Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou

Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru (Gəʿəz እማሆይ ፅጌ ማርያም ገብሩ ደስታ; born Yewubdar Gebru, 12 December 1923 – 26 March 2023), was an Ethiopian composer, pianist, and nun. She is generally known as Emahoy, a religious honorific.

Biography 1920s–1950s Emahoy Tsege Mariam was born as Yewubdar Gebru in Addis Ababa, on 12 December 1923, to a wealthy Amhara family. Her given name Yewubdar means the most beautiful one in Amharic. Her mother was named Kassaye Yelemtu. Her father, Kentiba Gebru Desta, was a diplomat and the mayor of Gondar, a city in the Amhara region of Ethiopia. In 1933, Emahoy returned to Ethiopia, attending Empress Menen Secondary School. When Emperor Haile Selassie appointed him as head of the Imperial Guard band, Emahoy would join Kontorowicz to perform piano compositions for the Emperor.

1960s–1970s She left the Addis Ababa convent and returned to her family where she composed music for the violin, piano and organ.

Emahoy died on 26 March 2023 in Jerusalem, at the age of 99. Her funeral was held at the Kidane Mehret Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Jerusalem, on 31 March 2023, where a piano which had belonged to her was played in tribute.

As of 2023, a biopic about Emahoy's life entitled Labyrinth of Belonging is being produced by The Emahoy Tsege Mariam Music Foundation.

Music

Emahoy did not release any of her music made during the 1970s to the 1990s, due to the Derg party coup in 1974, which heavily policed non government or military oriented music. This led to a resurgence of Emahoy's compositions from the 1960s and 1970s when a compilation of Emahoy's work was issued on the Éthiopiques record label. The album Éthiopiques Volume 21: Ethiopia Song was released by Francis Falceto in 2006. Emahoy also appeared on the 2012 album The Rough Guide to the Music of Ethiopia, and the 2011 album The Rough Guide to African Lullabies.

For three decades, she lived a reclusive life with only rare performances, including one at the Jewish Community Center in Washington, D.C., on 12 July 2008. Three tribute concerts were held in Jerusalem in 2013 to mark her 90th birthday, and a compilation of her musical scores were released.

During her life, Emahoy composed over 150 songs for piano, organ, opera, and chamber ensembles.

Composition style Emahoy's composition style has been described as a meld of various genres and musical scales. While her music has been described as both jazz and melodic blues piano with rhythmically complex phrasing, it has equally been described as having the musical quality of 19th century European romantic classical piano because of her use of tempo rubato. Count Basie Erik Satie Her music was featured in the soundtrack of the 2020 documentary Time. Two of her compositions were also featured in the 2021 Netflix movie Passing: The Homeless Wanderer (used in the official trailer) and The Last Tears of a Deceased. Her music is also featured in the 2024 Indian film All We Imagine As Light. Further, Emahoy's Evening Breeze and A Young Girl's Complaint have been featured in the 2021 film C’mon C’mon. Evening Breeze was also been featured in the 2023 film Yannick, which likewise includes her compositions Mad Man's Laughter, and The Homeless Wanderer. The latter had previously appeared in the 2016 film Porto, alongside Emahoy's piece Presentiment.

Discography Albums Spielt eigene Kompositionen, 1963. Reissued by Mississippi Records in 2022. The Hymn of Jerusalem. The Jordan River Song, 1970. Reissued by Mississippi Records in 2022 as Jerusalem. Yet My King Is from Old, Church Of Kidane Mehret, 1972. The Visionary: Piano Solo, Emahoy Tsegue Maryam Music Foundation, 2012. Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru, Mississippi Records, 2022. Souvenirs, Mississippi Records, 2024. Songs recorded on cassette between 1977 and 1985 by Emahoy. Church of Kidane Mehret, Mississippi Records, 2025. The album brings together the complete set of musical pieces from Emahoy’s self-released 1972 album of the same name, along with two previously unheard solo piano recordings.

Compilations Éthiopiques 21: Ethiopia Song, Buda Musique, 2006. Emahoy Tsegué-Mariam Guèbru, Mississippi Records, 2016.

Video a video of Emahoy playing at the age of 89 in her final residence in Jerusalem. The song played is Presentiment.