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At his funeral in the central city of Kfar Saba on Monday, his daughter Sean eulogised him as “a musical genius”.
“You were meant to sing with angels,” she said, echoing tributes from across the cultural sphere.
Before the funeral, Caspi’s casket was displayed publicly in a central square in Tel Aviv, allowing fans to pay their respects.
President Isaac Herzog described Caspi in a statement as “one of the greatest Israeli creators of our generation”, adding that “his contribution to Israeli music and to our lives is so present and will continue to accompany our cultural world for generations to come”.
Born in 1949 at Kibbutz Hanita, near Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, Caspi began studying music as a child and was in a military band during his army service, where he first gained national attention.
After completing his service, Caspi embarked on a prolific career as a composer and arranger, writing for many of Israel’s leading performers.
His work blended an eclectic range of influences, and helped shape the sound of modern Hebrew song for more than five decades.
During the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, Caspi joined Canadian singer Leonard Cohen in performing for Israeli soldiers stationed in the Sinai Peninsula.
Photographs show Caspi and Cohen performing alongside future prime minister Ariel Sharon, then a military commander.
Caspi composed Israel’s 1976 Eurovision entry, for which he also conducted the orchestra.
Israel’s Society of Authors, Composers, and Music Publishers (ACUM), which honored Caspi with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005, published a list Monday of his most-played songs on Israeli radio over the past decade.
Topping the list were “Lo Yadati SheTelchi Mimeni” (“I Didn’t Know You Would Leave Me”), “Brit Olam” (“Eternal Covenant”), and “Makom Leda’aga” (“A Place for Worry”).
AFP