Paulus Khofri
Encyclopedia
Assyrian people
The Assyrian people are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, lyricist
Lyricist
A lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...
and painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
. He was born August 7, 1923 in Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and died in Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
(ایران) in May 2000 at the age of 77.
Biography
Paulus Khofri's father, Jibrael Khofri, and his mother Victoria, were of Assyrian descent and originally from Iran. They left Iran during the Assyrian GenocideAssyrian genocide
The Assyrian Genocide refers to the mass slaughter of the Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac population of the Ottoman Empire during the 1890s, the First World War, and the period of 1922-1925...
of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, migrating to Iraq where they lived for many years. In 1928, the Khofri family returned to Iran and settled in Bakhtaran, Kermanshah
Kermanshah
Kermanshah is a city in and the capital of Kermanshah Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 784,602, in 198,117 families.The overwhelming majority of Kermanshahi people are Shi'a Muslims...
(كرمانشاه) in Western Iran. Khofri grew up in Kermanshah and graduated from high school there.
Khofri's father was an accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
player, who inspired his son to learn the instrument. Khofri was a natural and soon began to develop popular Assyrian music into a classical style. Eventually this led to the establishment of the Assyrian Music Ensemble in Kermanshah. The ensemble performed many concerts for the Assyrian community.
Khofri had great love and appreciation for music. He continued his musical studies in composition through correspondence courses from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and finally obtained a diploma in music composition and harmony from the United States School of Music, a correspondence school located in Port Washington
Port Washington
Port Washington is the name of some places in the United States of America:*Port Washington, New York*Port Washington, Ohio*Port Washington, Wisconsin, a city*Port Washington , Wisconsin, a town...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Khofri conducted the Saint Joseph Catholic Church Choir in Tehran for many years and also taught piano and music on the side while working for the Iranian Oil Company until his retirement.
Khofri is credited with composing numerous Assyrian folk songs including Assyrian and Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
lyrics. An accomplished painter, along with these musical compositions, he often included landscapes
Landscape art
Landscape art is a term that covers the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, and especially art where the main subject is a wide view, with its elements arranged into a coherent composition. In other works landscape backgrounds for figures can still...
of villages in Urmia
Urmia
- Demographics :According to official census of 2006, the population of Urmia is about 871,204.- Language :The population of Urmia is mainly Azerbaijani people, with Kurdish, Assyrian Christian, and Armenian minorities...
done in black ink or water color.
In 1985, the Assyrian Foundation of America, in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, gave him an award in recognition of his work in Assyrian folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
.
Vocal music
- Book# 1 Yoomani'd Eda Soora (Christmas Days) for piano and vocal (Illustrated), 1972
- Book # 2 Zamrakh Am Ikhdadi (Sing Together) Tome 1 for piano and vocal (Illustrated), 1982
- Book #3 Sheeta'd IsreI Arba Yakhi (24 Months a Year) two songs for every month of the year with illustrations, 1982
- Book # 4 Zamrakh Mikhdadi (Sing together) Tome 2 classic folkloric song for 2, 3 and 4 voices, 1984
- Book # 5 Galli'd Zoomari Tome 3 for piano and vocals (illustrated), 1988
- Book # 6 Zmoor Blishanookh ( Sing in your Mother’s Language) for young singers, 1998
- Book # 7 Songs of Praise Tome 1 for Organ and Vocals, 1988
Instrumental Music
- Book # 1 Braghala'd Nemati Tome 2 No. 1 for piano, 1970
- Book # 2 Braghala'd Nemati Tome 2 No. 2 for Piano, 1980
- Book # 3 Assyrt Tome 1 classic folkloric music for piano, 1984
- Book # 4 Nemati Mbazgha Tome 1 No. 1 for piano, 1987
- Book # 5 Braghala'd Nemati Tome 2 No. 1 piano, violin, flute, guitar 1988. This book contains five parts: No. 1 Sonata in G minor for violin and cello, dedicated to Maestro William S. Daniel, Assyrian composer and author; No. 2 Sonata in G Major for piano, composed in ZurichZürichZurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, dedicated to Issa BenyaminIssa Benyamin-Biography:Assyrian calligrapher, Issa Benyamin was born to Assyrian parents, Mirza Benyamin Kaldani and Esther in 1924 in Tabriz, Iran and shortly thereafter, settled in Urmia, once a heavily Assyrian populated region in northwestern Iran that was the site of the Assyrian Genocide of...
, the famous Assyrian calligrapher; No. 3 Fantasia in G minor for flute and guitar, dedicated to Mr. Simon Tomik, a classical guitarist; No. 4 Suite in D minor for violin, flute, guitar and piano, titled Braghala min Toora, dedicated to the Assyrian Highlanders; No. 5 Dipna'd Aina (Near the Spring) in D Major for flute, guitar and piano, composed for young girls in the villages bringing fresh cold water, in clay jars for their fathers working in the wheat fields
Orchestral music
- Book # 1 Assyrian Classic Folkloric Dance Compilation, May 1998
- Book # 2 Epic of Gilgamesh, May 1998
Famous quotes
- Whatever reaches one's ears, reflects all tides of life this nation has undergone in the past, present and will experience in the future.http://www.edessa.com/music/khofri.htm
- Music seeks to retain firmly that spirit, either sung by men and women praising God; or hummed by the farmer tilling his field. The joy of a young man whistling expecting to meet the girl he loves. The beating of the drum and the song of the fife in religious Shara (festivals). The blaring of the Brass instruments in anger, the wailing of the Oboe in sorrow, the intimate chatter of the string instruments all tell and paint vivid images of life in waves of sound. It is hoped, therefore, one can peep through this small window of music and see the revival of our past culture in budding.http://www.edessa.com/music/khofri.htm