The Jerusalem International Oud Festival celebrates a decade
2 Nov 2009
The tenth annual Jerusalem International Oud Festival will be held between
12-26 November 2009 in Jerusalem and Nazareth.
10th Annual Jerusalem Oud Festival (Photo courtesy Ministry of Tourism)
(Communicated by the Ministry of Tourism Spokesperson)
The Jerusalem International Oud Festival, organized by the city’s
Confederation House under the artistic direction of Effie Benaya,
celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, with performances taking
place in Jerusalem from 12-26 November and in Nazareth from 24-27
November.
The festival draws artists and composers from all musical genres from
Israel and overseas, making the distinct Mediterranean sounds of the
oud accessible to a wide audience. Stars of Israeli, Jewish and Arab
ethnic music appear alongside guest musicians from India, France and
Mediterranean countries presenting a variety of musical heritages:
religious and secular, Armenian and Byzantine, Gypsy and Babylonian,
ancient and modern.
The festival continues the tradition of musical tributes to the poets
of the Golden Age of Spain and the great artists of the Arab world, as
well as presenting, for the first time, a unique aspect of Syrian
musical tradition, alongside Greek, Turkish and other musical
styles. Musical instruments featured in the concerts include the oud,
zurna, duduk, trumpet, bass, violins, viola, cello, jumbush, clarinet,
recorder, dahul, nai and energetic percussion.
The festival opens with a world premier entitled Who Knows One
performed by the band Tractor’s Revenge in a tribute to the Spanish
poet and Rabbi Yehuda Moshe Ibn Ezra, regarded as one of the literary
giants of the Golden Age in Spain.
Other concerts include Sounds from Syria, a tribute to Sabah Fakhri,
performed by the Tarshiha Orchestra for Arabic Music; This Was What He
Originally Intended…, unknown Piyyutim of Hebrew poet Rabbi Israel
Najara; Debka Fantasy, an Israeli musical fantasy of the early days of
Jewish settlement blending Eastern and Western music; Ad Adei Ad, a
work composed specially for the festival based upon texts from Sefer
ha-Yetzira, one of the foundations of Kabbalistic thought; a unique
Encounter between Three Oud Players, Taiseer Elias, Ara Dinkjian and
Yurdal Tokcan; and Iraq’n’Roll, which brings together two Israeli
artists Yair Dalal and Dudu Tasa. There will be a concert by an
Indian vocalist, Sudha Ragunathan, and another in tribute to three
great Arab vocalists
The concert venues include the Confederation House, the Jerusalem
Theater, the Gerard Behar Center, Beit Avihai and the Shimson
Center-Beit Shmuel in Jerusalem and four concerts in Nazareth.
Information in English about the concerts and ticket sales:
gov.il/MFA/Israel+beyond+politics/10th-annual-Jeru salem-International-Oud-Festival-2-Nov-2009.htm?Di splayMode=3Dprint