EMAHOY TSEGE MARIAM - Church of Kidane Mehret LP (clear)

Deeply resonant spiritual music, rendered through piano, organ, and harmonium by the beloved composer and Ethiopian Orthodox nun Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru. "Church of Kidane Mehret" brings together the complete musical works from Emahoy's eponymous 1972 privately released album, plus two additional unreleased piano recordings of Emahoy's "Ethiopian Church Music." The recordings were made in churches throughout Jerusalem. For the first time, we hear Emahoy on the harmonium and massive, booming pipe organ, alongside some of her most moving piano pieces. On "Ave Maria," her chiming piano echoes against ancient stone walls. Her familiar melodic lines take on a new resonance when played through the harmonium in "Spring Ode - Meskerem." Two superb organ pieces form the B-side, combining Emahoy's classical European training with her lifelong study of Ethiopian religious music. Nowhere is Emahoy's unique combination of influences more evident than in "Essay on Mahlet," a meditative long-seller in which Emahoy interprets the free verses of the Orthodox liturgy note for note on the piano. This insightful piece, along with the dramatic piano composition "The Storm," comes from another self-released album, "Der Sang Des Meeres" (The Song of the Sea) from 1963. One of the only known copies was rescued from the trash and given to Mississippi Records by a fellow nun from Emahoy's convent on the sidelines of Emahoy's funeral in March 2023. The vinyl editions come in an old-school tip-on jacket with metallic silver foil stamping and a 12-page booklet with extensive liner notes by scholar and pianist Thomas Feng.