Jerusalem

Solo piano, blending influences from Ethiopian Orthodox liturgical and Western classical music. These compositions are melodic, intimate, deeply poignant, rhythmically light on their feet, and absolutely radiant. Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru was born in Ethiopia in 1923, and after a dramatic early life she became a nun, settling in Addis Ababa and then Jerusalem, where she passed away in March 2023 at the age of 99. Compiled in close collaboration with her namesake foundation and released the month after her death, this album collects previously unavailable and extremely hard-to-find recordings from the 70s and 80s, most of them recorded at home. (Look for more of her music in the library under the spelling "Guebrou.") RIYL Saint Yared, Debussy, Satie, Girma Yifrashewa. Favorites: 2, 3, 4, 5. No FCCs.

1. (3:01)—Mid-tempo. Big, dramatic chords.
2. *(3:52)—Medium-slow. Rising see-saw melodies, peaceful.
3. *(5:29)—Medium-fast, complex but steady.
4. *(1:59)—Mid-tempo, soothing and full of unexpected chord changes.
5. *(3:20)—Mid-tempo, jaunty. Vocals! Gebru sings informally in French about the sea. Lovely.
6. (2:32)—Medium-fast, with a bouncy, vamping feel.
7. (3:34)—Medium-fast, intense and pulsing.
8. (5:44)—Medium-fast, urgent, dedicated to the memory of her brother.
9. (3:55)—Medium-fast, tense and dramatic, about leaving home for a faraway land.
10. (1:42)—Medium-fast, bright and upbeat.