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My first exposure to authentic Spanish music and to music of the Jews of Spain was in 1992 during my visit with Noam Sheriff in Toledo for the performance of his composition” Sephardic Passion”. As the daughter of parents of Polish descent who was educated solely on the music of central Europe, I was not especially attracted to Spanish music and to music of the Jews of Spain, despite the fact that as a native Israeli I had many opportunities to listen to that kind of music.
And here, in an instant, during my visit, I was drawn into the world that was so strange and new to me.
With all eyes and ears I sat for hours at Flamenco shows in Madrid. With unexplained excitement I walked about the streets of Toledo and felt a strange kind of belonging.
Since then unfortunately I have not had the opportunity to visit Spain but the chemistry with the place is always within me. However, until now I have not used Spanish motives in my compositions, despite the fact that during my married life with Noam Sheriff I have been, through him, exposed to this music, whether through his compositions or by listening to composers who wrote Spanish style music, which he especially enjoys.
When the Ra'anana Symphonette has asked me to write a composition for the outstanding and special singer Yasmin Levy I asked myself if I was the person suitable to write this kind of a composition.
This is where the unrelenting nature of Orit Fogel, the director of the Ra'anana Symphonette, came to the fore. She "dragged" me off to a performance of Yasmin Levy and said that "dafka" me, the "Polish origin woman" must write a composition for her- not the obvious, not all those who are anyhow involved with this kind of music. "Dafka" you, who comes from a different world, will succeed to find a connection between the authenticity of Yasmin and the traditional symphony orchestra, she said.
Yasmin Levy’s singing of the Jewish prayer "A Crown they shall give unto You" from the "Mussaf" Service" and Yom Kippur prayer is what inspired me to write the composition. In this prayer, so touchingly performed by Yasmin, I found the thread that binds my world and hers together. I found in the musical themes of the prayer, the musical elements that I will use in my composition.
When I was asked to also introduce the "Solea" (traditional flamenco rhythm) which Yasmin sings with her group into the composition, I decided to try and make a combination that will not harm their freedom. I used elements from the flamenco song and I built them into a rhythm that reminds us of the Spanish music but does not try to imitate it.
I decided to also include the Ladino song "Noches Noches" (nights nights). This song was given to me while working on the composition. It is taken from the book of romances by the late Yitzhak Levy. Jasmine Levy’s father Yitzhak Levy collected and researched the Ladino music his whole life. When I looked at the wonderful song I decided immediately to include it in the composition and thereby to give Yasmin and myself the opportunity to honor her father.
The composition is made up of 3 parts. The first part is dedicated to the prayer "Keter Yitnu Lecha". Then, straight afterwards, appear elements from the Ladino song "Noches Noches" that burst out into Spanish like music that is based on musical elements taken from the Solea-flamenco "Noches, Noches".
The writing of the composition for Yasmin was much easier for me than I thought it would be. Suddenly I felt more sabre then ever before, all the Israeliness in me, all the music that I absorbed here since I was born returned and came out. The rhythms of our language and the energy of our country were planted in me and found their expression in this composition.
Ella Milch-Sheriff
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