|
|
Emil ZrihanAshkelon (1999 - Piranha) Emil Zrihan is a Sephardic native of Rabat, Morocco, and cantor of the synagogue in Ashkelon, Israel. On this recording, he is backed by an ensemble of ud, violin, accordion, darabouka, percussion, guitar and bass, in a selection of songs from traditional Moroccan and Judeo-Moroccan heritage.
|
|
Reviewed in RootsWorld In 1492, Ferdinand and Isabella drove the Moors from the Iberian peninsula, and then followed up by expelling the substantial Sephardic Jewish population, whose 15-century presence dated to the Roman imperial era. The Sephardic diaspora reached Holland, England, Portugal, and around the Mediterranean to Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and the Ottoman Empire (including modern-day Turkey, Greece, the Balkans, Egypt, Israel and Palestine). Notably, from the time of Moorish occupation (711 AD) peaceful Sephardic co-residence with Muslims in Andalusia had fostered a dynamic artistic, intellectual and material interaction whose effects remain manifest in the music of Spain and North Africa today. Such is the music of counter-tenor Emil Zrihan, a Sephardic native of Rabat, Morocco, and presently the cantor of the main synagogue in Ashkelon, Israel. Accompanied by oud, violin, accordion, darabouka (ceramic or metal goblet drum), percussion, flamenco-style guitar and bass, Zrihan exhibits a startling vocal range in an eloquent, rhythmically sinuous repertoire of traditional Moroccan and Judeo-Moroccan songs. Included are several mawal, ardent vocal and instrumental improvisations expressing intense longing, desire, devotion or sorrow. For aficionados of the intersection and diffusion of Arabic and Andalusian musical traditions, Emil Zrihan powerfully conveys a sense of the abiding musical kinship between the cultural legacies of Spain and North Africa, considerably nurtured for over a half millennium through the vitality of the Sephardic diaspora. - Michael Stone
|
Other recordings you might like:
|
|
Please note!
Most CDs have been
imported from Europe or Asia.
They are not all
shrink-wrapped, and I am not
going to con you by wrapping them
here just to make you think they
have been sterilized in America.
We guarantee that the CDs and the
contents are all brand new and in
perfect condition. Whenever I
can, I use recycled shipping
materials. They may not look as
pretty on the outside, but they save
money and keep the trash dumps a
little bit emptier.
|
