RE: Ethiopian Jewish music

[Katie Marcus <kmarcus...>]

The Beta Israel children's choir is The Sheba Choir.  Their cd is "Shlomo 
Gronich and the Sheba Choir."  It's a wonderful recording.  Not traditional 
Beta Israel music though, I believe most of it was written by Beta Israel 
authors living in Israel, and the tunes are very modern.   Some of the songs 
have amharic lyrics, in addition to Hebrew and English.  When the Sheba Choir 
performs live they do some traditional songs.



Katie Marcus
Program Coordinator
Jewish Life & Learning
Jewish Community Center of Metro Detroit
6600 West Maple Road
West Bloomfield, MI 48322
(248) 432-5470
(248) 432-5552 (FAX)


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org
[  <mailto:owner-jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org> mailto:owner-jewish-music 
(at) shamash(dot)org]On Behalf Of Judith Cohen
Sent: Friday, December 13, 2002 9:39 AM
To: World music from a Jewish slant
Subject: Ethiopian Jewish music


hi, I couldn't seem to find the "music" part of the messages headed "Falasha"
music. The first recording I know of , of Beta Israel music, was on a Folkways
LP. Then in the 70s Kay Shelemay did intensive on-the-spot research with them,
and published two books: first a version of her very technical dissertation,
and then a lovely short book called "A Song of Longing", which I highly
recommend (nothing wrong with the first one either, but they're two veru
different approaches). Kay did her work with the men's music, the liturgical
and para-liturgical traditions: women are barely mentioned. A couple of women -
very young women - sing , as I remember, at least one improvised song about how
they left Ethiopia without family, on an Ocora LP recorded in Israel in the
80s.  I've done a little fieldwork with the small community in Montreal, on
song, dance and instruments. I don't know about any studies which have focused
on Beta Israel WOMEN.
There's also a childrens Beta Israel choir in Israel, or was at some point, and
they may have issued a recoridng. I'm out of town, so haven't access to my
files. Judith