Souvenirs

Solo piano and voice, recorded to tape at home in Addis Ababa between 1977 and 1982. The singing feels conversational and private, and the piano, played in free meter, is rhapsodic and meditative. Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru, born in Ethopia in 1923, had a politically distinguished and tumultuous early life and became a nun at 21, composing and performing for several decades before passing away just short of her 100th birthday. This is the first publicly available album to feature her singing; her lyrics, delivered in Amharic, deal with nature, religion, and Ethiopia's political situation. (Find more of her wonderful work in the library under the spelling "Guebrou.") RIYL Saint Yared, Chopin, Arvo Pärt, Alice Coltrane's solo recordings, Girma Yifrashewa. Favorites: 1, 4, 6. No FCCs.

1. *(5:10)—Slow. Rolling, flowing piano. Gentle. "Clouds moving on the sky / my heart has never stopped missing home."
2. (3:29)—Slow, but with a more forceful staccato feel. "Across this Nile isn't there another Nile? / Aren't death and separation the same?"
3. (5:07)—Faster-paced, exuberant. "I couldn't see my country's sky / Have I really gone so far?"
4. *(4:03)—Choppy piano chords provide a faster rhythmic base on this song, which was previously released in instrumental form. "Let go of your sorrow / You are still young."
5. (5:07)—Upbeat, patriotic. "Ethiopia my motherland / let no one challenge you."
6. *(3:57)—Lots of fluctuations in speed, but serene. "Thought, who are you? / You never get tired / No matter how far you travel / you never run out of ways."
7. (3:31)—Slower, but with a similar patriotic spirit as track 5. "You went overseas / to complete your studies / You have obligations / don't forget your country."
8. (5:52)—Stately and declarative in a way that makes this feel like a companion to track 7. "My Lord, let your light shine / let doubt turn to dust."