... because of the music - Aya Korem

Aya Korem at Tmoona Theater

Aya Korem is a wonderful Israeli singer and songwriter. Last month we saw her performance called "One woman that sings" in Tmuna Theater, a small venue in Tel Aviv's Montefiore neighborhood. Unlike most of her concerts, where Aya performs mostly songs that she had written, "One woman that sings" is a homage to "women in her life", singers and poets, Israeli and foreign, who influenced her life and art.

That was a beautiful, touching performance. Sometimes encounters with works of art can influence us more profoundly than "real events" of our lives, and Aya Korem had compiled and presented a beautiful collection of the songs and stories about her encounters with "women in her life". And I was able to relate even more since some of these women are "women in my life" as well.

Among the songs that Aya performed that evening were "Twist in my sobriety" by Tanita Tikaram, "A case of you" by Joni Mitchell and "A birthday prayer", with lyrics by Tirza Atar. Tirza Atar was Israeli writer and poet, who wrote a number of children books, published several poetry collections, translated to Hebrew some of the great theater classics (by Tennessee Williams, Eugene O'Neill and more) - before she tragically died in 1977, only 36 years old. To me, "A birthday prayer" is one of the most beautiful songs ever written in Hebrew. Here is a classic performance of this song by Chava Alberstein:



Take a look at Aya Korem's own awesome blog (in Hebrew), and see Our World Tuesday for more beautiful and touching things around the world...