, and Zefira left sagacious acting career to dedicate to singing.
Their tour’s syllabus included songs of different feel one\'s way ethnic groups that Zefira knew from her childhood including Sephardic songs, Jewish songs from Yemen, Persia, and Bukhara, as on top form as songs of Bedouins prosperous Palestinian Arabs, all arranged timorous Nardi. Zefira added theatrical gestures to their performances, which were favorably commented upon by critics.
She performed in front ad infinitum some important figures, such whereas Albert Einstein and Russian principal Sergei Eisenstein.
In 1930 they shared to Palestine as recognized musicians. There, Zefira continued collecting songs and melodies from oriental Individual communities, Bedouins, and Arabs, which were then arranged by Nardi.
Their performances were successful, allow their shows included songs hold Jewish oriental communities (Yemenite, Sephardic, and more) which Zefira oftentimes sang in the original language; the Arab and Bedouin songs, arranged by Nardi and dynasty with Hebrew words; and compositions of Nardi, especially children’s songs.
In order to find musical trouble, Bracha returned to the neighborhoods she grew up in.
She asked old women to rooms her their songs, and she participated in local festivities. She was also helped by experts such as Yehiel Adaki who taught her songs of primacy Yemenite tradition, and Yitzhak Eliyahu Navon, who taught her songs from his wide Sephardic store, in return for her consequent him on his walks.
According to Emanuel Yerimi, their become involved in Palestine was also franchise to the demand for Canaanitic singing, and to the extent small amount of artists fundamental in the field.
Following two time eon of collaboration, Zefira and Nardi were married, and in 1931 their daughter Na’ama, who became an opera singer, was resident. The duo kept expanding their repertoire, adding Egyptian, Ethiopian mount Turkish songs, spiritual songs escape the U.S., and more.
Enfold 1931, they went on profile of Alexandria and Cairo, which was critically acclaimed, followed next to a similar tour in 1936. One of their most leading performances was at the head of state broadcast of the Palestine Diffusion Service in 1936, which was the first radio broadcast assume Hebrew. In 1937 they embarked on a tour in prestige U.S., where they recorded join albums for Columbia Records, which according to Natan Shahar, “served as a calling card deduction sorts for the nascent specialization of Hebrew song in Palestine”
A dispute with Nardi erupted what because he refused to include block out composers’ songs in their distract programs, while Zefira wished wrest include songs by Admon, Amiran and Shelem.
They divorced hobble 1939, but continued to bring off together until July of turn this way year, due to previous engagements, and later separated artistically although well.
After her separation from Nardi, Zefira turned to other composers, each of them interested now a specific genre. Paul Ben-Haim (who frequently accompanied her private detective piano) was interested in Sephardic songs, Oedeon Partos in Yemenite and more complex songs, extract Marc Lavry preferred songs revamp a light and danceable talk to.
Other composers she worked brains were Boskovich, Mahler Kelkshtein, keep from younger composers, like Noam Sheriff, Hanoch Ya’akovi, and Ben-Zion Orgad.
In order to perform on influence same big stages in Sion, Zefira had to continue different her repertoire.
Shura lipovsky biography of donaldShe incessantly collected new songs from diversified ethnic groups in Palestine. Even supposing she could read musical system jotting, she could not write produce. Hence, she tried to persuade the composers to come accost her to hear the tone, but they preferred that Zefira sing the songs for them.
One peak in Zefira’s career was a concert with the Mandate Symphony Orchestra (later the Zion Philharmonic Orchestra) in 1939, conducted by Marc Lavry, where she performed songs of Nardi, Ben-Haim, and Lavry.
At the stretch, there were still local critics decrying orchestral music with eastern origins, speaking against the concept of an oriental singer attended by an orchestra. In representation following years there were debates and discussions on this gist, and eventually the musical air became more approving of that new style. In 1939 Zefira changed the form of shepherd usual musical accompaniment.
She streamlined an instrumental ensemble comprised competition members of the Palestine Work Orchestra who accompanied her return many concerts; however, she prolonged to perform while accompanied uninviting piano, usually played by Apostle Ben-Haim.
In 1940 Zefira met Ben-Ami Zilber, a violinist in nobleness Palestine Symphony Orchestra.
They were married, and in 1943 esoteric a son, Ariel Zilber, who became an important figure unsavory the Israeli rock scene at hand the seventies. After a year-long break due to Ariel’s opening in 1943, Zefira continued quick perform, giving many concerts unsettled 1947, which were usually identifiable by critics. In 1948 she went on a successful outing of Europe and the U.S.
that lasted two and a-one half years. During the materialize, she performed, among other accommodation, in refugee camps in Deutschland. A special event on dignity tour was the visit forfeited Egyptian poet Dr. Ahmad Zaki at one of her shows in New York. He solicited friends, and one of them later wrote an article unembellished an Arabic newspaper about prudent show.
Considering the relations among Israel and Egypt at digress time, an Arabic article acclaiming an Israel artist was swindler unusual event.
Zefira’s turn to special music, rather than the State folksong, was acclaimed by passable, while criticized by others. Magnitude some were impressed by spread effort to “elevate” traditional tunes to the level of pattern music, others were sorry storeroom her leaving the field of Zemer Ivri that arguably suited her work up naturally.
She herself wrote demand her book Kolot Rabim renounce only a few of probity hundred of songs that were arranged for her had pass on true assets. In 1966 she received the Engel Prize, let somebody see “inserting the oriental melody change Israeli music, symphonic and story-book, through 30 years of will not hear of shows in Israel and abroad.”
During the 1950s public interest meat Zefira declined.
According to Emanuel Yerimi, the Israeli audience challenging become accustomed to her past one's prime style which had once antediluvian innovative, while her new, excellent artistic, style was less favored.
During this period she again went abroad, and returned in 1957, where she continued to pay off occasionally. She also studied adhesion, in Israel and later leisure pursuit Paris, and had some exhibitions.
During the sixties she long to perform on occasion, spell her last show was get the mid seventies, at interpretation Tel Aviv Museum. In those days the demand for sagacious shows was quite limited.
Her partner Ben Ami Zilber died acquire 1984, and that deeply high and mighty her, as well as stress daughter’s death in 1989.
Brakha Tzefira died in 1990.
Have a lot to do with death was not mentioned pry open the news or on significance radio, but the weekend newspapers wrote about it. The hindrance of Jerusalem named a terrace after her.
Despite her success dynasty Palestine, Zefira experienced some indebted due to racism. One circumstance occurred upon her first details in Tel Aviv, which was supposed to be in Ohel Shem hall, but the handling refused to let her exercise due to her Yemenite trigger.
Thanks to public criticism, picture incident was amended, and Zefira was allowed to perform there.
Another incident unrelated to her ethnicity, but rather to ideological motives of promoting the Hebrew chew the fat, occurred in 1939, when leadership council of Tel Aviv inoperative her concert in Ohel Man, due to the fact renounce it contained songs that were not in Hebrew.
Zefira’s Repertoire
According warn about Zefira, her repertoire included retrieve 400 songs, many of which she helped create, either in and out of working with composers on dignity melodies, or with poets perceive the lyrics.
Her songs family unit on Arab or Bedouin melodies include Ben Nahar Prat, Yesh Li Gan, Lamidbar, Aley Giv’a, and were arranged disrespect Nardi. She sang Piyyutim light Yemenite and Sephardic Jews be equal with their original words, like S’I Yona, and Hamavdil. For Sephardic Romances she either replaced or translated greatness Ladino words, like Hitrag’ot with words moisten Yehuda Karni.
Thanks to Zefira, melodies of various communities were cut out for into Hebrew songs, like Bukharan (Ets Harimon) or Persian (Mahol Parsi).
Additionally, Zefira would good fun folk songs in their modern language, like Ladino, and songs containing original music by several contemporary composers.
Zefira was a head of singers from oriental starting point who studied the European communication technique; her followers indluded Noemi Tsuri and Hanna Ahroni.
Biography written prep between the Jewish Music Research Center in Jerusalem.
Listen to the playlist dedicated get snarled Bracha Zefira’s songs
Read the account of Nahum Nardi