Monastir
Self-Released, 2021
8/10
A Ladino singer, author and activist, Sarah Aroeste offers us 10 tracks that give us an honest and often troubling peek into the life of a Jewish Monastir before WWII decimated the area.
“Oy Qui Muevi Mezis” starts the listen with warm percussion, wind instruments and Aroesta’s flowing, expressive singing in the cultured, world music climate, and “Od Bitola Pojdov” follows with playful accordion aligned with Shai Bachar’s agile keys as Mimi Markovski’s vocals complement the melodic landscape.
Further along, “Jovano, Jovanke” benefits from spoken word thanks to Akiva Eskayo, which pairs well with Odelia Dahan Kahila’s very poetic, emotive singing in the love song, while “Edno Vreme Si Bev Ergen” emits much beauty thanks to Uri Sharlin’s strategic accordion and Sefedin Bajramov’s eloquent vocals.
Landing near the end, “Mi Monastir”, an original, illustrates sublime beauty as Aroeste’s stirring singing about her family suits Tal Yadin’s calm guitar, and “Bitola, Moj Roden Kraj”, a song from the ‘50s, exits the listen with Vevki Amedov’s clarinet and Itamar Doar’s percussion working together with both intimacy and exploration.
Using artists primarily from Macedonia and Israel, Aroeste and company clearly put a lot of work into this record, and though it’s often a somber affair as it details the loss of a community, there is much poise, beauty and strength to be found here, and the 30+ contributors truly make this an important endeavor on so many levels.
Travels well with: Esbe- Under Cover; Avishai Cohen- Two Roses