5 Emahoy TseguéMaryam Guèbrou

Ethiopia Song (Éthiopiques 21) You say: “An 80-year-old pianist nun? Pretty cool.” Peter Culshaw, via Facebook

Sixteen solo piano tunes, beautifully played and occupying a midpoint between classical and folk, but where to start on Guèbrou’s life? The first five tracks come from a German 10-inch released at Haile Selassie’s request; royalties always go to charities; she studied music in Switzerland from the age of six; she was a PoW in the second war with Mussolini’s Italy in 1936; fluent in nine languages, she was the first female employee of the Ethiopian civil service. She still plays piano in the Ethiopian convent in Jerusalem where she has lived for 37 years. She will be 98 in December. And you’re wondering whether or not to buy this collection?