Unmissable, wonderful solo piano. Chopin, Tatum, Satie and company, steeped in the Ethiopian sound.

Utterly beautiful solo-piano explorations in African folk, spiritual meditation, Satie-esque classicism and Tatum-esque jazz, by this Ethiopian nun, making her 1963 LP debut, recorded in Germany. Stunning; highly recommended.

‘Gebru is a true original,’ says the label. ‘Her playing is somewhere between Satie, Debussy, the liturgical music of the Coptic Ethiopian Church, and Ethiopian traditional music. It is some of the most moving piano music you will ever hear! All original compositions available for the first time on vinyl beyond the original early 1960s editions, which are completely impossible to find. Old school tip-on cover with gold foil printing. A must-have masterpiece for anyone who needs some spiritual comfort.’

‘Emahoy recorded these songs direct to cassette tape in her family’s home in Addis Ababa in the late 70s. She carried the master tapes with her when she entered permanent exile in Jerusalem in 1985. They stayed in her tiny cell at the Church of Kidane Mehret until her passing, in March 2023, aged 99.
‘I was on my way to see Emahoy and talk about the release of these songs when she passed away. While helping her family clear and pack her belongings, we found the original master tapes, from which this album is produced. Intimate, close, home recordings. You can hear Emahoy’s finger pressing down the stop button, the creak of her piano bench, birds out the window.
‘These are songs of mourning and exile. The Ethiopian Revolution of 1974 had changed her country so radically that Emahoy sang of missing home even though she was still physically in the country.
‘Emahoy wanted badly for these songs to be heard. She was proud of them, and even produced a tiny run of private press CDs sold at the gift shop of the monastery in 2013. But her family and those closest to her advised her against the release, worried about the intense backlash she’d receive for singing as a nun in the conservative Orthodox church.
‘Finally, these recordings get the release they deserve. We hope to do justice to the music and Emahoy’s legacy with this release — packaged in a reflective gold sleeve, with a sixteen-page booklet featuring lyric translations and photos of Emahoy’s life in the monastery in Jerusalem.’
(Cyrus, Mississippi Records).

Her 1972 private-press LP, plus two unreleased piano recordings, mapping out a deeply personal take on Ethiopian Church Music.
Here is Emahoy’s most directly sacred and spiritual music-making — and some of her most moving — self-recorded in churches across Jerusalem, on piano, harmonium, and pipe organ.
With extensive biographical notes by Thomas Feng. Beautifully remastered. Old school tip-on jacket with silver-foil stamping. Black or clear vinyl.