Despite some hiccups caused by the war and trepidation of international performers to come to Israel, the Jerusalem International Oud Festival is set to open on November 6.
“Obviously, there had to be changes,” Effie Benaya, director of the festival, told The Jerusalem Post.
“Normally, we open with a major new work, often based on a traditional Hebrew text, such as the Song of Songs or the poetry of Ibn Gvirol. But this year, I had invited a Greek musician with roots in Greece, Syria, and Armenia. He agreed to perform, and he would have done so, but, despite the revolution in Syria, he canceled. Since he has family in Syria, the war situation made him apprehensive, and he was being threatened, so he withdrew.”
Local hero Ehud
Benaya explained that because it usually requires about a year to arrange the lead performance from abroad, he turned to the tried-and-true – local hero Ehud Banai.
“He’s very much into Mediterranean music while open to other folk and world idioms. He actually wanted to do a session of blues, which was OK by me. So then I suggested he invite a guest to play blues. He agreed to ask Shalom Hanoch, who is among the best Israeli blues players. Shalom agreed, and so we have these two talented musicians for our improvised opening of the festival.”
Other foreign acts proved just as difficult. “Three groups who promised to arrive canceled, one of them just a month ago. But the Indian group Guru Ravikiran, which is not known in Israel, is coming. Their leader, Ravikiran, plays on an unusual instrument called the chitravina, a 21-stringed instrument, a little like a canun. He is known as the Mozart of classical Indian music.
Of his playing, Ravi Shankar said: “If you don’t believe in God, listen to Ravikiran.” He appears with a young violinist and a percussionist. So we at least have one group from India, which provides us with musicians almost every festival.”
Premiering new works
Continuing with the festival tradition of premiering new works, the well-known local band Nikmat Hatraktor is offering works based on the writings of Moshe Ibn Ezra from 11th-century Granada in Spain during the golden age of Spanish Jewry.
“This was similar to something we had done 15 years ago when I brought in Yoni Rechter and his new work based on Pirkei Avot. In this way, I’ve tried to mix the old and the new, to give a sense of a continuity within the festival.”
Nikmat Hatraktor is appearing in the newly built National Library of Israel, which is also a first for the festival, as is the auditorium at Yad Ben-Zvi. These are being used in addition to the more usual locations at the Confederation House and the Jerusalem Theater.
Other performances include Bustan Avraham, one of the oldest groups of world music in Israel. Appearing this time with less than their maximum lineup, they are led by Taiseer Elias, a professor of musicology at the University of Haifa, who is known internationally for his work with both Arab and Jewish musicians. He was among the founders of the Bustan Avraham group, which includes both Arab and Jews.
For this festival, however, the Arab members did not want to appear.
Yair Dalal turns 70
Another long-standing musician and an established figure in the festival, Yair Dalal, celebrates his 70th birthday with his appearance. He will be celebrating his birthday by playing some of his first album, The Way of Incense (Derech Besamim), which reflects Dalal’s excursions into India, the Persian Gulf, and the Mediterranean basin. He, too, sees music as a model for peace throughout the region. In addition, he introduces Dudu Tassa and his Friends, a very popular folk-rock ensemble.
A real innovation in this year’s festival is a dance group. Benaya explains his motivation. “I have always insisted on the inclusion of traditional Arab music. But this year I excised such programs and included a dance group instead, Al-Atlat (The Ruins), which uses modern dance routines to the background of Arab music. In this iteration, they are dancing to one song of the best-known Egyptian singer, Umm Kulthum.”
Israel Borochov is a familiar figure to those who have followed the oriental style of Israeli music. Israel is well known thanks to the part he played in the East-West Ensemble and in the Habrera Hativeet of Shlomo Bar. Now, aged 75, he is joined by members of his family plus other musicians, including Ravid Kahalani, combining ancient mystical music with contemporary tropes.
These are just some of the highlights of this year’s festival. Other performances include a Balkan choir of women (Ensemble Ye’arot), who sing Balkan music, and Gilad Hazan, who combines Iraqi, Andalusian, Egyptian, and Turkish-Anatolian styles that he has been playing for 20 years or more. This will be his first time at the festival.
Rounding off with Poliker
Last, but no less important, will be the final act rounding off the festival: Yehuda Poliker, who, despite his music being truly Mediterranean, had never appeared in the festival. Benaya suggested that he celebrate 40 years since his first record (Einayim Sheli), in which Greek songs were translated into Hebrew, and which showed how much Poliker had been influenced by Greek music.
Benaya pointed to the fact that oud music has now become international. This has allowed him to include a wide range of musical styles, far beyond earlier festivals.
The festival runs November 6-13.