If you are one of the folks who like their regular blasts from the past, and feel a strong bond with the roots of popular Israeli music, Yemei Zemer (Days of Song) is for you. The festival is taking place for the 29th year at the Holon Theater April 24-27 and, as usual, is packed with veterans of the scene and an abundance of tributes to some of the stalwarts of the local entertainment industry.
The likes of 76-year-old singer-actor Sassi Keshet and 80-year-old songwriter Yair Klinger get impressive salutes in Holon, and there are posthumous kudos for Israel Prize laureate songstress Yaffa Yarkoni, crooner Arik Lavi, vocalist Ilana Rovina and her feted poet-lyricist dad Alexander Penn, and songwriter, screenwriter and broadcaster Amos Ettinger, who died just last December. Add to that nods to the work of singer, actress and writer Suki Lahav, 1970s seminal pop-rock band Kaveret (hive) and close harmony folk-pop duo The Parvarim (suburbs), and you have yourself a pretty extensive high-quality dip into lauded yesteryear seams.
Artistic director Neomi Attias fully subscribes to the notion that the festival offers more than a whiff of “good old beautiful Israel.”
Sustaining Israeli music
“Throughout its life, the festival has worked to sustain Israeli music, across the generations, regardless of what is currently taking place,” she says with more than a subtle reference to the tragic events of October 7 and their ongoing aftermath. “This year we removed the name ‘festival’ from the heading as we did not want to create an ambiance of festivity while people are still experiencing deep distress and heartbreak, so we just called ‘Yemei Zemer.’”
The Great Israeli Songbook is, sadly, chock-full of numbers that were inspired by war and loss. Some of them will be performed over at the Holon Theater, and Attias says there are curative benefits to their inclusion in the festival agenda. “Music certainly offers healing for the soul. Hebrew song can help us to overcome much pain and emotional suffering.”
The artistic director has the street-level evidence for that, at close quarters. “I met Adva Grushka, a bereaved mother, at a rehearsal for the Yair Klinger show (April 25). She is a member of Raananim Ensemble,” which is due to participate in the concert, “and she sings together with everyone. You can see that the singing, and the music, help her a lot. Her husband, the accordionist Yossi Grushka, also performs a lot, and we spoke a lot about how that helps them escape from their gloomy thoughts.”
OVER THE past close to three decades, Yemei Zemer has attracted audiences of all ages, not just seniors – albeit the majority – looking to revive cherished memories of their salad days. Attias feels that is down to the quality of the sonic offerings, regardless of where they sit along the Israeli cultural timeline.
“We engage in music and texts of Israeli music across the generations, not entertainment,” she says. “Each year we mark the birthdays of musicians or lyricists-poets. We don’t choose the artists on the basis of their age, rather because of their sonic compatibility with the songs.” Mass appeal also comes into the selection equation. “We also look at how much the public loves them and how they connect with the theme of the evening in question.”
Attias believes that Yemei Zemer does not just shine a well-earned spotlight on our musical titans, but also has a role to play in the ongoing evolution of the art form. “To an extent, we don’t just reflect the history of Israeli song – we create it through our productions,” the artistic director says. “And, as we video most of the shows, we also hope that it will help to preserve Israeli song from over the years. Our goal is to document and sustain as much material as possible, so it doesn’t vanish.”
With the likes of A-lister singer-pianist Shlomi Shaban, vocalist Asaf Amdursky, 78-year-old multidisciplinary entertainer Tuvia Tzafir, vocalists Keren Hadar and Yardena Arazi, and all-female pop trio Sexta in the lineup, that commendable objective should be met with aplomb this year, too.
For tickets and more information: (03) 502-3001 and www.zemer-festival.co.il
