Acappella for the Three Weeks

Back in May I wrote about the period of mourning (Sefira Part 1, Sefira Part 2)that corresponds with the Counting of the Omer and its traditional restrictions on instrumental music. We're now in the Three Weeks, starting July 3 and ending on July 24, the second major period of mourning in the Jewish year. It memorializes the destruction of the 2nd Temple and the beginning of the Diaspora and, by extension, symbolizes our longing for the time of the moshiach when the temple will be rebuilt and the Diaspora will end. In the traditional Jewish community, the Three Weeks has restrictions on instrumental music similar to those associated with the Counting of the Omer and has developed a similar tradition of acappella music.

In my Sefira posts I mention a number of Jewish acappella albums and link to some YouTube vidoes of acappella performances. Here are two more. The first is 8th Day, one of my favorite orthodox/chassid pop groups. The second is from Hassidic rapper Y-Love and beat-box artist Yuri Lane.

8th Day - Ayeh Mekom - Chabad Telethon


Y-Love & Yuri Lane Purim Beat Box Freestyle for Sefira

You can also listen to acappella group SIX13 recorded on the JM in the AM show, pickup lots of Jewish Sefira-friendly acappella albums at JewishJukebox.com, and check out these sites for more information on the Three Weeks:

1. Chabad.org "The Three Weeks and Tish Ba'Av"

2. OU.org "A Chronology of Destruction: The Three Weeks"

3. Aish.com "Tish B'av and the Three Weeks"

4. YU Torah Online "Rabbi Hartstein- Music, Shaving & Haircuts in The Three Weeks" (A recorded shuir, or lesson)

5. VBM Torah Studies "The Three Weeks and the Nine Days"



(Hat tip to The Jewish Music Review for the 8th Day video and the JM in the AM link)

Sephardic Music Roundup

I met a nice fellow last week who's wife has a Sephardic background. I promised him I'd send him a list of good Sephardic music resources. I'm not an expert, but will list the best stuff I've found. If anyone wants to add to my list, please leave me a comment. I'd appreciate it.

For the purpose of this roundup, I'm including both European, North African, and Middle Eastern music and emphasizing contemporary recordings.

I'll start with Sephardic liturgical music.

1. Renanot Institute for Jewish Music (in Israel). My Post. "The Renanot Institute deals with the documentation, research and promotion of Jewish music of the various ethnic Jewish communities, as well as with the promotion of religious Jewish singing and cantorial music in every possible way." Has articles, some online music clips, and has recordings for sale.

2. Sephardic Pizmonim Project. My Post. "Founded in September 2002, [the Project] is dedicated to the preservation of the liturgical traditions of the Sephardic Middle Eastern Jewish community." Has articles, LOTS of online recordings, and has recordings for sale.

3. An Invitation to Piyut. My Post. "The piyut purifies and refines key components of Hebrew culture into a totality: language, music, mysticism, history, legend, philosophy, and prayer, as well as personal, family, and national stories and emotions. The signing of piyut makes it possible to experience this totality in its deepest sense....We aim to gather in one place a meaningful selection of piyutim from all Jewish cultures in a manner recognizing the varied styles and influences existing in the Jewish tradition, turning the website into an “international home” for piyut." Has articles, LOTS of lyrics, LOTS of online recordings, and an online piyut radio station.

Sephardic Popular Music

Ok. So there are way too many great Sephardic popular recordings to list here (see Judith Cohen's bibliography below for more). But here are some starting points that I like.

1. Flory Jagoda. My Post. Jagoda is a Sephardic folksinger originally from Bosnia who performs traditional Sephardic songs passed down through her family as well as her own compositions. She has become a sort of grande dame of Sephardic Music in the US, recording a series of albums, authoring a songbook and receiving a Heritage Fellowship.

2. Pharoh's Daughter. "Blending a psychedelic sensibility and a pan-Mediterranean sensuality, Basya Schechter leads her band, Pharaoh's Daughter, through swirling Hasidic chants, Mizrachi and Sephardi folk-rock, and spiritual stylings filtered through percussion, flute, strings and electronica. Her sound has been cultivated by her Hasidic music background and a series of trips to the Middle East, Africa, Israel, Egypt, Central Africa, Turkey, Kurdistan and Greece." Pharoh's Daughter is wonderful and in heavy rotation. The Pharoh's Daughter website.

3. Divahn. "Anyone who thinks Jewish music equals klezmer needs to hear Divahn's Middle Eastern and Sephardic grooves Divahn infuses traditional songs with sophisticated harmonies and arrangements using tabla, cello, rabel, doumbek, violin and other acoustic instruments, plus vocals in Hebrew, Judeo-Spanish, Persian, Arabic, Aramaic and Turkish." The Divahn website.

4. The Sara Aroeste Band. My Post. "Most influenced by the music and language of her Spanish roots, Aroeste grounds her music in Ladino, or castillian Spanish, the language originated by Spanish Jews after their expulsion from Spain in 1492. American born, Aroeste has decided to revive this rich body of music by combining it with more contemporary musical influences." Their website and myspace page.

5. The Songs of Sepharad. "The Sons of Sepharad unites three world-renowned singers of Sephardic Music - Aaron Bensoussan, Gerard Edery and Alberto Mizrahi - in a thrilling musical consort that takes audiences on a voyage of discovery. Exploring songs in Ladino, Greek, Turkish, Arabic, Hebrew and other languages passed down from the Golden Age of Spain, these brilliant artists embrace the rich musical trove of the Sephardim as a living legacy, plumbing its antique treasures as they contribute to its continuing evolution by composing new songs in the genre." Their website.

6. Ofra Haza. "A popular Israeli singer, actress and international recording artist. Of Yemenite Jewish ancestry, Haza was born the youngest of nine children in the poor Tel Aviv neighborhood of Hatikvah. She became an instant local and then national success story, the subject of great pride for many Israelis of Yemenite origin." A good Wikipedia entry, recordings at Harmony Ridge, the Ofra Haza Video Collection, and YouTube videos. My favorite album is "Homeland Songs." (As I understand it, Yemenite and Iraqi Jews don't really consider themselves Sephardic, but Haza is worth putting on just about any list. So she's included.)

7. Sephardic Tinge. Anthony Coleman's piano jazz combo takes on Sephardic rhythms and melodies with quirky elegance. I love all of his albums, but Morenica is my favorite. His recordings are available through Tzadik Radical Jewish Culture.

8.Balkan Beat Box. "Blending electronic music with hard-edged folk music from the Balkans, North Africa, and the Middle East, the exciting and internationally acclaimed
collective Balkan Beat Box is out to prove that all the world is indeed a stage -- and that we are all gypsies." Their website and JDub Records.

9. Zohar - Keter. An amazing collaboration between American jazz pianist Uri Caine and Sephardic cantor Aaron Bensoussan. This was one of the albums that inspired my love affair with Jewish music and showed me it's possibilities. Its out of print but you can find it on ArtistDirect and through Half.Com.

10. Tanja Solnik 'From Generation to Generation: A Legacy of Lullabies' Traditional Jewish lullabies sung in Ladino, Yiddish and Hebrew. "This beautiful collection of haunting Jewish lullabies celebrates a unique musical heritage. Tanja Solnik has a beautiful voice... Appealing to all ages and backgrounds" While not strictly a Sephardic recording, it's loaded with classic Sephardic lulabies including Numi Numi, two versions of Durme, and Durme Mi Angelico. There's also a sequel "Lullabies and Love Songs."

Events

1. The Sephardic Music Festival. "The New York Sephardic Music Festival (NY-SMF) seeks to increase interest in and awareness of the Sephardic culture, including Mizrahi, Yemenite and Ladino traditions, highlighting the diversity that exists within the Sephardic branch of Jewish culture and history. The latest Sephardic musical talents in the U. S. will be showcased, working to reinvigorate the thriving Sephardic culture that exists and is waiting to be re-discovered. Our goal is to give people the opportunity to learn and enjoy this rich, sensual tradition that has the power to make hips shake and souls soar." Annually in December.

Sources

1. Hatikvah Music. One of the mainstays of Jewish music, with more a wide variety of Sephardic recordings.

2. Harmony Ridge Music."With the explosion of World music in the last few years, has come an increasing interest in the roots of Sephardic music. The artists listed ... represent an intense investigation and creative interpretation of ancient and spiritual music."

3. Tzadik Radical Jewish Culture. "There is a life of tradition that does not merely consist of conservative preservation, the constant continuation of the spiritual and cultural possessions of a community" Tzadik is my favorite label. It continually puts out fabulous and original Jewish music, with a leaning toward jazz.

4. Smithsonian Global Sound. The Smithsonian's music label, which includes the historic Smithsonian Folkways recordings. Lots of classic field recordings from all over the world including Gloria Levy's 1959 recording "Sephardic Folk Songs" and lots of other Sephardic recordings.

5. Emusic.com. Emusic is my favorite online vendor. It's subscription based and has lots of great stuff including most of the artists listed above.

And finally, general info on Sephardic Music

1. Judith R. Cohen's "A Short Bibliography of Sephardic Music" on KlezmerShack. "Here are some short reviews which I've basically adapted from: my "Sonography of Judeo-Spanish Song, Jewish Folklore and Ethnology Review" from my update notes, and from my brief reviews in "the Rough Guide to World Music", and the Journal of American Folklore." Includes documentaries as wells as musical recordings.

2. Judith Cohen's "Sephardic Song" on the World Zionist Organization site. "Sephardic music is really a complex of musics. Depending on how one interprets the term "Sephardic," it might refer to music of the Jews descended from those exiled from late 15th-century Spain and Portugal, or it may refer to the music of all Jews not categorized as Ashkenazic, even though such a large proportion of them would more accurately be designated "Mizrakhi" -or "Eastern," "Oriental."

3. Catherine Madsen's "In Search of Sephardic Music" on KlezmerShack. "The story of this music is a complicated mix of tradition and innovation, folk transmission and commercial adaptation, and shifting cultural and aesthetic expectations."

4. Foundation for the Advancement of Sephardic Studies and Culture. "For nearly 40 years the Foundation has been dedicated to preserving and promoting the complex and centuries-old culture of the Sephardic communities of Turkey, Greece, the Balkans, Europe and the U.S. Emigration, and the devastation of the Holocaust, have combined to weaken historic communities which had resisted assimilation, where Ladino, the Sephardic language, was used continuously and unique cultural traditions were practiced." Not so much about music in particular, but lots of other great info about Sephardic history and culture.

Boaz Mauda video from Kochav Nolad (A Star Is Born)

Eva Broman pointed the Jewish Music mailing list to this cool video of Boaz Mauda performing on the Israeli TV Show Kochav Nolad (A Star is Born). I haven't followed Kokhav Nolad much. My impression has been that the performances are pretty much bland pop like American Idol. But, according to Broman, Mauda is a "Yemenite singer performing a song that has also been sung by Zohar Argov and Ofra Haza." While I find the arrangement a little flat (as I usually do for the American Idol type performances), Mauda sure can sing.

boaz mauda kochav nola 5 בועז מעודה כוכב נולד 5


The song that he's singing is Yad Anuga. According to the online sources I've found (including singer Esther Ofarim's website) Yad Anuga is a Zalman Shneur poem written in 1906 that migrated to Israel, was set to music (possibly twice) and became a standard pioneer song. Unfortunately, Hebrew Songs, my best source of English translations of Hebrew lyrics, seems to be down at the moment so I don't know what the song's about. That always bugs me, but what can you do. There are lots of recordings of Yad Anuga available from Ofarim, Ofra Haza, Amy Glicklich, and others.

Here's a Ofra Haza recording from the Fantasy Video Collection.

Ofra Haza - Yad Anuga


(Is it only me, but when the mirage fellow comes over the hill on horse back in full costume, didn't you want it to be Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran?)

Yay! HebrewSongs is back online. Here's a link to their translation and notes on Yad Anuga.

More on Oybaby

A couple of weeks ago I posted about OyBaby2, "an exciting concept in children's Judaica ... that combine[s] stimulating imagery with beautiful and fun Hebrew songs to create a rich Jewish experience for children six months and up." While both of my girls loved Baby Einstein videos, I was a bit skeptical that they would go for OyBaby. I figured they were too old (now age 2 1/2 and 4 1/2) for this sort of thing. Wow, was I wrong. The little wigglers have been running around the house for the last two weeks singing "Henei Ma Tov" and "David Melech Yisrael." Not only that, I've had some wonderful discussions with my older girl about who King David was, what a prophet is, what "Tumbalalika" and "Dayenu" mean and and what "Maoz Tzur" is all about. And she initiated each of these conversations. Papa's so proud! The little one's not so aware of the lyrics yet. She just adores the puppets and has to run and find me when "Zum Gali Gali" comes on because, you know, it's "Papa's favorite."

So how did this happen? After I posted the Oybaby2 trailer video, Rob Wolf, the creator of Oybaby, sent me the CD's and DVD's for OyBaby and OyBaby2 so I could check them out. Thanks Rob. I really appreciate it. My kids are hooked, we've got the both the DVDs and CD's in heavy rotation. And so is my Dad, who was out visiting this weekend. I need to by the CD's for him. And I need to buy the DVDs for a friend who has little ones about the age of mine. And for my brother and sister and law who have a little one on the way. Sigh.

If you've got little ones you should check out OyBaby. The production values are great. The arrangements and the musicianship is lovely, and surprisingly sophisticated in spots. The content, focusing on the expected Jewish set pieces (lots of Shabbat and Hannukah candles), is presented well. There is a nice alternation between the Baby Einstein style "look, a shiny toy, let's stare at it, let's keep staring at it" visuals for the littlest ones and puppet shows and other visual narratives for the (slightly) older kids. There are a couple of clunkers, but all in all the Oybabies are a real treat.

And if you act now....

Seriously, Rob said that Teruah Jewish Music readers can "use coupon code "apples" for a 20% discount at our website"

Jericho's Echo - Punk in Israel

Listening to The Shondes last week reminded me of a documentary about Punk music in Israel that I had meant to post. The documentary, called Jericho's Echo, has been screen around the world to pretty rave reviews. I haven't seen it yet though the DVD is on my wish list. Watching the trailer was trip. Despite the two decades since I hung out in punk clubs and the different country and social context, I felt right at home watching the documentary trailer. I knew those kids. And it was fascinating seeing both how they are responding to a chaotic, conflict focused, political system (I came of age at the end of the Cold War under Reagan) and how chaotic they are themselves. That's Punk for you. It's always been a microcosm of political society. Back in my day, there were racist skinheads and nationalist skinheads (not the same at all). There were punks full of 'live fast die young' nihilism and straightedge punks who wanted to better themselves. That's just for starters, it got way more complicated than that at times. But it's all there in the Israel scene. The nationalist-skinhead looking Israeli punk in the trailer spouting the same old "if they don't want to live here, than just leave" rhetoric brought back memories, and not altogether pleasant ones, of the arguments we used to get into.

Jericho's Echo Trailer

Renanot - the Institute for Jewish Music

So, once again I looked for one thing and found another. I was looking for more about the Reform music scene. I found Transcontinental Music, a division of the Union for Reform Judaism. It has a nice listing of Reform oriented titles. I added it to my 'sources' list for further inventorying later.

I also found Renanot, 'The Institute for Jewish Music,' in Israel, which is not at all affiliated with the Reform Judaism. Renanot focuses on studying and preserving the musical traditions of the distinct ethnic Jewish groups throught the diaspora including Askenaiz, Morroco, Afganistan, Indian, Sephardic Jerusalem, Yemen, and. They hold teaching seminars, trains cantors and publish books and music (mostly on cassette tapes. Yikes!). A lot of the material appears to be liturgical music, including Torah and haftorah melodies, the mincha and mariv service, and something called 'samai'. There are also Shabbat zemirot and 'Romances in Ladino.'

While the thought of buying cassette tapes gives me the shudders, they do have some very enticing sound clips. I'll have to think about it.

Eliane Hoffman Watts wins NEA Heritage Fellowship

From the NEA Heritiage Fellowship Awards website:

"In 1982 the National Endowment for the Arts established the NEA National Heritage Awards as a way of honoring American folk artists for their contributions to our national cultural mosaic. Modelled after the Japanese "National Living Treasures" concept, the idea began with Bess Lomax Hawes, then director of the Folk Arts Program. Since its inception, over 300 artists have received the Heritage Award"

NEA's Bio for Watts :

"Elaine Hoffman Watts' family came to the United States from a town near Odessa in the former Soviet Union. Her father, Jacob Hoffman, was a prominent member of a klezmer band that was recorded in the 1920s. Elaine received training from her father and uncles in the family's repertoire of polkas, freilachs, mazurkas, shers, and other tunes of Eastern European Jewish musical tradition. She became the first woman graduate in percussion from the Curtis Institute of Music. With many opportunities before her, Watts chose to maintain the three-generation family tradition of playing klezmer music at weddings, bar mitzvahs, and other social events. She points out that being a woman and a drummer often was a barrier in her career but as one klezmer scholar observes, "Elaine is an important role-model to young players who otherwise would have no clue that women were indeed a part of traditional Yiddish music. Because those of us who study traditional Yiddish culture have no homeland in Europe to which we can return, we rely heavily on the 78-rpm recordings that were made during the early years of the 20th century. The vast majority of musicians on those recordings were men, and Elaine's presence is critical in redressing this imbalance."

The NEA bio page has a few music samples. Great stuff. You can also pick up her album 'I remember Klezmer, the Art of Klezmer Drumming' at CDBaby.


hat/tip to the Shamash.Org Jewish Music Mailing List

Klezmer and metal bands mashup

My pal Keith at 'Metal Jew' just posted about this decidedly strange video. Go read his comments about it and then watch the video. Definitely one of the odder melanges I've seen lately.

Klezmer and metal bands mashup in More Music @ The Moore

Music, Setting, and Grass Clippings

It's about 6:00 AM and I just got in from hauling 20 or so bags of grass clippings from our shed to the curb. This involved rebagging about half of them because the bio-degradable brown paper bags were a bit over-enthusiastic. Sigh. Anyway, nothing like some mindless yard work to get my mind wandering.

What I was mulling was a section of the Hava Nashira (see yesterday's post) 'Guide to Songleaders'

First and foremost, the songleader is to fulfill this title precisely. Songleaders at [OSRUI] function in order to facilitate the musical preparation of the community. Anything less or more than that is an abrogation of the role. Therefore, a first conclusion is that the songleader never functions as a performer during sessions. Some good clues as to how you are being perceived are whether or not your [campers] are singing with you or just watching you. Secondly, regular applause is typically due of a performer, not an effective songleader.

I'm sure there is proper musical terminology for 'the place or context where a peice of music is expected to be performed' but I don't know what it is (yes, I'll look it up. It's 6:00am, bear with me). For the moment, call it the 'expected setting.' So, to the degree that the musician's associated with Hava Nashira consider themselves 'songleaders,' you (by you I mean 'I', you probably know this already) have to listen to them as though they were songleaders. That means you can't listen to a recording of one of them as if it was a popular record meant to be listened away from a sing-along crowd.

This is clearly a message I was being given by Beth Schafer's fans when I panned her record. A number of them described how meaningful the album was and the place where they sang along to it. And I fessed up that I had never sung along and only listened in isolation. I didn't realize, though, how big an issue that probably is. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not about to revise my review of the Schafer album. But it does give me some insight into it and some of the other Reform Jewish / 'Contemporary Jewish Music' performers to whom I've been lukewarm.

I'm familiar with this distinction about 'expected setting' from the klezmer community. There is frequent discussion about how klezmer, originally a simcha (party, wedding) music that was played live and danced to, is now as often played in concert halls to a seated, clapping, audience. The performers seem to be divided about whether that matters or not. Some performers suggest that the performances lose some of their vitality because of their disconnection from the dancing, others seem more comfortable with it.

The Orthodox / Chassidic music scence is also a simcha scence, but seems (by the posters and video's I've seen) to have a lot of sit down and clap concerts too. Liturgical music, including cantorial and niggunim recordings, are pretty linked to shul and home in the context of religious practice.

I'm not going to try to map out this whole space right now. I've got to go shower and get these stinky clippings of me and wake everyone else up. But I've got to think about this more.

Hava Nashira & Hot Shabbat - Reform / 'Contemporary Jewish Music' resources

When I started writing this blog I was very self-concious about how little I, a Conservative Jew, knew about the Chassidic and Orthodox music scenes. But at least I know I didn't know much. I've been totally blind-sided by how little I know about Reform community's 'Contemporary Jewish Music' scene. I'm probably not even getting the terms right yet. Anyway, I'm starting to find some useful resources that are helping me get my head around it.

Hava Nashira is one such resource. The HN website serves as 'A Resource for Jewish Songleaders, Songwriters, Performers, Music Educators and all those involved in the transmission of Jewish heritage, religion and culture through music and is affiliated with the Reform community's Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute. The website has a variety of offerings including lists of useful recordings and songbooks, musician resources, song leader guides, a mailing list, and information about the annual workshop. This year's workshop was just last month. Here's the workshop description:

Every year since 1992, in early June, people with a common interest in songleading, teaching and leading Jewish music gather on the grounds of Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute Camp in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin for the Hava Nashira Songleading and Music Workshop. At this unique event, some of the finest Jewish music innovators and composers, including Debbie Friedman, Cantor Jeff Klepper, & Rabbi Dan Freelander, Craig Taubman, Julie Silver, Rabbi Joe Black, Cantor Josee Wolff, Cantor Ellen Dreskin, Merri Lovinger Arian, Cantor Jordan Franzel, Rabbi Lisa Zur, Dan Nichols, Cantor Rosalie Will Boxt, Peter & Ellen Allard, and Danny Maseng have shared their music and their skills. Participants of all ages, backgrounds, and religious practice come to improve their own skills, network with others and share ideas in a supportive, nurturing atmosphere.

The folks listed as participants are more or less the same set of folks I associate with the 'Contemporary Jewish Music' scene which confirms my assessment that CJM is a Reform community phenomena. Like I said, I think I'm finally getting my head around this. I'm going to subscribe to their mailing list. Hopefully that will help me get a better feel of what that community is thinking about and where they're going. I'm also hoping it will help me find recordings/performers I can relate to. After listening to a bunch of recordings I'm finally starting to find some Chassidic and Orthodox musicians that I like. I hope to the same in the Reform / CJM community.

There are two resources associated with Hava Nashira that should help me with that. First, the 'Hot Shabbat' website has a long list of liturgical and folk recordings, many with full track or sample downloads (often Real Media files). Second, the Hava Nashira site's 'Useful Recordings' page has a long list liturgical, folk, and popular recordings and links to the artists websites. Skimming the list I saw a number of names that I've mentioned in prior posts including Beth Schafer, Rich Retch, Judy Caplan Ginsburgh, Craig Taubman and Debbie Friedman as well as a lot of others. I think I'll be spending a bunch of time on these lists.

Jamming Outside - from the Hava Nashira Photo Gallery