Category: Safed’s Musicians

Common Element

The Jewish coming of age ceremony known as a Bar or Bat Mitzvah is celebrated when a boy reaches the age of 13 or a girl becomes 12. Among the various customs connected to the rite is a party for all the youngster’s peers. In Israel, like everywhere else, the details of the party may differ according to the individual tastes and status of the parents. There may be 500 guests or

fewer than 100, steak instead of pasta, or a 5 piece band instead of a DJ.  However, one element is common to every Bar or Bat Mitzvah party and that wo

uld be a special song: Chaim David’s “Yamama.”

The popular musician’s signature tune has caught on like wildfire among every sector of the Israeli population. The song creates a delicious tension; the music starts tremulous and slow, and then builds with fervor to a powerful crescendo. The ardent appreciation of this tune has grown to such a peak that the song is no longer enough. Yamama just makes you want to move and so Israeli kids invented a dance to go with the song.

Infectious Joy

Guests know Yamama is about to be played when the youngsters go into a huddle on the dance floor. With the opening strains of the song, the kids pat the floor with rapid movements, mimicking a drum beat. As the tempo increases, the children rise as one unit with an almost balletic grace and then abandon themselves in song and dance to the infectious joy of the moment.

Chaim David has a surname, Saracik, but no one ever calls him anything but Chaim David. The informality of no last name is fitting to the laidback songster’s intimate style, characterized by his acoustic guitar, an anomaly on a music scene wh

ere every element is powered by electricity. Yamama generates its own kind of electricity, making it the most ecological song around.

Chaim David is a gentle soul with a raspy voice. He looks a bit frail and small, but don’t let that fool you—there is power in the man. It comes from his soul, lit up some twenty years earlier by the legendary singing rabbi Shlomo Carlebach.

Great Master

There was something about Reb Shlomo.  “He was a master of communication,” explains Chaim David, “A great master, you know? He knew how to get into people’s hearts and give them a little bit of love and care–most of the time when they most needed it. He was a master of that.”

The late rabbi understood that Chaim David was on a musical and spiritual journey and urged him to continue his sojourn in Israel, the Jewish homeland. Chaim David came and stayed, exploding on the music scene with his sweet acoustic guitar. Eleven albums later, Chaim David is still spreading Carlebach’s message of love and acceptance to receptive audiences in Israel and all over.

The singer songwriter and his band, Chaim David and the Mevasser Tov, have just finished recording a CD by the same name. This creative collection of old and new songs, never before recorded, is sure to please old fans and new devotees.

Generation of Knowledge

The Children of Israel who left Egypt with Moses are known as the Dor Deah, the Generation of Knowledge. This generation, which witnessed the miracles of the Ten Plagues, the Exodus from slavery to freedom, and the Giving of the Ten Commandments at M

t. Sinai, were given this name by Rashi, a great 11^th century Jewish commentator who wrote that the generation of Dor Deah was on such a

high spiritual plane that no other generation would reach that level until the generation of the Mashiach, the Messiah, when redemption would occur.

The band members of Dor Deah feel that they are privileged to live in a generation which, while perhaps not on the level of the Dor Deah of the Bible, is close. Alon Rom, acoustic guitarist for Dor Deah (in addition to playing the electric guitars, oud, and percussion), explains that today, Jews are exploring and questioning their heritage and roots as never before, and his band wanted to pay tribute to this revival. Together with his fellow band members, Alon Melamed: who plays the electric guitar and flute (!), Naftul on the drums, Yermiyahu on the keyboards and saxophone, Chanan on the trumpet and Yishai Yifati on percussion, they decided to name their Tzfat-based band Dor Deah.

Dor Deah plays an unusual variety of music, ranging from Rock and reggae to alternative, Chassidic and even Arabic music. Each player brings his own special flavor to the band, as they fuse together sounds from all over the world. Their unusual blend of instruments allows them to blend sounds to create an amazing expression of joy, dance, and celebration.

Like any other band, Dor Deah plays the “simcha” (life-cycle celebration) circuit. They also play in bars an

d clubs, at colleges campuses and out on the street corners. They enjoy playing anywhere and everywhere that people get together and to celebrate and express joy.

Music of the Cosmos

When asked how the group got together to form their band, Alon explains: “You could say that the cosmos mystically brought us all together. Each one was a musician in his own place, but was looking for an outlet that fused the ancient spiritual musical tradition with modern grooves and vibe.” The group is based in Tzfat, a city that seems to thrive on mystical cosmos, so the match seems perfect. “Tzfat has always had a history of spirituality and mysticism” Alon adds. “It was only natural that our band would develop here… we’re all full time musicians. We’ve been blessed with being able to use our gifts on a full time basis.”

Dor Deah travels throughout Israel, towards their goal of bringing joy and light to the world.”To have everyone join together in celebrating life, creation, humanity” Alon summarizes. “We hope to use music as a means to elevate the world to the highest levels of happiness.”

Dor Deah’s music can be heard at http://www.myspace.com/462432208. They can be also be contacted through Alon at 050-303-3569.

Eran Madom is a native-born Israeli. His father arrived in the country from Yemen and his mother from Morocco, both settling in the northern town of Maalot, nearby Safed, where Eran still lives.

Eran Madom plays and teaches classical and flamenco guitar as well as composing his own music. At least o

nce a week Eran journeys to Safed to work with Anat Edry on their joint musical projects.

Early Years

Although Eran doesn’t come from a musical family, he has absorbed the Yemenite rhythms of his childhood and this influence is evident when he plays. His father bought him his first guitar after his bar mitzvah when he was thirteen years old and he began his musical career learning to play rock music. While he was in the army he became inspired by the music of jazz guitarists John McLaughlin and Zakir Hussain– a master of the tabla. Eran then sold his electric guitar and bought a classical guitar. He found the technique needed for this instrument very different from the electric guitar, but with perseverance, he taught himself to play, even teaching himself to play flamenco guitar from video cassettes.

Bands

After the army Eran felt his destiny lay in music and he began to play seriously. Although his mother was skeptical about his ability to earn a living from music, he started to jam with a variety of musicians. Forming his first band, a trio- Tiltan -the name comes from the club design in cards – he played concerts and festivals all over the Galilee. However, this wasn’t enough to live on and so he also worked in a music shop.

Shimuna

Eran feels that music is very spiritual, coming from God, and that it allows people to connect to God in a different way. He searched for musicians who felt the same and his next band was called Shimuna. This name, which comes from the Hebrew word for the number 8, was inspired by the idea that there will be a new note when the Messiah comes. The band played and recorded together while striving to look for this new note.

Hallelu-ja Ensemble

Eran then joined the Hallelu-ja Ensemble working and playing with them for two years. The band plays ethnic music using traditional instruments such as the oud and the baglama, as well as guitar and flute. This enables them to put their own unique take on traditional tunes as well as writing their own music, composed by Eran and others. Although Eran is still recording with the band, playing both guitar and the baglama, he is now also working on his own projects as well as playing with Anat Edry’s band Jacob’s Knights.

With no discos, clubs or pubs available in Safed there is not a lot for young people to do in the city, unless they make their own entertainment. This is partly because of religious sensibilities and partly due to the economic situation in Safed. With the nearest bowling alley in Carmiel and a mainstream cinema far away in Nahariya, young people looking for a night out have to l

eave Safed. Once they start to do this on a regular basis they begin to realize that there are also

 greater work opportunities elsewhere, and then they tend to leave Safed permanently. This becomes a vicious circle as more and more young people follow their friends and leave for t

he bright lights of other cities.

Motti Maimon

One young man who is determined to make a difference and change the youth emigration from Safed is Motti Maimon. Motti’s family is very well known in Safed, and own many successful businesses. As well as running his own restaurant, Chima, in Har Canaan, Motti is also a well established DJ.

DJM

Diana Marcovitz was born and raised near Montreal, Canada. Born three minutes after her identical twin,

Diana has, as a result, spent her whole life struggling to express her own voice.

Early Years

As a young girl Diana studied piano and when she reached her teens she began playing the guitar. Very soon she was

America

At twenty-one she crossed the border and went south to New York. Singing her own material and maintaining a quirky style of humor, Diana soon attracted attention. She began to make a name for herself and within two years she was ‘discovered’ by John Hammond of Columbia Records and offered a recording contract. She then began to tour the country coast to coast together with artists like Billy Joel, Sha Na Na, and Al Stewart. They played a variety of venues in a circuit from Chicago to Los Angeles, and back to New York, a month at a time.

Israel

Although born and bred in Safed, Anat Edri moved to the bustling city of Tel Aviv at age 23. However, after ten years of living and working by the sea, she missed the mountains and decided to return to her home town.

Artist And Musician

A professional classical violinist in a symphony orchestra before coming to live in Israel 11 years ago, Chava Rachel Saban decided to change her musical track. Interested in jazz and improvisation, she began to play jazz music as well as take up the Irish

 fiddle. The musical freedom this gave enabled her to begin to improvise and compose her own music. As she tapped into her roots she gradu

ally became more observant and brought in more and more Jewish themes and melodies to her music.

Music And Prayer

These days she sees music as a form of prayer and feels that when she is singing and playing she is helping to bring about the promised Redemption of the Jewish people. She bases a lot of her songs and melodies on the Psalms and uses her music as a way for prayer and healing. Every Rosh Chodesh, the first day of the new Jewish month, as part of her religious practice, Chava R

achel invites women to join her with their instruments to play music and sing Hallel.

Recordings

Her style falls into the world/folk music genre but she is happy to use electronic effects in her recordings. Although as a religious Jewish woman she is not comfortable performing with or in front of men, she has recorded on their CD’s, e.g. Banjo Billy’s, as a different process is involved. As for her own recordings she writes and records a new CD every year or two.

Suzuki Method Music School

Having studied music from a young age with the well known Japanese Suzuki Method herself, Chava Rachel als

o runs a private school teaching violin and flute using this system.

Pupils learn by listening to recordings and listening to one another playing without having to read music. This makes it very easy for very young children to learn to play as they learn intuitively by ear, the way they learn to speak. The children feel that the instrument becomes like their voice so that any song children can sing, they can play. Chava Rachel has found that this method is most successful with extremely young children, and likes her students to start learning at as young as three.

Although it may take longer to learn initially than conventional methods, the children are not restricted by the

“dots” and therefore the whole world of music opens up to them. Chava Rachel encourages children to improvise and express themselves through music and some of them even end up composing their own songs.

Chava Rachel has adapted the method away from traditional western classical music to embrace Jewish music according to the season, so for example at Pessach time, the children will concentrate on Pessach songs, at Hanukah, Hanukah songs, and so on. She has recorded CD’s at three different levels, aleph, bet and gimmel, which the children use at home to practice. Students have a private lesson with her once a week and a group lesson once a month. She teaches girls of all ages and boys up to the age of Bar Mitzvah.

Women’s Workshops And Performances

Chava Rachel gives women and girls private and group voice training classes as well as running a variety of workshops in both Hebrew and English. During the Klezmer festival she likes to put on a women only concert, and the rest of the year performs for visiting women’s groups and seminaries at local hotels and other venues in the area.

Contact

For further information about classes, upcoming concerts and workshops contact:

Chava Rachel Saban 04 699 9651 or email: crysaban@netvision.net.il

If you want to hear really great classical music you don’t have to go all the way to Haifa or Tel Aviv. You can actually hear it right here in Safed at the Yigal Allon Cultural Center.

Subscription Series

During the winter from November to March there is a subscription series of classical concerts held at the Yigal Allon. This series brings well known prominent classical musicians, such as members of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and others, to Safed for a variety of concerts. This means that locals and residents of the north can hear great chamber music without having to travel to the center of the country. This year’s players included Roman Rabinovich, the winner of the 2008 Rubinstein Competition in a piano recital.

The Safed Music Festival

This classical music festival has been running in Safed for the last four years under the impetus and guidance

Master Classes

Every year the music festival has offered a series of Master classes and last year Safed was very privileged to have the distinguished British conductor Colin Metters presenting the classes.

Ada Pelleg