Ilana Eliya (; born April 24, 1955, in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

) is an Israeli singer of Kurdish descent.

Biography

Ilana Eliya's family was originally from

Iraqi Kurdistan Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan () refers to the Kurds, Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of Greater Kurdistan in West Asia, which also includes parts of southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdist ...

and immigrated to Jerusalem shortly after the founding of Israel. In her childhood, she was heavily influenced by the musical and poetic career of her father. She heard

Kurdish music Kurdish music (, or ''مۆسیقای کوردی'') refers to music performed in the Kurdish languages and Zaza-Gorani languages. The earliest study of Kurdish music was initiated by the renowned Armenian priest and composer Komitas in 1903, wh ...

Early on and became interested in music. As a teenager, there was no opportunity for her to do a music education in East Jerusalem. Therefore, her parents sent her to the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

, where she sang

aria In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...

s and studied

scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...

. She was focussing on Jewish religious music at that time. Soon after, she began her studies in

ethnology Ethnology (from the , meaning 'nation') is an academic field and discipline that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). Sci ...

and became increasingly interested in her Kurdish roots. At the latest after the death of her father in 1988, her interest in Kurdish music intensified, which is led her to begin her musical career at the age of 37.

Music style

Ilana Eliya's style is a mixture of ethnic music, Kurdish

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

and Israeli

world music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...

. She often sings traditional Kurdish songs in a new way with some affect of Israeli music scene, and for this reason, her style has formed a special feature in Kurdish music. Because in the style of Eliya and her band,

orient The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a meto ...

al and western styles flow into each other and Kurdish and Israeli musical influences can be recognized in her work. The latter is reminiscent of the old Jewish Ashkenazi community, which someday have been located around the mountain Ararat (today in the settlement area of the Kurds).

Musical creation

In 1992 Eliya released her first

solo album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century ...

called "Jabaliyo" (from the Kurdish-Arabic word Cebel, which means "son of the mountains"). The special feature of this album is that all songs were recorded accompanied by classical

musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make Music, musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person ...

s and not reworked. Many of her recited songs are rooted in Kurdish folk music and are interpreted with her new style. Eliya's songs include political messages such as freedom of Kurdistan and the

emancipation Emancipation generally means to free a person from a previous restraint or legal disability. More broadly, it is also used for efforts to procure Economic, social and cultural rights, economic and social rights, civil and political rights, po ...

of women, and still other songs are about love and joy of living, which are particularly evident through her voice and singing.

Albums

* 1992 – Jabaliyo * 1996 – Ilana Eliya

Performances

* Participation in several projects of Israeli filmmakers, u. A. by Mark Kopytman and Father General. * Concerts in the US and Europe ( Jewish Festival Krakow in 2010 and Brooklyn Academy of Music).

References

External links

Longing for Zion, dreaming of Kurdistan (Interview with Ilana Eliya).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eliya, Ilana 1955 births Living people Kurdish women singers 20th-century Israeli women singers 21st-century Israeli women singers Israeli folk singers Israeli women folk singers Kurdish Jews Kurdish-language singers of Israel