11/12/2019
Emile Jonas (1827-1905), from the Portuguese Synagogue to the Operetta, and from there to the Imperial Guard
Born into a Jewish family in Paris on March 5, 1827, Emile Jonas left his mark on his era, composing works for both synagogue and opera …
23/05/2019
The music of the Ethiopian Jews, the Beta Israel
A historic, liturgic and musicologic analysis of the music of the Beta Israel, inspired from the works by Simha Arom, Frank Alvarez-Pereyre, Shoshana Ben-Dor and Olivier Tourny …
19/12/2018
The hora
A dance from the pioneers, which is today emblematic of bar-mitsvas, weddings and other Jewish celebrations of the diaspora. Originally, the hora was a slow dance often practiced in Romania, by Jews and non-Jews. At the start of the 20th century, it arrived in Palestine where it was transformed into a collective and joyous circle dance, quickly becoming the emblematic dance of the first kibbutzniks. …
19/12/2018
Rock, hard-rock, metal, punk and Jewish music
At first, they look like very different musical styles, but when you look deeper, you can find several similarities which can allow fusion, and even a “transe-fusion”… …
21/02/2018
The Purim Shpil
The Purim Shpil – etymologically “Purim play” in Yiddish – is a satirical performance that blends theater, music, dance, songs, mimes and disguises.The origin of this custom is intimately related …
15/02/2018
Psalms and psalmodies
Traditionally attributed to King David, the 150 poetic texts that make up the book of Psalms, however, have a more uncertain origin: it would probably be a set of poems …
28/11/2017
The BUND and Yiddish revolutionary songs
The General Jewish Labour Bund in Lithuania, Poland and Russia, generally called The Bund, was a secular Jewish socialist party in the Russian Empire, active between 1897 and 1920 …
11/01/2017
Baroque Jewish Music
Unlike various popular beliefs, Jews from Italy, Provence or even Amsterdam had a perfect knowledge concerning Art Music in the Christian world. Young Italian Jews in the 15th century went …
