Today, December 12th, 2022, is the 99th birthday of the amazing muse of a unique brand of devotional piano music, Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbru. Happy birthday, Emahoy!
When has such a slender discography had such an impact? Noteworthy musicians have professed their love or devoted themselves to the performance and preservation of Emahoy’s music, and fans have had their lives changed in unexpected places, all by the meditative and soulful music of the modest nun, composer, and pianist. A great place to begin is with journalist Kate Molleson of The Guardian, who conducted a terrific interview with Emahoy, which you can listen to here, and read the accompanying article.
Both Emahoy’s music and story are something to celebrate. In the interview with Molleson, Emahoy explains, in English, how she was born into a wealthy Ethiopian family, was sent aboard and learned concert piano, had a near-death experience after which she entered the convent, and only slowly came back to music. Eventually, Emahoy devoted her life not only to God but to spreading her faith through the writing of quietly graceful and life-affirming compositions for solo piano. Remarkably, Emahoy self-released her music “in small editions as fundraisers for orphanages, [to] support organizations for widows of war victims, and other philanthropic causes.”
The first of these releases is a German issue from 1963, Spielt Eigen Kompositionen. This 5-song LP shows Emahoy’s early songs, most notably “The Homeless Wanderer,” which starts with a chromatic run of notes, and settles into what Ethan Iverson calls a “one-chord blues.” It’s evocative and draws multiple you back for repeat listening.
Emahoy’s second LP, titled simply Emahoy Tsegue Maryam Guebru brings slightly better audio and even deeper song craft. The album starts with one of the gems of Emahoy’s catalog, “Mother’s Love.” The song is built around a moving bass pattern, while the right hand plays gorgeous fills. Emahoy states that she wrote the song for the love of her mother for her beloved son, a victim of Ethiopia’s war with Italy. Elsewhere, the often programmatic titles are matched with evocative music – “Song of Sea” captures the rocking of waves, “Homesickness” a feeling of nostalgic longing, and “Story of The Wind” an elemental blues feeling. Once you get drawn into this music, its utterly centered quality stays with you.
The excellent Ethiopiques series released the two above LP’s on one CD as Ethiopiques, vol. 21: Emahoy (Piano Solo) in 2006, and that’s how most people have become acquainted with Emahoy, Since then, her legend and influence have grown. Unsurprising, Emahoy has not changed her devotional life or capitalized on her international fame. She emigrated to Jerusalem years ago, where she lives at the Ethiopian monastery, continuing to write music and play piano privately. However, with the assistance of Israeli pianist Maya Dunietz (check our post about Dunietz’ terrific 2021 album, Free the Dolphin), Emahoy has taken care to preserve her music, most of which remains unreleased.
Much has been made of Emahoy’s connection to the compositions of the European 19th-century piano literature. The always astute Iverson makes the fair point that Emahoy’s music shares an antique quality with music “you would find in your grandmother’s piano bench.” The otherworldly timelessness of Emahoy’s music is one of its real draws. But while Emahoy certainly uses the technique and phraseology drawn from those European masters, the melodies and the harmonies reflect her experience in Northern Africa in the 20th century and are very much her own. For example, listen to “Jordan River Song” from her self-titled album. The roaming chromaticism, relaxed time, and deep blues feeling have nothing all to do with Chopin – it’s all Emahoy.
So, happy birthday Emahoy! I urge you to go to the link here and listen to the opening notes of “The Homeless Wanderer”, which has been how most of the world has been initiated into this great music. It’s music that keeps giving and keeps you returning to it, as unpretentious and generous as its creator.
And, more good news – following the excellent vinyl reissues this year of Emahoy’s first two albums, a new album, Jerusalem, is scheduled for release in 2023. It’s the first new issue of additional music by Emahoy since Ethiopiques, vol. 21! You can hear the title track on YouTube here. Looking forward to it! Also make sure you check out Emahoy’s website, it’s a great repository of all that makes her unique and wonderful.