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Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou

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Emahoy
Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou
Born
Yewubdar Guèbrou

(1923-12-12)12 December 1923
Addis Ababa, Ethiopian Empire
Died26 March 2023(2023-03-26) (aged 99)
West Jerusalem, Israel
Occupations
  • Composer
  • pianist
  • nun
Years active1967–2008

Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou (Gəʿəz ጽጌ ማርያም ገብሩ; born Yewubdar Guèbrou, 12 December 1923 – 26 March 2023) was an Ethiopian composer, pianist, and nun.[1] She is generally known as Emahoy, a religious honorific.[2]

Biography

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1920s-1950s

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Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam was born as Yewubdar Guèbrou in Addis Ababa, on 12 December 1923, to a wealthy Amhara family. Her given name Yewubdar means the most beautiful one in Amharic. Her father, named Kentiba Gebru Desta, was a diplomat and the mayor of the historical city of Gondar. Her mother, Kassaye Yelemtu, was equally a woman of affluent class.[3] In 1929, she was sent with her sister, Senedu Gebru,[3] to a boarding school in Basel, Switzerland, where she studied both piano and the violin. At the time, they were the first Ethiopian girls to receive education overseas.[4] In 1933, Emahoy returned to Ethiopia, attending Empress Menen Secondary School.[3][5][6][7]

During the Second Italo-Ethiopian War (1935–1937), she and her family were prisoners of war and were sent by the Italians to the prison camp on the Italian island of Asinara and later to Mercogliano, near Naples. Three of her family members were murdered during this time period.[8]After the war, Emahoy studied under the Polish-Jewish violinist, Alexander Kontorowicz, in Cairo. She returned to Adis Ababa because hot climate in Cairo was making her ill. Her teacher Alexander Kontorowicz, returned with her. [9] He was selected as head of the Imperial Guard band by Emperor Haile Selassie, someone Emahoy would also perform her piano compositions for.[10] During this time, Emahoy also became the first ever female secretary to work the ministry of foreign affairs in Ethiopia.[10] When senior official members surrounding Emperor Selassie were opposed to Emahoy's travels, her next one being to London to attend the Royal Academy of Music, she was denied permission to go.[10] In light of this decision, Emahoy decided to become a nun in 1944, spending a decade living in a hilltop monastery in Addis Ababa, taking the title Emahoy and the religious name Tsegué-Maryam.[11][12]

1960s-1970s

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She left the Addis Ababa convent and returned to her family where she composed music for the violin, piano and organ.[13] With the help of Haile Selassie, her first record was released in Germany, in 1967.[14] She wrote music in Germany during this time period in order to raise funds for homeless children.[15]

1980s-2023

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In 1984 her mother died and she fled Ethiopia, settling in the Kidane Mehret Church in West Jerusalem, where she spent the rest of her life.[16]

Emahoy died on the 26th of March 2023 in Jerusalem, at the age of 99.[17][18] Her funeral was held at the Kidane Mehret Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Jerusalem, on the 31st of March 2023, where a piano which had belonged to her was played in tribute.[19]

Legacy

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In 2007, The Emahoy Tsege Mariam Music Foundation was set up to help children in need, both in Africa and in the Washington, D.C. metro area, to study music by way of scholarships, camps, and various music-oriented programs.[20]

In 2017, BBC Radio 4 released a audio documentary on Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam's life entitled "The Honky Tonk Nun".[21]

As of 2023, "Labyrinth of Belonging", a biopic about Emahoy's life, is being produced by The Emahoy Tsege Mariam Music Foundation.[22]

Music

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For three decades, she lived a reclusive life with only rare performances including one at the Jewish Community Center in Washington, D.C., on the 12th of July 2008.[23] Three tribute concerts were held in Jerusalem in 2013 to mark her 90th birthday and a compilation of her musical scores were released.

Prior to this, Emahoy did not release any of her music made during the 1970s to the 1990s, due to the coup by the Derg party in 1974, which imposed a dictator-like reign on Ethiopia. The Derg Party heavily policed music that was not government or military oriented. Due to this, there was a resurgence of Emahoy's compositions from the 1960s and 1970s, when a compilation of Emahoy's work was issued on the Éthiopiques record label. The album, entitled Éthiopiques Volume 21: Ethiopia Song, was released by Francis Falceto in 2006.[24]

Emahoy also appeared on the 2012 album The Rough Guide to the Music of Ethiopia, and the 2011 album The Rough Guide to African Lullabies. During her life, Emahoy composed over 150 songs for piano, organ, opera, and chamber ensembles.[25]

Composition Style

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Emahoy's composition style has been described as a meld of various genres and musical scales. While her music has been described as both jazz and melodic blues piano with rhythmically complex phrasing,[26] it has equally been described as having the musical quality of 19th century European romantic classical piano, due to her utilization of tempo rubato within her music.[27] Simultaneously, she has employed the use of Kiñit, Tizita and Bati, which are all Qenets, or five note pentatonic musical scales specific to Ethiopian music. Further, some of Emahoy's compositions possess chikchika rhythm, a 6/8 rhythm equally found often in Ethiopian heterophonic music.[27] The melding of both European and Ethiopian compositional techniques can be specifically observed within her songs “The Homeless Wanderer” and “Presentiment”.[27]

Musical Comparisons

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Previously, Emahoy's musical compositions have been compared to the following composers and/or pianists:

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In 2019, an ad campaign entitled "Coming Home" for Amazon's Echo Auto and Echo Smart Speaker, created by advertising agency Wongdoody, featured a song by Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam titled "Homesickness".[31][32] Her music was featured in the soundtrack of the 2020 documentary Time.[33] Two of her compositions were also featured in the 2021 Netflix movie Passing: 'The Homeless Wanderer' (used in the official trailer) and 'The Last Tears of a Deceased'.[34][35] Her music is also featured in the Indian film All We Imagine As Light.[36] Further, Emahoy's “Evening Breeze” and “A Young Girl's Complaint” have been featured in the 2021 film C’mon C’mon. “Evening Breeze” has also been featured in the 2023 film Yannick, which also includes her compositions entitled "Mad Man's Laughter", and "The Homeless Wanderer.” “The Homeless Wanderer” has equally been featured in the 2016 film Porto, along with Emahoy's song "Presentiment”.[37]

Discography

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Albums

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  • Spielt eigene Kompositionen, 1963. Reissued by Mississippi Records in 2022.
  • The Hymn of Jerusalem. The Jordan River Song, 1970. Reissued by Mississippi Records in 2022 as Jerusalem. Recorded at Löve Studio, Köln, Germany
  • Yet My King Is from Old, Church Of Kidane Mehret, 1972.
  • The Visionary: Piano Solo, Emahoy Tsegue Maryam Music Foundation, 2012.
  • Jerusalem, Mississippi Records, 2023.[38]
  • Souvenirs, Mississippi Records, 2024 (songs originally recorded from 1977 to 1985 into a boombox placed on top of her piano[39] while she played.[40] Emahoy sold the album on homemade CD-Rs, but it was not widely known in her lifetime).[41]

Compilations

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  • Éthiopiques 21: Ethiopia Song, Buda Musique, 2006.
  • Emahoy Tsegué-Mariam Guèbru, Mississippi Records, 2016.

References

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  1. ^ The Story of the Wind, Ethan Iversons jazz music reviews
  2. ^ Petrusich, Amanda (7 April 2023). "The Otherworldly Compositions of an Ethiopian Nun". The New Yorker. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "Emahoy Tsegue Maryam Guebrou | Emahoy Tsege Mariam Music Foundation". Emahoy Foundation. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  4. ^ Yibeltal, Kalkidan (1 April 2023). "Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou: The barefoot nun who became Ethiopia's 'piano queen'". BBC.
  5. ^ Ambo, Alemayehu (2004). In the Lands of Black Lions and White Bears: My Life in Ethiopia and Canada. AuthorHouse. p. 130. ISBN 9781418433796.
  6. ^ Clemency Burton-Hill (2017). Year of Wonder - Classical Music for Every Day. Headline. p. 22. ISBN 9781472254412.
  7. ^ Yibeltal, Kalkidan (2 April 2023). "Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou: The barefoot nun who became Ethiopia's 'piano queen'". BBC. She was born in Addis Ababa in December 1923 into a prominent aristocratic family. Her father was a mayor of the historical city of Gondar in the country's north. Her given name was Yewubdar - Amharic for "the most beautiful one"- a name she used until she was ordained as a nun at the age of 21.
  8. ^ Yibeltal, Kalkidan (1 April 2023). "Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou: The barefoot nun who became Ethiopia's 'piano queen'". BBC.
  9. ^ Kontorowicz Aleksander. Virtuelles Schtetl.
  10. ^ a b c Yibeltal, Kalkidan (1 April 2023). "Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou: The barefoot nun who became Ethiopia's 'piano queen'". BBC.
  11. ^ "Emahoy Tsegue Maryam Guebrou | Emahoy Tsege Mariam Music Foundation". Emahoy Foundation. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  12. ^ AFP. "Celebrated Ethiopian pianist and nun dies aged 99 in Jerusalem". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  13. ^ AFP. "Celebrated Ethiopian pianist and nun dies aged 99 in Jerusalem". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  14. ^ "Emahoy Tsegue Maryam Guebrou | Emahoy Tsege Mariam Music Foundation". Emahoy Foundation. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  15. ^ Yibeltal, Kalkidan (1 April 2023). "Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou: The barefoot nun who became Ethiopia's 'piano queen'". BBC.
  16. ^ Jakub Knera (23 February 2024), "Reissue Of The Week: Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru's Souvenirs", The Quietus, retrieved 5 August 2024
  17. ^ Hussey, Allison (27 March 2023). "Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou, Ethiopian pianist and nun, dies at 99". Pitchfork. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  18. ^ "World-renowned classical pianist and composer Emahoy Tsege Mariam dies at 99". Welcome to Fana Broadcasting Corporate S.C. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  19. ^ AFP. "Celebrated Ethiopian pianist and nun dies aged 99 in Jerusalem". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  20. ^ "Emahoy Tsegue Maryam Guebrou | Emahoy Tsege Mariam Music Foundation". Emahoy Foundation. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  21. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - The Honky Tonk Nun". BBC. 1 July 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  22. ^ "Donate | Emahoy Tsege Miriam Music Foundation | Emahoy Tsegue Maryam Guebrou". Emahoy Foundation. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  23. ^ Magazine, Tadias. "Emahoy Sheet Music Project Launched at Tadias Magazine". Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  24. ^ Johnson, Lucien (22 November 2021). Itineraries of Modern Ethiopian Instrumental Music (Thesis). Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington. doi:10.26686/wgtn.17065121.v1.
  25. ^ "Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou, Ethiopian nun and pianist, dies at 99". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  26. ^ "Ethiopiques, Vol. 21: Ethiopia Song - Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  27. ^ a b c Johnson, Lucien (22 November 2021). Itineraries of Modern Ethiopian Instrumental Music (Thesis). Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington. doi:10.26686/wgtn.17065121.v1.
  28. ^ a b c d e f g Johnson, Lucien (22 November 2021). Itineraries of Modern Ethiopian Instrumental Music (Thesis). Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington. doi:10.26686/wgtn.17065121.v1.
  29. ^ a b c d e f Ethiopiques, Vol. 21: Ethiopia Song - Tsegué-... | AllMusic, retrieved 30 October 2024
  30. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, John (28 March 2023). "Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou: the Ethiopian nun who was one of history's most distinctive pianists". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  31. ^ Murphy, Brian (1 April 2023). "Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou, Ethiopian nun and piano virtuoso, dies at 99". The Washington Post. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
  32. ^ "Amazon Echo TV Spot, "Coming Home" Song by Tsegue-Maryam Guebrou". iSpot.tv. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
  33. ^ Westfall, Alex (7 October 2020). "How the Cult Classic Recordings of a 96-Year-Old Nun Became the Soundtrack to Garrett Bradley's New Documentary Time". Pitchfork.
  34. ^ McFarland, Melanie (11 November 2021). "Thanks to its stars, "Passing" is a masterpiece of subtle expression, rendered in black and white". Salon. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  35. ^ All 10 songs from the Passing (2021) Soundtrack, retrieved 23 November 2021
  36. ^ Goi, Leonardo. "Hope Doesn't Exist If You've Never Seen It: Payal Kapadia on "All We Imagine as Light"". MUBI. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  37. ^ "Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou | Composer, Soundtrack". IMDb. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  38. ^ "Emahoy Tsege Maraim Gebru - Jerusalem LP". Mississippi Records. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  39. ^ Souvenirs, on the Modulor Records website.
  40. ^ Lucy Thraves (August 2024), "Souvenirs (review)", The Wire, no. 482, p. 72
  41. ^ Jakub Knera (23 February 2024), "Reissue Of The Week: Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru's Souvenirs", The Quietus, retrieved 5 August 2024
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