Ishay Ribo’s Friday magic
Singer-songwriter Ishay Ribo performed a pre-Shabbat concert with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.
This past Friday, at the Tel Aviv Culture Center, popular singer-songwriter Ishay Ribo provided a unique and inspiring pre-Shabbat experience for fans of all backgrounds and levels of observance.
The religiously observant, 36-year-old Ribo, known for songs that focus on spirituality and God and often contain lyrics from well-known Jewish prayers or Bible verses, performed for the first time with the entire Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R14e4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R24e4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframeHe welcomed 29-year-old, Beersheba-born conductor Nitai Rach, making his debut with the IPO. The youthful Rach has served as assistant conductor in the Israel Chamber Orchestra under chief conductor Maestro Ariel Zuckermann.
Ribo took the stage 10 minutes after the scheduled 2 p.m. start time, cognizant of the fact that everyone in attendance, including his own wife, needed to get home in time for the start of Shabbat.
“My wife, a mother of six, is here. And she already made the challah!” Ribo said from the stage as the audience cheered.
Some audience members had checked the “last bus to Jerusalem” schedule before the concert started; others brought large backpacks containing Shabbat clothes they would bring to their Shabbat destination as they hustled out of the venue after the concert; and several, including Ribo in an untucked white shirt with long fringes dangling, appeared already dressed for Shabbat. Members of the IPO were formally dressed in suits and long dresses.
Concert features some of Ribo's most popular songs
The singer, who played acoustic guitar on various songs, offered shoutouts to many on the stage and in the audience throughout the roughly two-hour performance. The song “Kol Hazman” was dedicated to IDF soldiers who have fallen in battle.
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R1be4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R2be4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframeMembers of Ribo’s core band played piano, guitars, and a qanun near him at the front of the stage as the philharmonic musicians played more traditional instruments, including violins, harps, flutes, and timpani.
The artist opened with “Or Hachaim.” After the third song, Ribo, who never misses an opportunity to up the holiness of the show, stopped to take a drink of water, preceded by the “shehakol” blessing. The audience shouted out, “Amen!”
Other audience favorites included “Achat U’Litamid,” “Haboker Ya’ale,” and many songs contain psukim (verses) from the Jewish Bible and prayers like the Shema.
Due to the need for careful coordination with the large orchestra, Ribo seemed less free to extend songs at will. But playing with the full orchestra served to add emotion and color to more traditional songs. A delightful and unexpected touch was incorporating music from The Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun” into “HaBoker Ya’aleh.”
Other performances
While this was Ribo’s first experience with the IPO and this setting, the versatile musician has performed solo and with the Idan Raichel Project, Shlomo Artzi, Omer Adam, Natan Goshen, Amir Dadon, and others, and he has played at venues ranging from Sultan’s Pool, the Amphitheater in Caesarea, and the Jerusalem Theatre, in addition to Madison Square Garden in New York (twice) and the March for Israel rally in Washington.
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R1je4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R2je4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframeThe show in Tel Aviv came two weeks after the conclusion of the war with Iran and two days before the traditional period of The Three Weeks, marking the destruction of the Temples in Jerusalem.
Traditional Jews refrain from music until after Tisha B’av, which takes place on August 3. Afterward, Ribo will resume a robust touring schedule with shows in Binyamina (Aug 4), Arad (Aug 5), New York (Aug 7), Tel Aviv (Aug 26), Jerusalem (Aug 28), and Haifa (Sept 4).
