Coplas Sefardies 1

Alberto Hemsi (1898-1975) was born into a Jewish family in the small city of Cassaba (now Turgutlu) near Smyrna (Izmir) in what was then the Ottoman Empire. The family originated from the Italian city of Livorno and therefore had Italian citizenship. Hemsi collected 232 songs in all and used about a quarter of these for his most significant work, the collection Coplas sefardies. This monumental cycle containing in total 60 compositions for voice and piano, based on Sephardic songs, was published by Hemsi in ten volumes. The first five volumes were published in Alexandria between 1932 and 1938 and the last five from his exile in France between 1969 and 1973. Young soprano Tehila Nini Goldstein beautifully presents these pieces. Goldstein, who was born in New York but grew up in Israel, is a soloist with a passion for chamber music. Her repertoire includes classical opera as well as baroque and contemporary songs, with an special affection for Israeli music.