Yusuf Za'arur (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...

: يوسف زعرور;

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: יוסף זערור, ''Yosef Za'arur''; 1902

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesipho ...

עיראקים יוצאי בבל
/ref>- 1969,سامي موريه

elaph.com, January 11, 2016

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

) was a world-renowned

Iraqi-Jewish The history of the Jews in Iraq ( he, יְהוּדִים בָּבְלִים, ', ; ar, اليهود العراقيون, ) is documented from the time of the Babylonian captivity c. 586 BC. Iraqi Jews constitute one of the world's oldest and mos ...

'' qanun'' player and director of Radio Orchestra of

during the 1930s.

Biography

Born in 1902 in Baghdad to a noble family with many children. As a child, he was swept away by the music and melodies in the synagogue and built himself a ''qanun''-like instrument against the wishes of his parents, who feared that music would disrupt his general studies and

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 ...

studies at the

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are stu ...

. At the age of fourteen, he joined a group of people who made a living from the songs of blessings on celebrations. At the age of eighteen he bought himself his first ''qanun'' and soon mastered the intricate instrument and began to play flute,

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

and

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

as well. At the age of twenty, he opened a school for various musical instruments that was very successful. Being such an expert in the vast knowledge he acquired and in his absolute pitch, his playing on the ''qanun'' turned from a popular tune to modern and artistic playing, and he gained a much respectable status in the music world of Baghdad. In 1931, he even participated in a performance by Sami Al-Shawwa, one of the greatest violinists of Arab music, and met the greatest composers and singers,

Mohammed Abdel Wahab ''Mohamed Abdel Wahab'' ( ar, محمد عبد الوهاب), also transliterated ''Mohamed Abd El-Wahhab'' (March 13, 1902 – May 4, 1991), was a prominent 20th-century Egyptian singer, actor, and composer. He is best known for his Romantic a ...

and

Umm Kulthum Umm Kulthum ( ar, أم كلثوم, , also spelled ''Oum Kalthoum'' in English; born Fatima Ibrahim es-Sayyid el-Beltagi, ar, فاطمة إبراهيم السيد البلتاجي, Fāṭima ʾIbrāhīm es-Sayyid el-Beltāǧī, link=no; 31 Dece ...

, who came to Iraq. Zaarur was an accompanied player to the famous Iraqi singer Mohammad Al Gubenchi, and together they traveled to Berlin to record on records and recitals. Many of these were broadcast in Berlin on a station in Arabic. In addition, he and his band performed in Berlin to the Iraqi community there. In 1932, at the First International Congress of Arab Music in Cairo, the official orchestra representing Iraq in that Congress was conducted and directed by Yusuf Za'arour. He even won first place and received a medal. In 1936, Zaarour was appointed director of the musical department at the Baghdad radio station. The appointment was by then Prime Minister

Nuri al-Said Nuri Pasha al-Said CH (December 1888 – 15 July 1958) ( ar, نوري السعيد) was an Iraqi politician during the British mandate in Iraq and the Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq. He held various key cabinet positions and served eight terms as ...

. As part of his work, he examined many musicians for the purpose of establishing three musical ensembles: Iraqi, Kurdish and Egyptian. As the editor of the music programs at the station, he examined many musicians for the purpose of integrating them in these programs and worked to integrate Jewish musicians. In addition, he established another band of Muslim musicians from Baghdad who played on Shabat and

Jewish holidays Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' ( he, ימים טובים, , Good Days, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed in Judaism and by JewsThis article focuses on practices of mainstre ...

. Outside his formal job at the radio station, he performed before the king, government ministers and the mayor of Baghdad.סיפורה של אספרנס מורדוך-זערור מעיראק
הסיפור נגבה ונכתב על ידי שרונה שלסקי במסגרת תוכנית “לכל איש יש שם” במרכז יום ע”ש מנדלבוים בהנהלתה של עדינה שץ, רמת-גן He had performed in

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 i ...

before the establishment of the State of Israel, in 1944, and returned to

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. In 1951 he realized his ambition to make

Aliyah Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the State of Israel. Traditionally descri ...

to the Land of Israel, despite his great talent and honorable position as director at the Baghdad Broadcasting Station. In 1956, during the

Sinai Campaign The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...

, the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

boycotted recitals of his that were recorded in Iraq for the station after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, because he was Jewish. Za'arur Composed many songs and melodies that are still being played. Among others, he is considered to have brought to the recognition and greatness of Nazem al-Ghazali in the Arab music community.

External links

Yusuf Zaarur, Baghdadi Jewish musical master

The Forward ''The Forward'' ( yi, פֿאָרווערטס, Forverts), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, ...

, 23 September 2016, on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

The musician Joseph Zaarur, part 1
a video on the YouTube (melodies),

Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center (Hebrew: מרכז מורשת יהדות בבל) is a museum and research center in Or Yehuda, Israel. History The Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center was founded in 1973 as a non-profit institution for the purpose of ...

The musician Joseph Zaarur, part 2
a video on the YouTube (melodies), Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center
The musician Joseph Zaarur, part 3
a video on the YouTube (melodies), Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center
An Evening in Memory of Joseph Zaaror at the Babylonian Heritage Center - Part 1
a video on the YouTube, Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center
An Evening in Memory of Joseph Zaaror at the Babylonian Heritage Center - Part 2
a video on the YouTube, Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Za'arur, Yusuf Iraqi musicians Jewish musicians 1902 births 1969 deaths