How A Dying Girl's Notes Became An Album | Special Interview

In a moving holiday interview at the 'Kikar HaShabbat' studio, businessman Moti Sonnenfeld was a guest, discussing a unique music album - "Danieli's Songs." The album, released a decade after the tragic death of his daughter Danieli, contains 15 songs written by the special young woman during her short life, composed by the best artists in Jewish-Israeli music.

Danieli Sonnenfeld was taken from the world in a fatal car accident at the age of 20 years and 10 days, but left behind a rich legacy of songs, thoughts, and values that continue to influence people today. The touching album is just one of 140 projects established in her memory, and it serves as a testament to the special soul that Danieli was.

Danieli Sonnenfeld - The Girl Behind the Songs

Danieli Sonnenfeld was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and from a young age displayed exceptional qualities. "Danieli was very, very special," her father Moti recounts in the interview, "of course every father would say that about his daughter, but she was very smart, very, very modest, with a good heart that is impossible to describe, and kindness that is also impossible to describe."

Modesty was one of the prominent characteristics of Danieli's personality. Moti recalls that from a young age, in Rio de Janeiro, Danieli would appreciate her friends and always give of herself. "The bed was a kind of double bed, so there's a better bed and a less good bed, of course she was always in the less good bed," he relates, "this is according to testimonies from her friends, some of whom are now in Israel."

Danieli was exceptionally talented, but never boasted about her achievements. She played piano, flute, and a little guitar, and was very gifted in her studies. Only after her death did her father discover her impressive achievements: "She managed to get accepted to medical school, and she was accepted and chose Beer Sheva. We also found that she scored 768 on the Psychometric exam, all sorts of things we only discovered after she was gone."

Sonnenfeld relates that Danieli would hide all her achievements, all her certificates with perfect grades, because according to her, "it was boring." She was the complete opposite of a person who prided themselves on their achievements.

The Album: "Danieli's Songs"

One of the most special things Danieli left behind were the songs she wrote throughout her life. "She wrote me many notes," Sonnenfeld recalls, "I found additional songs in my books, I assume I'll find more in the future."

The songs included in the album were written by Danieli at different ages, from 8 to 18 and a half. "Usually she wrote for herself," explains the father, "and her mother kept them, or she kept them herself, and when she passed, we began collecting them, and this was mainly the work of her mother, Rachel, and a few friends who helped her, when we were completely broken."

The texts Danieli wrote are surprising in their depth and maturity, especially considering her young age. "These are not texts of a child," Moti says emotionally, "these are texts of a soul observing what's happening around her." He mentions a song she wrote at age 11 about the need for unity among the people, "wow, this was before all our troubles here," he notes admiringly.

Danieli also wrote about "the melody of the soul," a topic her father testifies he never discussed with her. "She talks about the melody of the soul, I never spoke with her about a soul melody, about writing that there's a melody for every soul, and such things that she simply [knew by herself]."

One of the special phrases she wrote and that became a song in the album is "What would happen if everyone were flowers," a phrase that Yonatan Razel "fell in love with" and turned into a song on the album.

The album "Danieli's Songs" brings together moving collaborations with the best artists in Jewish-Israeli music. In the interview, Moti Sonnenfeld lists a long line of artists who took part in the special project: Ishay Ribo, Akiva, Ishay Lapidot, Yonatan Razel, Evyatar Banai, Aharon Razel, Yehoram Gaon, Yosef Nativ, Chaim Tzipel, Amir Dadon, Chaim Haveri, and more.

The first to compose one of Danieli's songs was singer and creator Ishay Ribo. "He was the first, yes, he was the starter, he took 'Express Love' which she wrote for her mother," recounts Moti. Ishay Ribo couldn't believe Danieli wrote the song at such a young age, and even laughed at first. But he connected with the text and turned it into a moving song.

Interestingly, some of the artists knew Danieli personally. Ishay Lapidot, for example, knew Danieli closely, and through him she even practiced piano for family events. Yonatan Razel also knew her, as he performed at their home and even saw her at a birthday event for her father at the Begin Heritage Center, where Danieli represented the family on stage.

What's special about the album is that most artists chose to keep the original words written by Danieli, without changes. "Some didn't change a comma," emphasizes Sonnenfeld, "Evyatar Banai didn't change a comma. Akiva didn't change a comma." Ishay Ribo added "a few very, very minimal words" because he thought it fit his melody better. Ishay Lapidot changed "a waw in some place," and Amir Dadon "took her beginning and her end" and made changes in the middle.

The path to completing the album wasn't simple. Sonnenfeld relates that the project was delayed because of the coronavirus and other events: "Because corona came and then... war. We always have something here that will stop us." Despite the delays, the album was finally completed and launched a decade after Danieli's death.

For Moti Sonnenfeld, the album is much more than a collection of songs - it brings his daughter back to life. "There are songs that to this day, when I hear them I get emotional, because I have Danieli before me even more," he describes honestly, "it comes alive, as if her words are resurrected. Literally resurrection of the dead."

The album is just one of 140 projects established in memory of Danieli, as part of the Danieli Foundation established by her father. The foundation, celebrating a decade of activity exactly at the time of the interview, operates in the fields of charity, medicine, and education, and continues Danieli's path.

One of the foundation's prominent projects is the "Dedicated Doctor of the State" competition, held annually in memory of Danieli, who was taken from the world before she could begin the medical studies she so dreamed of. This project is a direct continuation of her dream and her path.

Moti emphasizes that he has no commercial intention with the album: "We have nothing commercial in this, it's not exactly my business." He adds that the books they published in her memory are distributed, not sold: "Our books, we distribute them, we don't sell them, there are people who sell our books, but we don't sell them."

Music, according to Moti, gives Danieli's songs special power. He quotes Maimonides in the Laws of Repentance, that music contains inspiration like the holy spirit, like a kind of prophecy. "The songs, and even though I'm not a musician, but I love music and we always sing at home, I feel in the music they made, in the excellent melodies, that they bring Danieli's words to life and to a message even stronger than what she perhaps thought to convey."

It's important to Moti that Danieli's messages reach the wider public: "And therefore it's very important to me that everyone hears this song." He believes the songs carry important messages for Israeli society, especially in these days of disunity. "There are things very relevant to the situation here in the country, the lack of unity, and expressing love is such a simple thing, and we take it what's called for granted. So that's another thing that Danieli teaches us, there's always something to learn from her."

The album "Danieli's Songs" is available for listening on various music platforms, and provides a unique opportunity to connect with the special soul of Danieli Sonnenfeld, who despite her short life, left behind a rich and meaningful legacy.