Esther Ofarim - אסתר עופרים - היו לילות

Описание: היו לילות
כתב: יעקב אורלנד
הלחין: מרדכי זעירא
מתוך תכנית הארוח של אורי זוהר 1971
על החליל: אורי שוהם. על הגיטרה: יוסוף עלי
On the flute plays Uri Shoham
On the guitar - Yusuf Allie


It was 1971 when Esther gave her second concert in the Mann Auditorium in Tel Aviv. In 1970 someone from the audience shouted "Hebrew!!" just before Esther's anchor...

Esther was banned in the Israeli radio for some years from approx. 1964 until 1968. They used to say that the ban was because of Esther success in Germany but the truth is that the ban was because of provinciality and sheer jealousy... Nana Mouskouri has suffered the same deal in Greece... something to do with Mediterranean mentality perhaps... Anyway, after all this Esther said to the press in 1971 " Someone shouted Hebrew, I am really scared" and gave in 1971 one of her finest performance ever. The audience at the front line picked up the gardenias that were decorating the stage and threw them on Esther who was shining with happiness. It was Passover and here she is in Uri Zohr's show which took place then. This is her first appearance on Israeli television. On the flute plays Uri Shoham who was the first flutist of the Israel Philharmonic and on the guitar - Yusuf Allie, who was Julian Bream's pupil and used to travel with Esther in those days.

Here you see Hanoch Hasson, the man who "discovered" Esther so to speak. He was in charge of the entertainment section of Kol Israel and the Israeli television. He tells how he saw the Ofarims, "I saw that Esther is a big star" and told Esther to sing alone, by herself. He then tells that Hayu Laylot was a forgotten song and that the recording of it in 1961 was actually made for the Kol Israel radio station. He tells how Esther was moved by the text and started to cry in the middle of the recording and that he told her that she must overcome this. Then he tells that the recording was sold to Israphone - the record label that issued that amazing recording.