Last week, I received a package of sheet music I’d purchased on eBay. The auction listing had been for a Fiddler on the Roof vocal score which I didn’t need, but intriguingly, the seller had also promised to throw in some books of Israeli sheet music at no charge. So I placed a bid, and in what turned out to be a most worthwhile $1 gamble, I received two books of classic Israeli songs that were not already in my collection.
Typically, as Yom Ha’atzmaut nears, I spend some time playing through my collection of Israeli sheet music, while deciding which songs to play for the upcoming Yom Ha’atzmaut celebrations. Since the timing was so perfect, I spent some practice time playing through these books, reacquainting myself with songs I hadn’t played or sung in years.
The term “Israeli music” evokes so many different meanings. It can mean “Shirei Eretz,” songs of the land, like the music of the chalutzim (pioneers), and the music of such “classic” Israeli composers as Dov Seltzer or Naomi Shemer.
It also includes “Rikudei Am,” the music associated with traditional Israeli folk dances like “Mayim,”“Harmonika,” “Hora Mamtera,” etc.
For yet others, it means “Musica Mizrahit,” Hebrew music with a Middle Eastern or Oriental beat, which comes in traditional and contemporary flavors.
There are so many varieties. That’s without even considering the wide range of contemporary Israeli musical expression, from the songwriting of David Broza, to the jazz of Avishai Cohen, to the soul of Noa,and from the world music of Idan Raichel, to the recently controversial Teapacks, to Chassidic rocker Adi Ran.
Of course, for many, including myself, “Israeli music” includes all of the above — and then some.
In my professional role as a Simcha bandleader, I get to experience and play virtually all of these varieties of Israeli music, as the individual event requires. Israeli music is much more than just Hava Nagila.
One aspect that particularly speaks to me is the incredible ability Israeli songwriters have to create evocative song titles that beautifully express the essence of the song, a powerful sentiment about Israel, in just three or four words. Last year, I made T-shirts for my band’s performance at the Salute to Israel parade in New York City that simply read “Eretz Yisrael Yafa,” “Yerushalayim Shel Zahav,” and “Ein Li Eretz Acheret.” Such short song titles — yet they say so, so much.
There’s also something about the awareness and celebration of our religious traditions found in much of the so-called “secular” Israeli music that resonates, whether it’s Naomi Shemer’s beautiful expression of Breslov teachings in “Shirat Ha’asavim” or Kaveret’s allusions to Mishlei (Proverbs) in “Yo Ya.” (You can hear my cover of the tune here.) Of course, the hope of a better future for the Jewish people in Israel, as celebrated in so many songs like “Lach Yerushalayim,” hearkens back to the promise our nation received so many years ago.
Finally, there’s a spirit of optimism and faith that permeates this music with songs like “Hamilchama Ha’acharona.” Sure, there will be challenges ahead, but to quote David Broza, “Yihyeh Tov.” Perhaps the most famous of these optimistic pieces is the well-known song “Bashana Haba’a” with its powerful chorus: “Od tireh, od tireh, kama tov yihye bashana haba’a - You will yet see how much good there will be in the coming year.” The history of this song is interesting. Lyricist Ehud Manor originally penned these lyrics imagining them for a more pensive song. When composer Nurit Hirsh saw the lyrics, she wrote an upbeat melody that beautifully captured the underlying optimism of Manor’s lyrics.
What better way to salute Israel’s 60th, than with the prayer and hope that we too will see “kama tov yihye bashana haba’a”?
Cross-posted at the 60 Bloggers project.
The 60 Bloggers project is co-production of Jewlicious.com and the Let My People Sing Festival. It is published daily for 60 days to celebrate Israel’s 60 birthday.
