About the creation

Five Israeli Songs was written in 1962 for voice, oboe, cello and piano. It is not typical of Pártos’ musical language in those years, since it is based on traditional melodies for the given ensemble, which resembles the typical ensemble of the Baroque sonata form - two melodic instruments (voice and oboe), a bass instrument (cello), and a harmonic instrument (piano).  The first song, ״Ma Na’avu,” is based on a traditional melody of Babylonian and Cochin Jews. It is contrapuntal in nature (the voice and oboe get into each other’s words), while the piano plays a minimal, chromatic accompaniment (as opposed to the main melody, which is not chromatic). The second song, “E’sa E’inay El HeHarim,” is based on a traditional melody of Persian Jews. This song is mostly tonal, but from time to time sudden violent bursts of chromaticism can be heard, mostly by the piano. The third song, “Shiv’im Hema HaGiborim,” is fast and humorous, and is based on a traditional melody that is sung by the Jerusalem- based Sephardi Jews. The texture of the song is pointillistic, meaning spacious and light, which emphasises the song’s humor. The fourth song, “Lech El Teshukati/Achot Ktana,” is based on two well-known piyyutim (traditional Jewish liturgical poems): the first, by Avraham Ben-Ezra, is based on a traditional melody of Sephardi Jews; the second one, by Avraham Grinodi, is based on a traditional melody of Moroccan Jews. The character of the music for each of the songs is different: the first song is slow and dramatic, with minimal accompaniment, while the second song is fast, filled with rich accompaniment. The fifth song, “MePi Ha’El,” is based on a traditional melody of Sephardi Jews. Like the first song, this one is also contrapuntal, having the ensemble accompany the voice in different contrapuntal lines and different orchestration.