Musical Recommendations from Inbal Hever, Middle School Hebrew Teacher
We’ll be featuring two musical pieces weekly, one Hebrew, one classical; sometimes well-known, at times perhaps more surprising. Music is that art that knows no boundaries, even when we sit in one place. Hopefully the list that will unfold in the following weeks will allow us some listening together.
(Connecting your devices to a sound system, or alternatively listening with headphones, is recommended)
Mishirei Eretz Ahavati (משירי ארץ אהבתי) is a poem by Leah Goldberg, set to music by Dafna Eilat. Here in the classic recording of Chava Alberstein (1970). This is a nostalgia song for her country. Contrary to a common assumption, Goldberg hasn’t written the poem about Eretz Israel, but about her homeland Lithuania.
This is the 3rd Symphonie of four written by Johann Brahms. Here, Claudio Abbado conducts the 3rd movement with the Berlin Philharmonic. The Symphonie, and this lyrical movement in particular, has a round and warm sound and is considered a very romantic and mature piece of Brahms.
I think that no Israeli would contest that Atur Mitzchech (מצחך עטור) is one of the most romantic love songs written in modern Hebrew. The words were written by Avraham Halfi (1904-1980), and were set to music by Yoni Rechter (1951 -). Here is the famous performance of the song by Arik Einstein (1939-2013), accompanied by Yehudit Ravitz and Corinne Allal.
Passacaglia by Johan Halvorsen (1864-1935), after Georg Frideric Handel
Itzhak Perlman (violin) and Pinchas Zukerman (viola) performing at the 60th anniversary gala of the Israel Philharmonic in 1997.