Chava Alberstein
| Chava Alberstein | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Born |
December 8, 1947 Szczecin, Poland |
| Origin | Kiryat Haim, Israel |
| Genres |
Folk Folk rock Yiddish |
| Years active | 1964–present |
| Labels |
CBS NMC Rounder Records Auvidis EMI Shanachie Media Directs |
| Website | http://aviv2.com/chava/ |
Chava Alberstein (Hebrew: חוה אלברשטיין, born December 8, 1947, in Szczecin, Poland) is an Israeli singer, lyricist, composer, and musical arranger.
Biography
Chava Alberstein, born in Szczecin, Poland, moved to Israel with her family in 1950.[1] She grew up in Kiryat Haim.
In 1964, when she was 17, she was invited to appear at the Hammam Nightclub in Jaffa. She sang four songs accompanied by herself on guitar and her brother Alex on the clarinet.[2] The program was broadcast live on the radio. After a guest appearance on Moadon Hazemer, recorded on Kibbutz Beit Alfa, she signed a recording contract with CBS.[2] Early in her career, she appeared at the Amami Cinema in Haifa's Neve Sha'anan neighborhood. Haaretz columnist Neri Livneh describes her as "a little slip of a thing in a blue youth movement shirt, her face covered by huge glasses".[3]
Alberstein was drafted into the Israel Defense Forces in 1965, and became one of many Israeli artists to rise to stardom by entertaining the troops.[citation needed]
Musical career
Alberstein has released more than 60 albums. She has recorded in Hebrew, English and Yiddish. In 1980, Alberstein began to write and compose. Most of the songs on her album Mehagrim (Immigrants) are her own work.[2] Alberstein's husband is the filmmaker Nadav Levitan, who wrote the lyrics for her "End of the Holiday" album. In 1986 she wrote music for Levitan's film Stalin's Disciples.[4] Her songs have been included in a number of multi-artist collections, among them "Songs of The Vilna Ghetto" and "The Hidden Gate – Jewish Music Around the World".
Critical acclaim
According to Israel's second largest daily newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, Alberstein is the most important female folk singer in Israel history:[5]
If [Israel has] a true folk singer, it is Chava Alberstein.
Political views and controversy
Alberstein is a champion of liberal causes. Throughout her career she has been an activist for human rights and Arab-Israeli unity.[1] In 1989, Alberstein's song Had Gadya (a spin-off on a traditional song Chad Gadya, which is sung at the Passover seder[6]) in which she criticizes Israel's policy towards Palestinians, was banned by Israel State Radio.[4][7][8] The song was later used in the film Free Zone by director Amos Gitai in Natalie Portman's 7-minute crying scene.[9]
Alberstein is also a champion of the Yiddish language both in her recordings and in a video titled "Too Early To Be Quiet, Too Late To Sing",[10] which showcases the works of Yiddish poets.
Awards
Alberstein won the Kinor David (David's Harp) Prize.
In 2005, she was voted the 93rd-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis.[11]
Quotes
- "Even though I have lived in Israel nearly my entire life, I am constantly questioning my place in the world. Maybe this searching comes from being an artist, maybe it comes from being a Jew. I'm not really sure."[12]
Discography
| Number | Album Name | (English) | Release Date | Language | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hine Lanu Nigun | Here We Have a Tune | 1967 | Yiddish | |
| 2 | Perach haLilach | Lilac Flower | 1967 | Hebrew | |
| 3 | Tza'atzueiah shel Osnat | Osnat's Toys | 1967 | Hebrew | |
| 4 | Mirdaf | The Chase | 1970 | Hebrew | gold[10] |
| 5 | Mot haParpar | Death of the Butterfly | 1968 | Hebrew | |
| 6 | Chava Alberstein beShirei Rachel | Songs of Rachel | 1969 | Hebrew | |
| 7 | Margaritkalach | Daisies | 1969 | Yiddish | |
| 8 | Mishirei eretz ahavati | Songs of My Beloved Country | 1970 | Hebrew | |
| 9 | Chava beTochnit Yachid 1 | One Woman Show 1 | 1971 | ||
| 10 | Chava beTochnit Yachid 2 | One Woman Show 2 | 1971 | ||
| 11 | Isha ba'Avatiach | A Woman in a Watermelon | 1971 | Hebrew | |
| 12 | Chava vehaPlatina | Chava and the Platina Jazz band | 1974 | ||
| 13 | Chava veOded be'Eretz haKsamim | Magic Land | 1972 | ||
| 14 | Lu Yehi | Let it be | 1973 | Hebrew | |
| 15 | K'mo Tzemach bar | Like a wild flower | 1975 | Hebrew | |
| 16 | Lehitei haZahav | Golden hits | 1975 | Hebrew | gold[10] |
| 17 | Tzolelet Tzabarit | Sabra Submarine | 1975[10] or 1976[13] | ||
| 18 | Elik Belik Bom | 1976 | |||
| 19 | Halaila hu shirim | The Night Is Songs | 1977 | Hebrew | |
| 20 | Karusella 1 | Carousel 1 | 1977 | ||
| 21 | Karusella 2 | Carousel 2 | 1977 | ||
| 22 | Karusella 3 | Carousel 3 | 1977 | ||
| 23 | Shirei Am beYiddish | Yiddish folk songs | 1977 | Yiddish | |
| 24 | Hitbaharut | Clearing | 1978 | ||
| 25 | Chava vehaGitara | Chava and the guitar | 1978 | ||
| 26 | Chava Zingt Yiddish | Chava Sings Yiddish | 1979 | Yiddish | |
| 27 | Ma Kara ba'Eretz Mi | What Happened in the Land of Who | 1979 | ||
| 28 | Ani Holechet Elai | I Go to Me | 1980 | ||
| 29 | Shir beMatana | A Gift of Songs | 1980 | ||
| 30 | Kolot | Voices | 1982 | ||
| 31 | Shiru Shir im Chava | Sing a song with Chava | 1982 | ||
| 32 | Nemal Bayit | At Home | 1983 | gold | |
| 33 | Avak shel kochavim | Stardust | 1984 | ||
| 34 | Mehagrim | Immigrants | 1986 | ||
| 35 | Od Shirim beYiddish | More Songs in Yiddish | 1987 | Yiddish | |
| 36 | HaTzorech baMilah, haTzorech baShtika | Word And Silence | 1988 | ||
| 37 | London | 1989 | |||
| 38 | MiShirei Eretz Ahavati | Songs of my Beloved Country | 1990 | Hebrew | |
| 39 | Ahava Mealteret | Improvised Love | 1991 | Hebrew | gold |
| 40 | HaChita Zomachat Shuv | The Wheat Grows Again | 1992 | Hebrew | |
| 41 | The Man I Love | 1992 | |||
| 42 | Margaritkalach | Daisies | 1994 | Yiddish | |
| 43 | Derech Achat | One Way | 1995 | ||
| 44 | London beHofaah | London – Live | 1995 | ||
| 45 | Yonat ha'Ahava | The Dove of Love | 1996 | Hebrew | |
| 46 | Adaber Itcha | I Will Talk to You | 1997 | Hebrew | |
| 47 | The Collection (box set) | 1998 | Hebrew | gold | |
| 48 | Crazy Flower | 1998 | Hebrew | ||
| 49 | The Well – With The Klezmatics | 1998 | Yiddish | ||
| 50 | Chava Alberstein – Yiddish Songs | 1999 | Yiddish | ||
| 51 | Tekhef Ashuv | Be Right Back | 1999 | Hebrew | |
| 52 | Children's songs – The Collection | 2000 | Hebrew | ||
| 53 | Foreign Letters | 2001 December | |||
| 54 | The Early Years – The Box Set | 2003 | |||
| 55 | End of the Holiday | 2004 | Hebrew | ||
| 56 | Coconut | 2005 | Hebrew | ||
| 57 | Like a Wild Flower (New Version) | ||||
| 58 | Lemele | 2006 | |||
| 59 | The Milky Way – Songs for Children | 2007 | |||
| 60 | Human Nature | 2008 | |||
| 61 | live – from Alberstein's live concert | 2008 | |||
| 62 | Chava Alberstein – the original albums – four collection CD set | 2008 |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Richard Nidel (2005). World music: The basics. Routledge.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Chava Alberstein bio
- ↑ Haaretz
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Dorůžka, Petr (October 2008). "Chava Aberstein má ráda izraelskou poušť". Harmonie (10). pp. 18–21. (Czech)
- ↑ "Chava Alberstein". Aviv Productions, Ltd. December 11, 2001. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
- ↑ "Adam Zarek – Chad Gadya". Chatrh.org. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
- ↑ "Israel: Chava Alberstein banned". Freemuse. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
- ↑ "Chava Alberstein: Multilingual Folkie". My Jewish Learning. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
- ↑ Michael Guillen (July 27, 2006). "2006 SFJFF (San Francisco Jewish Film Festival) — Interview With Amos Gitaï". twitchfilm.net.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 "Chava Alberstein". Aviv Productions, Ltd. December 11, 2001. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
- ↑ Guy Beniovich (June 20, 1995). "הישראלי מספר 1: יצחק רבין – תרבות ובידור" [Israeli number one: Yitzhak Rabin]. Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved July 10, 2011.
- ↑ "Alberstein, Chava (1947–) – Personal History, Influences and Contributions, The First Years (1967–69), Biographical Highlights, Personal Chronology:, The 1970s – Album, Songs, Music, Yiddish, Israeli, and Musical". Encyclopedia.jrank.org. December 8, 1947. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
- ↑ "Dartmouth Jewish Sound Archive". Dartmouth.edu. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
External links
- Chava Alberstein at the Internet Movie Database
- Chava at Aviv Productions
- Chava Albertstein, Israeli Singer and Peace Activist (NPR Interview)
- Chava Alberstein at MOOMA (Hebrew)
- Alberstein, Chava (1947–) – Personal history, Influences and contributions, The first years (1967–69, Biographical highlights, Personal chronology, The 1970s)
- Nathan Shahar, Chava Alberstein, Jewish Women Encyclopedia
- http://www.natureculture.org/wiki/index.php?title=Chava_Alberstein
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