Catalog

Jewish music, just like the Jewish people, has been around for centuries and originates from various backgrounds. Just like the recorder, an ancient instrument that has been revived in the past few decades, so does the Jewish history and within it, the Jewish music. 27 HEBREW MELODIES FOR RECORDER is a collection of beautiful songs, some of which are very ancient, religious, and Hasidic, while others are modern and secular. Some come from Europe and are sung in Yiddish while others were “born” in Israel and are in modern Hebrew. Is there a common character to these varied tunes? Perhaps the favor for minor scale, some modality, and the use of syncopation. Nevertheless, each and every one of them is a unique piece, recorded for the first time in this special arrangement made by Hans Lewitus for two Recorders. In the album, one can hear and enjoy the whole Recorder family, accompanied sometimes by violin, clarinet, and guitar, along with singing. — Inbar Solomon

SPRUCE RITUAL from Bay Area violinist, vocalist, and composer Lucian Balmer is a heartfelt dance between western classical and North Indian classical music. While the album is centered around violin, viola, and cello—the string instrument family at the heart of Romantic era chamber music—Balmer seamlessly integrates the sounds of the sitar and the tabla, two pillars of Indian classical music. While the recordings do not contain lyrics, the human voice is also a prominent instrument on this album. This is thanks to the use of sargam, in which the notes of the composition are sung. The music of SPRUCE RITUAL is richly illustrative of Balmer’s own life experiences, ranging from devotion, love, loss, melancholy, and excitement.

SONGS OF LAKE VOLTA, Joe Sheehan’s debut on Ansonica Records, finds the composer and pianist fusing his passion for the music of West Africa, particularly that of Ghana, with his background in both classical chamber music and contemporary jazz. SONGS OF LAKE VOLTA features nine traditional Ghanian songs surrounded by original music composed by Sheehan, performed by two critically acclaimed groups: Kinetic and Kassia Ensemble.