Shem-Tov Levi is one of our most respected purveyors of pop, folk and ethnic music. At the age of 73 and with more than half a century of writing and performing songs that have become staples of the Great Israeli Songbook, Levy is well equipped to take on a wide range of projects.
His entry in the upcoming Oud Days festival, held at venues around the capital under the auspices of the Confederation House in Jerusalem, December 27-30, is based on the writings of 18th-century Italian rabbi, kabbalist, philosopher and poet Moshe Chaim Luzzato – also known as Ramchal. Levi brings the curtain down on the four-day event at Yellow Submarine on December 30 (doors open 8:30 p.m., show starts 9 p.m.), closing out a program that features a diverse variety of styles and genres. In addition to staple Middle Eastern fare, Confederation House CEO and Artistic Director Effie Benaya has lined up singer-songwriter slots, as well as rap, hip-hop, Turkish and Sufi sounds.
Since Levy first began writing for and working with prominent national pop-rock-folk singer Arik Einstein in the early 1970s, he’s charted a meandering course through all manner of stylistic tracks, creating solo work that’s fueled of melodic lyrical material as well as ethnic road exploration of various kinds.
The Kabbalistic angle of the upcoming Oud Days performance
The Man from Padua the show, which references Luzzatto’s native Italy, features Levy fronting his longtime quintet, with Eyal Heller on guitar, Noam Chen on percussion, double bassist Tzur Ben Zeev and acclaimed oud player-vocalist Charlie Sabbach. In fact, the concert is something of a reprise of a previous Ramchal musical that Levy staged at the Jerusalem International Oud Festival a few years ago.
Although Levy says he has no intention of diving into the thinking of Jewish thinkers of the past per se, he admits he has taken some of Luzzatto’s ideas and thought long and hard about them. He “blames” revered liturgical singer and spiritual leader Rabbi David Menachem for the cerebral addition to his life. “He gave me a book from Ramchal called Mesilat Yesharim (The Way of the Righteous). I read it and re-read it several times. This is a wonderful book, not religious at all. It’s more of a philosophy. Ramchal was a genius.
As we talk, Levi pulls out the slim volume he received from Menachem and enlightens me with bits of the philosopher-poet’s wisdom. One talks about the benefits of putting in an honest day’s work. Translated, the refrain goes something like: “A commoner who marries a princess will not satisfy her desires. So have fun and fill your soul in a leisurely and pleasant way. And go to work, go to work.”
Levy says he got a lot out of the book and feels it has an underlying message that provides some useful guidance for our life’s journey. “He writes at the beginning that the reader should not expect to learn anything new, but should definitely note things he may have missed or recall things he once knew and may have forgotten. He says that the reader should go back and re-read the book so that the messages stick in their minds so they can apply them in their lives.
This sounds like a practical and definitely user-friendly approach. This appealed to Levy and helped him on his creative path as he gave melodic life to some of Ramchal’s thoughts. “Sometimes you read something and feel like you don’t fully understand it. But Ramhal writes in a way that makes you feel like you really understand what he means, you really understand the depth of his wisdom.
By all accounts, the Kabbalist-Poet was a larger-than-life character who followed his own particular path in life and was not about to pander to received wisdom and socially acceptable mores. “He was a controversial figure,” notes Levy. “He was ostracized by his community and others.”
Three centuries later, Luzzatto’s observations on life ring true for Levi, Menachem and, no doubt, many others. “He was shunned by the rabbinical authorities of the time,” says Levy, “but now he is being studied in yeshivot.” Quite a comeback.
I get more insight into Ramchal’s thoughts on life and how we should behave. Levi quotes a poem called Shachat Shel Ge’ava (Pit of Pride). “All the good things in life, if you think you embody them, you are in imminent danger of falling into the pit of pride.” That sounds like a solid principle to consider and apply.
Levy is not new to the music and poetry business. “I have been recording music by poets for many years now. Poets have a special way of saying a lot with just a few words. This helps the sonic creative search in the desired direction, but does not necessarily make the composer’s life easier. “I didn’t just spit out the music,” notes Levy. “I read the lyrics several times. When I write music for lyrics, I let the words guide me.”
Ramchal’s 300-year-old sensibilities really led the compositional path and spawned a wide palette of melodic styles that found their place in The Man from Paduaand helped Levi convey some of his own reflections on the work of the 18th-century thinker. “In Benachat Ruach, Charlie [Sabbach] and I recite some of the words over an instrumental background. Levy says he aimed to convey something of the atmosphere of Luzzato’s time and the spirit of the Italian community. “Charlie and I recite the words, but not always exactly together. It is similar to the way people converse in the synagogue or the way worshipers recite prayers. It is not refined and strictly tied to a rhythm.”
This secular, free-flowing ethos spawned a host of styles that Levy says make their way through Israeli folk, blues material, and even Bashki’s classical domains. “These are special texts. I don’t know how many people are familiar with them. I really enjoyed this project and it’s great to be back at it.”
Perhaps the December 30th show will spark interest in Ramchal’s work and may even help us find our way safely through these current turbulent waters.
For tickets and more information about Oud Days: *6226, http://tickets.bimot.co.il, http://www.confederationhouse.org and (02) 539-9360 ext. 5
