THE JERUSALEM INTERNATIONAL OUD FESTIVAL

18 October 2009

THE JERUSALEM INTERNATIONAL OUD FESTIVAL
CELEBRATES A DECADE
12-26 NOVEMBER 2009

The Jerusalem International Oud Festival, organized by the city’s Confederation House under the artistic direction of Effie Benaya, celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, with performances taking place in Jerusalem from 12-26 November and in Nazareth from 24-27 November. The festival draws artists and composers from all musical genres from Israel and overseas, making the distinct Mediterranean sounds of the oud accessible to a wide audience. Stars of Israeli, Jewish and Arab ethnic music appear alongside guest musicians from India, France and Mediterranean countries presenting a variety of musical heritages: religious and secular, Armenian and Byzantine, Gypsy and Babylonian, ancient and modern.
The festival continues the tradition of musical tributes to the poets of the Golden Age of Spain and the great artists of the Arab world, as well as presenting, for the first time, a unique aspect of Syrian musical tradition, alongside Greek, Turkish and other musical styles. Musical instruments featured in the concerts include the oud, zurna, duduk, trumpet, bass, violins, viola, cello, jumbush, clarinet, recorder, dahul, nai and energetic percussion.

The festival opens with a world premier entitled Who Knows One performed by the band Tractor’s Revenge in a tribute to the Spanish poet and Rabbi Yehuda Moshe Ibn Ezra, regarded as one of the literary giants of the Golden Age in Spain. Other concerts include Sounds from Syria, a tribute to Sabah Fakhri, performed by the Tarshiha Orchestra for Arabic Music; This Was What He Originally Intended..., unknown Piyyutim of Hebrew poet Rabbi Israel Najara; Debka Fantasy, an Israeli musical fantasy of the early days of Jewish settlement blending Eastern and Western music; Ad Adei Ad, a work composed specially for the festival based upon texts from Sefer ha-Yetzira, one of the foundations of Kabbalistic thought; a unique Encounter between Three Oud Players, Taiseer Elias, Ara Dinkjian and Yurdal Tokcan; and Iraq'n'Roll, which brings together two Israeli artists Yair Dalal and Dudu Tasa. There will be a concert by an Indian vocalist, Sudha Ragunathan, and another in tribute to three great Arab vocalists

The concert venues include the Confederation House, the Jerusalem Theater, the Gerard Behar Center, Beit Avihai and the Shimson Center-Beit Shmuel in Jerusalem and four concerts in Nazareth.

Information in English about the concerts and ticket sales: http://www.confederationhouse.org/