Bialik to get birthday concert at crossroads of east and west
The renowned poet’s 150th will be marked with Tel Aviv show of the Andalusian Orchestra, featuring singers Berry Sakharov, Rita, Ester Rada, Shlomi Shaban and others
Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
National poet Hayim Nahman Bialik was known for his Hebrew and Yiddish works, his contributions to the revival of the Hebrew language and his love of Israel and the Jewish people.
It’s very possible the Russian-born wordsmith would have been somewhat bemused by his 150th birthday party, being celebrated December 14 with a show led by the Israeli Andalusian Orchestra Ashdod at Tel Aviv’s Bronfman Auditorium.
The show is part of the Nigunim B’Tzedek festival, a three-day event that celebrates Jewish culture through Hebrew language, music and thought, offering new perspectives on Jewish culture and its practices around the globe.
The Bialik birthday event includes singers and performers Berry Sakharov, Rita, Shlomi Shaban, Ester Rada, Alon Oleartchick, Teddy Neguse, Clipa Theater and the Bat Kol Choir of the Tel Aviv Conservatory,
The evening combines Ashkenazi and Sephardic culture, a mashup of east and west.
Violinist Elad Levi, the new artistic director of the Andalusian Orchestra, acknowledged that the very Askenazi Bialik was not an automatic fit. But it’s not the first time this Ashdod-based group has put music to the poet’s texts.
“The way I see it, Bialik and his texts are part of Hebrew, Israeli culture and they’re open to translation. If you dress it differently, it sheds a different light,” Levi said.
The work of the Andalusian Orchestra tends to center around piyyut, or liturgical poetry, and the singers of that ancient form of music.
“My approach in the world of liturgical music is that the words are much more important than the music,” said Levi. “With Bialik, I want to think about what he meant and try to identify with it.”
That kind of approach makes Levi’s role slightly less complicated, he said.
Bialik’s texts were written during a time when “none of us — the musicians performing in this event — were alive, but I still find plenty that I can identify with,” he said.
He noted that the mashup is also typical of the Nigunim B’Tzedek event, which is marking its fourth year.
The festival’s producers are always looking for new ways to think about Israeli and Jewish culture, said Levi. “It’s never straightforward.”
Working with artists such as Rita and Sakharov along with Rada and Neguse offers a further interplay of east and west as well as of contemporary and historic styles, he added.
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