Aharon Razel ( he, אהרן רזאל) is an Israeli musician. His music explores topics such as the

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

Orthodox Judaism Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...

and living in Israel.

Biography

Born in New York City in 1974, Razel came to Israel with his family when he was one month old. He started playing various instruments at an early age, mainly the piano, guitar, violin and

recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...

. He composed small pieces for different ensembles. When Razel was in 4th grade, his family became religious so he moved to a religious school. When he was in 7th grade he switched back to secular education, attending

Hebrew University High School Hebrew University High School ( he, התיכון ליד האוניברסיטה), commonly known as ''Leyada'' (literally "next to"), is a semi-private high school in West Jerusalem, established in 1935 by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The s ...

In 1988, he started

harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...

, playing with David Shemer, and a year later doing composition with

Andre Hajdu André Hajdu ( hu, Hajdú András; he, אנדרה היידו; 5 March 1932 – 1 August 2016) was a Hungarian-born Israeli composer and ethnomusicologist. Biography Hajdu studied at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest with Endre Szer ...

. At the age of 15, Razel was accepted to the Jerusalem Rubin Music and Dance Academy harpsichord and composition departments, where he obtained a

Bachelor of Music Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of prescr ...

degree in 1994. He completed his MA degree in composition at

Bar-Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, he, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן, ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic i ...

under the guidance of Andre Hajdu. During his period of studies in the Music Academy, Razel played harpsichord with different ensembles throughout the country. At the same time, he composed various

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

works which were performed at the Jerusalem Theatre and Tel Aviv Museum. He has been awarded AICF scholarships since 1990. In 1992, the

Israel Chamber Orchestra Israel Chamber Orchestra (abbreviation ICO, Hebrewהתזמורת הקאמרית הישראלית (''Hatizmoret hakamerit'') is an Israeli orchestra based in Tel Aviv. Primary funding comes from the Israel Ministry of Education and the Tel Aviv-Yafo ...

performed his piece "Shalom Rav Shooveh". In addition to his activities in the field of

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

, Razel also composed 'light' music, and together with his brother,

Yonatan Razel Yonatan Razel is an American-Israeli singer, writer, composer, musical arranger and conductor. Biography Yonatan Razel was born in New York and moved to Israel at a young age with his family. Razel is the brother of musicians Aaron Razel and R ...

, had a record published by Phonokol in 1991. He completed his army service as "outstanding musician". He then went through self-searching which led him to visit in

Tzfat Safed (known in Hebrew as Tzfat; Sephardic Hebrew & Modern Hebrew: צְפַת ''Tsfat'', Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Tzfas'', Biblical Hebrew: ''Ṣǝp̄aṯ''; ar, صفد, ''Ṣafad''), is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevat ...

; in 1996, he moved there. He has produced nine albums. Razel is married and lives in the

Nachlaot Nachlaot ( he, נחלאות, also ''Naḥlaʾoth'') is a cluster of 23 courtyard neighborhoods in central Jerusalem surrounding the Mahane Yehuda Market. It is known for its narrow, winding lanes, old-style housing, hidden courtyards and many smal ...

neighborhood of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Selected discography

* ''Water From the Rock'' (1999) * ''Redemption Time'' (2001) * ''The Burning Bush'' (2003) * ''Song of Zion'' (2004) * ''Live in Jerusalem'' (2005) * ''Orange Days'' (2005) * ''Connected to You'' (2007) * ''K'Shoshana'' (with Shlomo Katz &

Chaim-Dovid Saracik Chaim-Dovid Saracik is an Orthodox Jewish Chasidish musician who lives in the Old City of Jerusalem. He professionally goes by the name Chaim Dovid. He has produced more than eleven albums and has played for thousands of people over the past c ...

) (2008) * ''Secret of Shabbos'' (with Yerachmiel Ziegler) (2009) * ''What Have You Done Today'' (2011) * ''Kavati Et Moshavi'' (I have made my place) (2013) * ''The Man at the End of the Tunnel'' (2015) * ''Until I Find A Place'' (2017) * ''Ha'Neshama Rotzah Yoteir'' (''The Soul Desires More'') (2019)

References

External links

His song, "It's Time of Ge'ulah"
in Israel fro
Rosh Hagiva site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Razel, Aharon 1974 births Living people Jewish songwriters Baalei teshuva American Orthodox Jews American emigrants to Israel Israeli Orthodox Jews Musicians from New York City Israeli harpsichordists Bar-Ilan University alumni Israeli singer-songwriters Israeli composers

Biography

Selected discography

See also

References

External links