Nomadic Night
Maya Dunietz
Maya Dunietz plays Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou
Location: In the Fondation Cartier’s garden, view access map
Prices and conditions
About the event
Composer: Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou.
Pianist: Maya Dunietz.
Video (6 minutes)
Cinematography: Racheli Rusinek
Courtesy of the Jerusalem Season of Culture
Editing: Alina Alexa
Additional editing: Daniel Meir
Sound editing: Daniel Meir
We are particularly happy to be able to reschedule this Nomadic Night initially programmed for November 5 and 6, 2020 and which had been canceled due to the health situation linked to the COVID-19 virus.
In 2006, the legendary Éthiopiques collection revealed the musical compositions of Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou, a 97-year-old Ethiopian nun living in an Ethiopian monastery in Jerusalem. That year, Israeli sound artist and pianist Maya Dunietz made her acquaintance. Around 2010, Emahoy approached Dunietz in a request for collaboration, their friendship evolved and, since then, Dunietz has been working to make the music and fascinating life of Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou known to the world. This Ethiopian artist was born into the aristocratic milieu of Addis Ababa and destined for a career as a classical composer. However, her ambitions were prevented by the Emperor and as a result, she chose to retire from the world, becoming a nun at the age of 23.
“Hers is a classical music, with a very special relationship to time, space and landscape (…) it is not on a grandiose scale but is instead intimate, natural, honest and very feminine. It is delicate but profound and all her compositions tell stories of time and place.”
Maya Dunietz
With great subtlety and skill, Maya Dunietz reinterprets this extremely rare repertoire on the piano: melodies tinged with a melancholy joy, at the crossroads of Chopin and Alice Coltrane, Erik Satie and Charles Mingus, a liturgical blues that fuses European influences and Ethiopian tradition. For these two Nomadic Nights events, Maya Dunietz also shares some rare images and footage of Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou, a testimony of their meeting and friendship, which she shares with the public for the first time.
Maya Dunietz
Born in 1981 in Tel Aviv, Maya Dunietz is a pianist, composer, singer, choir director and creator of sound installations. In the 2000s, she embarked on multiple musical experiences and interpretations, combining avant-garde technology and old, traditional techniques. She has created sound installations for sites such as Luna Park in Berlin, the Swiss Pavilion of the Venice Biennale (2011), the Palais de Tokyo (2014) and Centre Georges Pompidou (2018). Since 2013, the artist has developed a unique tribute to Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou, an Ethiopian pianist and composer. Her first solo album, titled Free the Dolphin, has been released in May 2021.
Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou
Born in 1923 in Addis Ababa under the name Yewubdar Gebru, Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou is an Ethiopian nun, primarily known as a composer and pianist. She discovered Western music and studied the violin in Switzerland. Back in Ethiopia, she attended the imperial court and developed her feminist convictions. Following the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, during which she and her family were taken prisoner, her request to study piano on a scholarship in England was refused by the Emperor. Disappointed, she ran away from the life she had once known and became a nun at the age of 23. She continued to study sacred music and released her first album in 1967. She was rediscovered years later after she had spent several decades living as a recluse in an Ethiopian monastery in Jerusalem. Three tribute concerts were held in Jerusalem in 2013 to celebrate her 90th birthday.
In the press:
Practical information
Prices
- Regular admission
- 12€ (13€ on site)
- Reduced admission
-
Conditions of reduced admission.
Students (except for Tuesday from 6pm)
Job seekers
Over 65 years old
Artists
Teachers (Pass Education)
Pass Paris Visite
Members of partners institutions - 8€ (9€ on site)
Additional information
Estimated duration: 50 minutes.
Doors open at 8:30pm.
Concert in the garden of the Fondation Cartier, remember to come with warm clothes if necessary.
Seated places, in respect of the current sanitary measures.
The Nomadic Nights events begin at the time indicated: latecomers will only be allowed entry if this does not disturb the performance.
In case of rain on July 21st, the Nomadic Night will be cancelled (reimbursement made on presentation of the ticket). In case of rain on July 22nd, the Nomadic Night will take place in the exhibition spaces.
This event will be filmed by the teams of the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain on July 22nd for dissemination on its websites and social networks. Audience can possibly appear in the images.
The exhibition Damien Hirst. Cherry Blossoms is not open to the public during the Nomadic Nights events.
In compliance with the current sanitary measures, lockers cannot be used.
From July 21, a valid Health Pass will me mandatory to acces to the Fondation Cartier.
You may find more information about the Health Pass here.
GARDEN INFORMATION
The small garden of the Fondation Cartier is fragile. Help us to protect its ecosystem by respecting these few instructions: please respect the demarcated areas and do not cross them, do not pick flowers, fruits or plants, do not touch the works presented in the garden and do not smoke.
PROTECTIVE MEASURES
To protect your health and limit the potential transmission of the virus, we ask you to respect the following protective measures in our exhibition spaces.
A mask is obligatory for all those over the age of 6 in all spaces of the Fondation Cartier, including the garden. Please come equipped with your own mask.
Disinfect your hands on a regular basis. Hand sanitizers are available throughout our exhibition spaces. Toilets are available on the lower level if you wish to wash your hands.
Please respect the minimum distance of 1 meter with the other visitors.
Cough or sneeze into the crook of your arm or a tissue.
Use a tissue once and throw it away. Trashcans are available at the entrance to the Fondation Cartier, in the garden, and in the toilet on the lower level.