Bism Allah ar-rahman ar-rahim. This is how the story of Joseph opens in the Yemenite tradition, and this is how it continues: “The narrator said: Come and hear, beloved of my heart, the story of the righteous Joseph.” A story that is a colorful mosaic of verses from the Torah, stories of the Quran, mystical poetry of Shabazi and the wisdom poetry tradition of the women of Yemen. The performance, combining rhythmic music with traditional Yemenite poetry, between a Sufi ceremony, a Jewish-Arabic epic, and a legend told while sitting on a grandmother’s lap, brings the story of the beautiful, brave dreamer Joseph, a story that crosses borders between religions and genders. We invite you to gather around us and hear the story.
Leah Avraham, vocals, dance;
Ofer Callaf, vocals;
Tom Fogel, vocals;
Elyasaf Bashari, oud;
Einat Harel, drums;
Evyatar Said, vocals, dance
* The show was created by Ofer Callaf, Tom Fogel and Shai Sabari. Musical management: Elyasaf Bashari. Artistic consultation: Leah Avraham. Special thanks to Dr. Uri Melammed, for his help with the Arabic diwan poetry.
*The performance was created as part of Shir laShira, an innovative project of Confederation House promoting the composition of a new Israeli works connecting musicians to Hebrew poetry from the Middle Ages to the present day.
Photos: Guy Zagron
Ofer Callaf. Photo: Oded Entman
Leah Avraham. Photo: Anosh Avraham Nahum
