Alberto Hemsi

Alberto Hemsi (27 June 1898 – 8 October 1975) was a composer of the 20th Century Classical era. His work in the field of Ethnomusicology and integration of Sefardic melodies has been noted as parallel to Béla Bartók's collection of traditional Hungarian music and consequent integration to his music.

Biography

Family and early years

Born in 1898 in Kasaba of in the former Ottoman Empire, Alberto Hemsi's family roots trace back to the Sephardic Jews of the Iberian peninsula. From an early age Alberto's parents detected a keen sensitivity and interest in music, especially during prayers sung in synagogue, and decided to send him to stay with his uncle in Smyrne (now Izmir) where studies were to begin at the school of the Alliance Israélite Universelle (A.I.U.) from 1908-1913. At the A.I.U., Hemsi studied flute, trombone, cornet, and the clarinet, but his true passion was for the piano as well as composition.

1913-1919: Conservatorio di Musica Giuseppi Verdi

In 1913, at the insistense of the director of the A.I.U., Hemsi moved to Italy after receiving a scholarship to study at the Conservatorio Royal di Milano. At the conservatorio, Hemsi was taught by internationally acclaimed (at the time) professors such as Bossi Perinello (composition, harmony, and counterpoint), Galli (Orchestration), Pozzoli Delochi (Theory and Solfeggio), and Giusto Zampieri (Music History). During his studies, Alberto Hemsi asked his music history professor about Jewish music. The response given was that although Jewish music is important, he could not recall any melodies because there weren't many. Perplexed and sceptical of this response, largely due to his exposure to many Jewish melodies in childhood, Hemsi proceeded to ask the Cantor of his synagogue back in Kasaba for more information about traditional Jewish melodies.

1919-1957: Ethnomusicology and Integration of Jewish Melodies

After returning from Italy to his homeland, Hemsi followed in the folkloric footsteps of Bartók and Brailoiu. He focuses on the Hispano-Judeaic traditional music of his ancestors. The traditional Hispano-Judeaic melodies were transmitted orally for generations by the women of the communities and infused with the medieval Spanish literature. Hemsi proceeded to dedicate more than 17 years of his life to collect traditional chants throughout the former Ottoman Empire. Notably so in Smyrne, Salonique, Rhodes, Istanbul, and Alexandria. At the end of these travels, Hemsi wrote out harmonizations for piano of sixty traditional melodies. This work was the first of the ten books known as "Coplas Sefardies."

Harmonization of the traditional Sephardic chants proved to be a challenge since the harmonization of monodic modal chants is not possible in a tonal sense. Hemsi did not wish to alter the traditional melodies nor utilise modern harmonic techniques of the epoch.

In addition to the Coplas Sefardies, Hemsi cmposed numerous other works for a variety of ensembles including orchestra, string quintets, choir, cello, and piano. He drew inspiration equally from liturgical music of the synagogue as well as music from Egypt, Turkey, and Greece.

1957-1975: Paris

The 22nd of August saw great political agitation in Egypt and thus a parting of the Hemsi family to Paris. Compositional output at this time began to slow as Hemsi adjusted to the Parisian lifestyle. He found work as music director in synagogues as well as a solfeggio teacher for Sephardic Liturgy at the École Cantoriale du Séminaire Israélite de France (S.I.F.) Hemsi continued to travel regularly to spread his musical compositions until later in his life, when his health began to degrade. He died in Paris in October 1975.

References

Further reading

* Mechoulan, Henry (1992) Les Juifs d'Espagne histoire d'une diaspora 1492-1992, Liana Levi, Paris.
* Hemsi, Alberto (1924) La Musique traditionnelle chez les juifs sefardim d'Orient, Hamernora, Constantinople, Organe du Bene Berith du District d'Orient.
* Hemsi, Alberto (1974) SEPHARAD ou d'une Espagne méconnue, Paris.
* Adonay, Santo (1959) Judaïsme Sepharadi, Organe mensuel de l'union universelle des communautés séphardites, Paris.
* Benbassa, Esther and Aron, Rodrique, (2002) Hisoire des Juifs sépharades de Tolède à salonique, Paris, Du Seuil.
* Hemsi, Alberto (1929) La Musique Orientale en Egypte, Études et Polémiques, Alexandria, Edition orientale de Musique.
* Séroussi, Edwin, Díaz-Mas, Paloma, Pedrosa, José Manuel, and Romero, Elena (1995) Alberto Hemsi Cancionero sefardî, Jerusalem.

Persondata
NAME=Hemsi, Alberto
SHORT DESCRIPTION=composer
DATE OF BIRTH=June 27, 1898
PLACE OF BIRTH=Kasaba, Turkey
DATE OF DEATH=October 8, 1975
PLACE OF DEATH=Paris, France