Asnakech Worku was born in 1931, in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia. Since the times of Emperor Haile Selassie I, she has become a legend in Ethiopian music.
Asnakech accompanies herself on the Krar, the small Ethiopian lyre.
She bought her first instrument for 25 Cents when she was a child and learned how to play the instrument by watching the Azmari, the Ethiopian musicians that are sometimes compared with the minnesingers and troubadours of the European Middle Ages.
Asnakech began performing in small bars and cabarets. But before starting her career as a famous singer and musician, she first started to work as an actress and dancer at the City Hall Theatre in 1952 and later on in 1955 at the Haile Selassie I Theatre, where she started to sing and play the Krar beside her work as an actress. There she worked until her retirement in the late 80s.
At that time, Asnakech was the first actress in Ethiopia and the only famous woman beside Mary Armede who played the Krar.
For many years she was recognized to be one of the greatest Krar players in Ethiopia. She became the most famous traditional female musician in her home country.
She was one of the very few artists that helped to develop the Ethiopian cultural scene and deeply influenced it. She is highly respected by the modern artists and the people of her home country.
Asnakech's songs became a part of the rich repertoire of folk songs in Ethiopia.
Hits like "Ende Jerusalem" are still sung by many Ethiopian artists. And there is something very special to report about Asnakech Worku: in the male dominated world of African master musicians, she is an unassailable authority.
Asnakech did numerous LP and Cassette recordings in Ethiopia. As well there is a CD that was recorded and released in Germany, in 1996, while she was touring Europe.
She has traveled throughout the entire world and performed in many different countries.
Since 2003 Asnakech Worku was suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. For this reason she couldn't be able to perform anymore.
She died on September 15, 2011.
She was a great unique artist & an outstanding Krar (Lyre) performer and singer.
To order her CD "Ende Jeruslalem" go to: www.acoustic-music.de
music.
To download go to: itunes.apple.com/de/artist/asnakech-worku/id216329410