Alemu Aga (born 1950) is an Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

n musician and singer, a master of the bèguèna

Begena

The begena is an Ethiopian and Eritrean string instrument that resembles a large lyre. According to Ethiopian tradition, Menelik I brought the instrument to Ethiopia from Israel, where David had used the begena to soothe King Saul's nerves and heal him of insomnia...

.

Born in Entotta, near Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...

, Alemu became interested in the begena

Begena

The begena is an Ethiopian and Eritrean string instrument that resembles a large lyre. According to Ethiopian tradition, Menelik I brought the instrument to Ethiopia from Israel, where David had used the begena to soothe King Saul's nerves and heal him of insomnia...

 (a ten-stringed member of the lute

Lute

Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....

 family, also known as "King David's Harp") at the age of twelve, when a master of the instrument moved in next door to his family, the Aleqa

Aleqa

The title Aleqa is used in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. It is used as the title of a chief priest, the head of a monastery, as well as being an honorific for a highly educated member of the church, especially in the case of dabtaras.-Sources:* by Zelealem Tefera Ashenafi and N...

 Tessema Welde-Emmanuel. Aleqa Tessema began teaching at Ras Desta

Desta Damtew

Ras Desta Damtew was an Ethiopian noble, an army commander, and a son-in-law of Emperor Haile Selassie I.-Biography:...

 school, where Alemu was a pupil. As well as studying the begena at school, Alemu carried his master's instrument to and from school, and thus benefited from more of Tessema's time.

He went on to study geography

Geography

Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...

 at Addis Ababa University

Addis Ababa University

Addis Ababa University is a university in Ethiopia. It was originally named "University College of Addis Ababa" at its founding, then renamed for the former Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie I in 1962, receiving its current name in 1975.Although the university has six of its seven campuses within...

, and after graduation went to work as a geography teacher at the Yared

Yared

Saint Yared was a semi-legendary Ethiopian musician credited with inventing the sacred music tradition of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and Ethiopia's system of musical notation...

 Music School, where for seven years he also taught begena. Alemu went on to become an acknowledged master of the instrument, first recorded in 1972 by Cynthia Tse Kimberlin

Cynthia Tse Kimberlin

Cynthia Tse Kimberlin is an American ethnomusicologist. She is the Executive Director and Publisher of the Music Research Institute and MRI Press, based in Point Richmond, California...

 for a major UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

 collection, and performing and broadcasting around the world. In 1974, however, the Derg

Derg

The Derg or Dergue was a Communist military junta that came to power in Ethiopia following the ousting of Haile Selassie I. Derg, which means "committee" or "council" in Ge'ez, is the short name of the Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces, Police, and Territorial Army, a committee of...

 military junta came to power in Ethiopia; their anti-religious

Antireligion

Antireligion is opposition to religion. Antireligion is distinct from atheism and antitheism , although antireligionists may be atheists or antitheists...

 policies also included the banning of the begena from radio broadcasts, and the closing down of the Yared School's teaching of the instrument. As a result, Alemu Aga decided to give up his teaching post in 1980, and opened a souvenir shop in Addis Ababa's Piazza district.

For a time he played only in private, but the collapse of the Derg's régime led eventually to a change in state policy, and Alemu again began to teach and perform in public.

Sources

• "Alèmu Aga — Master of the Begena" by Seifu Mahifere
• Liner notes from Ethiopiques 11: The Harp of King David
  Ethiopiques
  Ethiopiques is a series of compact discs featuring Ethiopian and Eritrean singers and musicians. Many of the Ethiopiques CDs compile various singles and albums that Amha Records, Kaifa Records, and Philips-Ethiopia released during the 1960s and 1970s in Ethiopia...
  
  (Buda Musique: 82232-2)