With Every Breath: Music of Shabbat

Artist: Various Artists & the B'Nai Jeshurun Congregation
Label: Knitting Factory
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 035828025829
EAN: 0035828025829
ASIN: B00000K544

Release Date: 1999-09-21

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Tracks:

Et Dodim
Hine Ma Tov
Niggun
Lekha Dodi
Kaddeshenu
Yigdal
Ki Le'olam Hasdo
Ma Gadlu
Halleluyah
Ein Keloheinu
Adon Olam
Hamavdil

Customer Reviews:

Breathtaking...if you understand Hebrew.......2006-01-23

This is a sure hit with hippie types. What really works in it is the beautiful liturgy read with intensity and religious ecstasy. I am not sure how it would sound if you do not understand Hebrew, however, although the melodies, at least some of them, may still be familiar.

They also have a Pesach disc that is also wonderful, and always playing in the background around the holiday time at my house! I really love this disc!

Glowing Jewish chants to warm your heart.......2003-11-14

In this cd you will find beautiful chants in Hebrew (or Ladino?)and Spanish. The mood is festive and cheerful, the melodies haunting and enthralling. The singers have no American accent whatsoever, which make the chants sound quite real. The accompaniment is sometimes oriental, sometimes a mixture of all kinds of instruments. Although some of the songs are sometimes too modern and sentimental, this is a excellent performance and I highly recommend it if you need music to hearten you and give you a feeling of community.

Too straight (?) for me.......2003-10-28

Being, for the most part, foreign to Jewish traditions, I can not truly appreciate the beauty of this CD but enough people have praised it for you to believe what they are saying.

The reason I got this CD was very simple: it was produced and arranged by Anthony Coleman, my hero pianist and composer. His style, technique and wit has thrilled me on virtually every of his own CDs so anything to do with him I am buying, no questions asked. In addition, this CD is released by the Knitting Factory, which (to a degree) is a recommendation by itself. Some of the most exciting and accomplished musicians from the so-called downtown New York scene of improvisers are playing on this CD in addition to Anthony Coleman: Erik Friedlander, Jim Pugliese, Marc Ribot, Brad Shepik, Ben Street, Douglas J. Wieselman, among others.

So, what's the problem? Emphasis was clearly put on singing, and musical accompaniment is (or appears to be) secondary: all this sounds rather uneventful and, well& boring, to me. I was hoping to hear some exciting, original musical renditions, not unlike many gems released on Radical Jewish Culture edition of John Zorn's Tzadik Records. I am not saying they are not present, I am saying that I can not recognize them.

Music To Touch Your Soul.......2003-06-14

This CD is a collection of some of the most extraordinary music I have ever heard. It is probably my favorite CD in a very large, eclectic collection. There are 12 magnificent Shabbat songs/chants on the disc. The prayers are all from the Jewish Sabbath liturgy and the music has roots in the Sufi, Turkish, Ladino, Hebrew and Ashkenazi traditions. You don't have to be Jewish, however, to enjoy the music. I find myself playing this several times a week and singing along. I cannot carry a tune, but my singing is always joyful and from the heart - with this magical music, it would be impossible to feel anything other than exhilaration. Fortunately the English lyrics and Hebrew transliteration are provided with the CD.

Another reviewer, Rabbi Gershom, has already written a detailed description of the music, its roots and meaning, which I enjoyed very much. So, I will not attempt to do the same. I am lucky to live in New York City and have access to Temple B'nai Jeshurun, which produced this CD. And yes, their Shabbat services are wonderful. However, you don't have to live in Manhattan to partake of this musical feast. "With Every Breath" brings the wonder and beauty of Shabbat to your own home. Enjoy!

Magnificent!.......2001-03-09

At our house, we like to put on some music on Friday afternoon as we get ready for Shabbat (the Sabbath), and I'm always looking for something new and inspiring. I had never heard of either this CD or the synagogue that produced it, and there were no online samples to listen to here, but I thought to myself, "Why not?" and put it on my Wish List anyway. Sure enough, somebody bought me one, and all I can say is, thank you, thank you, thank you!

The words to the songs come, of course, from the Sabbath liturgy. When I first played the CD, I was pleasantly surprised to find quite a few Sephardic arrangements included. There's a mantra-like version of "Hiney Matov" based on a Sufi motif, a Turkish "Yigdal," a traditional Sephardic "Eyn Kelohenu," and a beautifully-chanted "Ki L'Olam Chasdo." That last one is Psalm 136, which, if you look in your Bible, is a long list of lines praising God, alternating with "For His lovingkindness is forever" ("ki l'olam chasdo" in Hebrew). Now, if you read this psalm in King James English, it sounds boringly repetitious. That's because it wasn't mean to be read in "Protestantese," it's supposed to be joyfully SUNG in Hebrew. It's a responsive reading: The cantor does the lines, answered with "ki l'olam chasdo" by the congegation. This tradition is all but lost among Askenazic (European) Jews, but the Sephardim still chant Psalm 136, and when you hear the rendition on this CD, you will chant it, too. The same can be said for "Halleluya," which is Psalm 150 sung in an arrangement by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

In addition to the Sephardic songs, there's a beautiful "Lecha Dodi" medley, two Shlomo Carlebach tunes, and a soul-filled "Ma Gadlu" (Psalm 92:6) arranged by Rabbi Shefa Gold, using "Yah" for the name of God instead of Adonai: "Ma gadlu ma'asekha Yah" -- "how vast are your works, O Creator-God!" Not only does this substitution work gramatically, it also rhymes! All in all, this is superb music. And for those who don't know Hebrew, it comes with a little booklet of explanations -- ten stars!

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