Our 7 pieces of inspiration
By: Jerusalem Duo
SEPTEMBER 07, 2018
Whether it is when we drive our car, go jogging in the park or try to improve our mood - listening to music we love will motivate us and make us feel better.
Here are 7 Pieces of inspiration we chose to share with you.
Some of the selected pieces accompany us since we were kids, others are more recent.
They come from various genres and different times and stimulate us in many distinct ways.
1. GIORA FEIDMAN
Hora Moldavia
It is incredibly hard to find the right words to describe the importance of Giora Feidman and his influence on our lives. He is our mentor, friend, loving grandfather and strict and demanding teacher. He is the master of performance and above all an endless source of inspiration. By bringing klezmer music to almost all of the major concert halls worldwide, Feidman is probably the most important revolutioner in the world of folk music. In his one of a kind way of playing, he expresses his inner voice like no other. His clarinet functions like a microphone of his soul and you cannot be untouched by its magical power. Just listen to this recording from his album "Back To The Roots" and tell us if you also felt like you are being turned inside out.
2. IBRAHIM MAALOUF
Red & Black Light
The title song from Ibrahim Maalouf's 8th album “Red & Black Light” is a pure example of how music brings people in unity.
He establishes a simple melody out of 4 notes with only piano accompaniment. The melody is later being sung by the audience in an almost trance-like manner, then he picks up his trumpet and plays a solo in his unique style and when it reaches its peak and explodes - all lights go off and you can hear how the audience continues singing!
Test yourselves - are you able to listen to this song until the end without joining?
3. JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
Chaconne in D minor
The Chaconne in D minor might just be the best example of Bach's greatness. Historians speculate that Bach composed it after his wife and the mother of seven of his children, Maria Barbara had died and so, listening to the chaconne is a rich and layered experience which takes listeners and performers through the entire range of the most intense human emotions such as pain, sadness, longings, acceptance and joy. Though written originally for violin, it has been played on nearly every possible instrument. This version played by American lutenist Hopkinson Smith is one of our favorite.
If you are not yet familiar with this piece, you are about to hear one of the indisputable masterpieces of all times.
4. JOAQUIN RODRIGO
Concierto de Aranjuez II mvt
Written originally for guitar and later transcribed for harp, this is one of the most popular concertos played by harpists. The second movement, the best-known of the three, is marked by its slow pace and quiet melody, attempts to transport the listeners to another place and time through the evocation of the sounds of nature.
Its calming effect was well used by the great jazz composer and pianist Chick Corea in his well-known piece "Spain". This recording features Dorothy Ashby, an American jazz harpist and composer. Yes, a Jazz harpist - another proof that music does not have to be defined by specific genres.
5. LEO PELLEGRINO (a.k.a - LEO P)
At the BBC proms 2017
Since its opening in 1871, The Royal Albert Hall in London has hosted on its stage the world's leading artists from all performing arts genres and it is, by all means, one of the most prestigious concert halls in the world.
However, nothing prepared it for the electrifying performance of Leo P in 2017. Leo gained wide popularity through YouTube videos where he was busking in New York City Subway stations together with "Too Many Zooz" and "Lucky Chops". This performance is fresh, bold and innovative. His loud hair and dress styles, extraordinary way of playing the baritone saxophone and energetic dancing will make you move your body even if you listening while sitting on a chair right now.
6. SCORPIONS
Wind of Change
Though the original inspiration of this rock ballad was the Scorpions's performance at the "Moscow Music Peace Festival" in 1989, it became the unofficial anthem for the end of the Cold War and the reunification of East and West Germany. We know this song since we were kids. We actually studied its lyrics as part of our English lessons in school. But it wasn't until the year 2012 when we moved to Germany and spent our first year in Berlin. Visiting what is left from the Berlin wall and meeting people who actually took part in its destruction on November 1989, made us not only understand the lyrics but actually feel what their true meaning.
The video clip directed by Wayne Isham shows footage of the construction and tearing down of the Berlin wall. The moment when the guitar solo kicks in is by far one the best moments of Rock history.
7. ARIK EINSTEIN / YONI RECHTER
Songs by Avraham Chalfi
Number seven on our list is dedicated to a full album.
We chose to end our list with this one because if we had to decide on one album to take with us to a deserted island - without thinking twice it would surely be this one. We find ourselves quite a lot on the roads driving from one concert venue to another and (as you might already know) listening to various artists and musical genres. One album which will be always played at some point will be the mutual album of the great late Arik Einstein as a singer, the incomparable composer and arranger Yoni Rechter and the lyrical poet Avraham Chalfi. All 10 songs on this album were, still are and forever will be the soundtrack of our life.
Maybe that is why the song "Atur Mizchech" was chosen several times to be Israels most popular love song.
"One good thing about music is when it hits you, you feel no pain."
Bob Marley