Israeli singer Noa: the story of an artist who loves Sardinia
The Israeli singer Noa and the Sardinian trumpet player Paolo Fresu are the interpreters of Due Cuori-Andimironnai, a song based on an ancient Sardinian melody.
Sardinia is the island of treasures: dreamy beaches, wild and unspoilt nature, cities full of charm and music, both instrumental and sung, among the oldest places in the Mediterranean basin that is still fascinating today, excites and captures the interest of musicians from all over the world just as the Israeli singer Noa who, along with the Berchiddese trumpeter Paolo Fresu, is the interpreter of Two Hearts-Andimironnai.
The piece is composed, arranged and orchestrated by the Sardinian pianist and composer Andrea Granitzio and based on the melody of Andimironnai, a traditional Sardinian monodic chant belonging to a project to rediscover and enhance the true identity of Sardinia.
Noa, the pseudonym of Achinoam Nini, is a world-famous Israeli singer for her enchanting voice and the message of peace and hope that she tries to convey through her music. Born in Tel Aviv on June 23rd, 1969, to a family of Yemeni Jews, she moved to New York with her parents when she was two, where her father had obtained a position as a university professor.
After an identity crisis, she decided to return to Israel when she was 17, where she served for two years. Later, Noa described that period as so: “I was alone, among girls who spoke a Hebrew that I did not understand, I slept with a gun under the bed”. In Israel, she met the pediatrician Asher Barak, whom she later married and with whom she had three children: Ayehli, Aeneas, and Yum.
In 1991 she released her first album “Achinoam Nini and Gil Dor Live”, followed by her first studio work three years later entitled “Noa”, which is taken from one of her best-known songs: I Don’t Know. Five years later, she released the second studio album Calling, and on July 5th of the same year, she participated in the concert of Antonello Venditti in Piazza del Plebiscito, Naples.
The following year she was chosen by Roberto Benigni to interpret the song “Beautiful That Way”, the soundtrack of the film “La vita è Bella”, which was later included in the successful album “Blue Touches Blue” in 2000. In 1997 she collaborated with Pino Daniele on the album “Dimmi Cosa succede sulla terra” with the song “The desert in my head”.
During the 2000s, she participated in many music festivals and published new works including “Noapolis”, a tribute to a classical Neapolitan song, and “Letters to Bach”, in which she recounts her deep admiration for Johann Sebastian Bach with 12 pieces of music by the German composer with an addition of English and Hebrew texts inspired by themes from her personal sphere to a more universal one.
In 2001 she was awarded the “Pace Award”, followed by others such as the “Cavaliere dell’Ordine Della Stella d’Italia” and the “Voce del Mediterraneo”, awarded by the Maria Carta Foundation for Noa’s attention to Sardinian culture and music as demonstrated in different performances with songwriters Andrea Parodi and Elena Ledda.
Israeli singer Noa: the song “Due Cuori-Andimironnai”
S’Andimironnai is an ancient lost song that, according to some scholars, dates back to the time of the ancient city of Nora and now lives on in “Two Hearts-Andimironnai”, the song played by the beautiful voice of the Israeli singer Noa, accompanied by the notes of the talented Berchiddese trumpeter Paolo Fresu.
The song, available on the mainstreaming platforms from March 21st, 2021, was recorded at the Jane Studio in Cagliari under the direction of American sound engineer Marti Jane Robertson, who also edited the mix and mastering. Noa wanted to enrich the precious Sardinian verses with the last verse in Hebrew and recorded the voice in her home studio in Tel Aviv, while Paolo Fresu recorded his trumpet at the Over Studio in Cento (Ferrara) with the sound technician Angelo Paracchini.
The Budapest Art Orchestra, conducted by Peter Pejtsik, and the musicians Alice Marras and Stefania Secci Rosa, collaborated on the song, with choirs, Gianluca Pischedda, cello, Alessio Povolo, double bass and Daniele Russo, on drums. Andrea Granitzio, who in Due Cuori – Andimironnai plays the piano, took the valuable advice of the poet Mario Brasu and the ethnomusicologist Marco Lutzu.
Due Cuori – Andimironnai is part of the most articulated project Indòru – Cross-Cultural Identity Project, funded by the Autonomous Region of Sardinia – Department of Education, Cultural Heritage, Information, Entertainment and Sport through the Call Identitylab_2 – POR FESR 2014-2020, which promotes an interdisciplinary approach to the cultural production on Sardinia’s identity by linking architecture, sculpture, sound and music in the artistic production of Master Pinuccio Sciola, revisiting the Sardinian tradition in a contemporary perspective.
Do you want to discover the ancient musical traditions of Sardinia and have a holiday full of charm and elegance? Book your stay at Palazzo Doglio in Cagliari.
