Album Notes

Ofra Haza, born in 1957, was to become the # 1 Israeli singer from the mid 1970s until her untimely death at the age of 41. In her brief lifetime, she recorded many Gold and Platinum albums and became an intonation star, representing her country in various international competitions as well as her #1 "world beat" album "Shadai" selling an incredible 2,500,000 albums world wide. To this day, this CD, "Yemenite Songs" is one of her most popular albums and consistent best sellers.

"Yemenite Songs" consists of "songs of the Diwan" . A Diwan is a collection of devotional poetry intended to be sung, which covers religious and secular subjects and is performed on festive occasions such as during the traditional 7 days of wedding celebrations. The texts of Diwans are written, but the music and dances are passed on in oral tradition. Each oriental Jewish community has its own Diwan, but the Yemenite Diwan is considered to have the richest collection, dominated by the work of the poet of Yemenite Jewry, Rabbi Shalom Shabazi (1618 - 1670).
An exceptional recording!