Tal Arbel
טל ארבל
Every note begins with a story...
Tal Arbel was born and raised in Tel Aviv. She studied at Tel Aviv School of Arts, and when she chose to study in the Music department and was asked which instrument she wanted to play, the answer was: "A combination of cello and guitar." No one could have imagined that this idea would actually come true a few years later ...
Meanwhile, Tal discovered great talent as a recorder player and studied with Tamar Sinai, Pieter Van Houwelingen, Eyal Lerner and Michael Melzer. At the age of fourteen she began to perform on concert stages with various ensembles as well as teaching the recorder to young children. At that time, Tal had also experienced studying and playing the cello, but she realised that it was not suitable for her; The techniques and styles of musical expression applied to modern cello discipline did not match the aesthetics and the principles of historical performance practice of Renaissance and Baroque music - early music, with which she identified as a recorder player.
In 1992, the film Tous Les Matins du Monde by French director Alain Corneau, based on a short book by the same name, was screened at Israeli cinemas. It tells the story of Monsieur de Sainte Colombe - a mysterious composer and viola da gamba player in Baroque Paris, and his well known pupil Marin Marais. (The viola da gamba of the viol family, a bowed instrument with six or seven strings, preceded the violin and the cello, and differs from these instruments in many aspects. It can produce both melodies and harmonies, and during its French days of glory it was considered the “most perfect imitator of the human voice”).
A few months earlier, before a teachers concert at the Early Music Workshop in Jerusalem, Tal heard the sound of the viola da gamba for the first time. Brazilian violist Myrna Herzog was tuning her instrument in the resonating hall of the Scottish Church, and there was no doubt whatsoever: this sound was right on the spot!
Soon enough the dream became a reality: Myrna Herzog immigrated to Israel with her family, and Tal became her first Sabra student, who made her first steps playing the viol in a small room at the new immigrants Absorption Center. When she was watching the film and for a few years to come, Tal was the youngest viola da gamba player, and the only one of her age, in Israel.
Tal continued her studies in the classical music department at Thelma Yellin High School for the Arts and served as a distinguished musician in the IDF Education Corps. She was awarded scholarships and grants by the Israeli Sharett Fund and by several foundations in Europe.
Prior to her academic studies abroad Tal studied viola da gamba with Nima Ben David in France and Israel and participated in various master classes. She performed in concerts and music festivals with established ensembles such as the Jerusalem Baroque Orchestra, as well as being a founding member in groups such as Arcadia, Anis Duo and Phoenix, and performing regularly for veteran citizens and in kindergartens (on behalf of Omanut La'am art organisation). Between 1998-2001 Tal taught recorders and chamber ensembles at Neve Sharett conservatory in Tel Aviv and at Ramat Hasharon Conservatory, as well as teaching master classes and music workshops.
In 2001 Tal was accepted at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis (Basel, Switzerland) - a leading academy in the field of historical performance practice and research, where she stayed until 2005 and studied viola da gamba with Paolo Pandolfo. As part of her syllabus she also studied the vielle (medieval string instruments), the voice, harpsichord (solo repertoire and Basso Continuo), historical dance and sound engineering. She participated in concert tours in Switzerland, England, Cyprus, Slovenia, France, Germany, Poland and Austria. Tal holds a Master's diploma in Viola da Gamba and early music from the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, and her dissertation on live concerts in the era of recordings is the basis for one of her lecture topics to date.
Between 2005-2010 Tal Arbel lived in London, UK, where she established herself as a virtuoso viola da gamba player focusing on solo repertoire. She performed in recitals and chamber concerts, and served as ‘house musician’ at All Saints Church in Blackheath, London. She worked as Head of Culture and Education at Spiro Ark charity for Jewish Culture, where she took part in the production of an international competition for the performance of Israeli music and in organising cultural and current events for the Jewish community in London. Tal was invited to give two talks at the British Viola da Gamba Society meetings, which were followed by two articles published in the VdGS magazine. She gave viola da gamba and consort lessons, and as part of a research year at the Royal College of Music in London, she initiated and led workshops to students in composition, introducing them to the viola da gamba and its unique characteristics.
Tal’s innovative solo CD - Gambit, recorded in London, introduces a refreshing approach to viola da gamba repertoire, bringing together pieces from different periods. It includes Baroque music as well as pieces composed by Tal Arbel and a work written especially for her by Israeli composer Daniel Akiva.
Tal Arbel moved back to Israel in 2010, where she appears frequently as a soloist in recitals and chamber music concerts, with ensembles and orchestras such as the Jerusalem Baroque Orchestra, Phoenix and the Camerata Orchestra, as well as in concerts she artistically directs independently. She also participates in various recordings, and produces music lectures and cultural events. Tal has taught chamber music and recorders at Thelma Yellin High School for the Arts and at the Musicli Center, and since 2018 she is viola da gamba and chamber music ensembles teacher at the Israeli Conservatory of Music (Stricker) in Tel Aviv.
Alongside her music practice, Tal has found great interest in all aspects of the unique challenges faced by musicians, and decided to study personal coaching in order to expand her toolbox. For some years now she has been a certified personal coach (on behalf of the WTT coaching school and the Professional Development Unit of the School of Education at Bar-Ilan University). Tal specializes in coaching young musicians for self efficacy, time management and ADHD (attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder).
In 2012 Tal was invited to perform at an event in frame of the book festival at the Cameri Theater in Tel Aviv, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Hebrew translation of Tous Les Matins du Monde. Parts of the book were read in French and in Hebrew, and Tal shared the stage, playing pieces by Marin Marais, with the renowned French actor Jean-Pierre Marielle, who had formerly played the role of the mysterious composer and viola da gamba teacher Sainte Colombe.
