HaTarnegolim

HaTarnegolim (Hebrew:התרנגולים; lit. The Roosters) was an Israeli performing ensemble active in the early 1960s.

History and programs
The Israeli performing ensemble "HaTarnegolim" began its activity in 1960 under the direction and musical guidance of Naomi Polani. It comprised former members of military entertainment troupes. The initiative to establish the band came from soldiers in the military bands who had worked with Polani during their military service and wanted to continue their joint activity.

The first program
The first album cover The debut performance of the first program took place in May 1961, featuring Yehoram Gaon, Hanan Goldblatt, Yisrael Poliakov, Amiram Spector, Tuval Patt, Tzvika Gertel, Yossi Tzemach, and Shaike Levi. It consisted of well-known songs from the military bands, and from ensembles such as "Batzal Yarok" and "The Theater Club Quartet". In addition, the band performed new songs written for them by Sasha Argov and Haim Hefer. The name "HaTarnegolim" was coined by Dan Ben-Amotz. Moshe Wilensky was in charge of the musical arrangements while all other creative work, aside from the songwriting itself, was entrusted to Naomi Polani.

Polani did not hold open auditions for the public. Being an experienced director from the military bands, she drew talents from those bands, making it easier for her to impose her unique artistic spirit on the discharged soldiers. The first team lasted only for one album.

The second program
The second album cover The second program of HaTarnegolim was launched in July 1963. Team A underwent changes and presented a semi-new face towards the premiere and the second record. The second team included for the first time two women - Aliza Rosen and Devorah (Dekovsky) Dotan - as well as Lior Yeynni, Gavri Banai, Shaike Levi, Israel Poliakov, Amiram Spector, Tuval Patt, and Yigal Klaus.

All the songs in the program were specially written for the band by Haim Hefer, Dan Almagor, and O. Hillel and were composed by Sasha Argov. The songs added to the previous repertoire in the second program were: "Everything is Gold", "A Lonely Lantern", "If You Will", "Hora of Love", "Boring", and "A Soldier's Love Song" by Hefer, "The Cats' Song", "Just Because", "Yossi My Successful Child" by O. Hillel, and "When You Say No" by Almagor.

Polani divided the show into different themes and asked the creators to write about those themes. Thus, in the theme "Neighborhood", the band combined songs with sketches that presented images from neighborhood life, among them the sketch-song "The Neighborhood Song". In the theme "Colors", the songs "The Purple Dress" and "Everything is Gold" were performed.

HaTarnegolim performed across the country without amplification, as the professional conditions did not allow sound for seven people, and there were no portable microphones available, so the singing could have been lost due to the constant movement on stage.

The band performed several times abroad: in Belgium, where the only television program recorded in the Flemish television archive was filmed, in Marseille, Paris, Milan, and Rome, not necessarily in front of a Jewish audience.

Appreciation and importance
HaTarnegolim greatly reflected the collective Israeli experience and became a symbol of the innocence of the early Israeli society. As expressed in the lyrics of Haim Hefer and A. Hillel, who are considered a model of Sabra culture, so too through the compositions of Sasha Argov and the direction of Polani. The young singers, both Eastern and Ashkenazi, graduates of the military bands, groomed and smiling, were a vital symbol for the adults and a symbol of mischief and brilliance for the young. The legacy of the military bands greatly influenced the character of the ensemble. Both the entertainment genre and the folk blend of music, singing, and dance in Israel grew from the legacy of the military bands of the early state.

Discography

 * HaTarnegolim The First Program (1961)
 * HaTarnegolim The Second Program (1963)
 * HaTarnegolim – Compilation Album (1989)