Ben-Amots - Hashkivenu; Celestial Dialogues; Shtetl Songs; Psalm 81 [CD]

He was born in Haifa, Israel in 1955, was something of a child prodigy, studied in Israel, Switzerland and Germany. (I read this after getting home, not while I was driving.) He emigrated to the US in 1987 and received his Ph.D in composition from the University of Pennsylvania in 1991. He has won numerous awards and prizes and his works have been performed by a wide range of orchestras and ensembles. Currently he is associate professor of music at Colorado College in Colorado Springs. Although little of his work has been recorded, this recording hopefully will change that.

Besides the aforementioned "Haskivenu - Song of the Angels" (the angels who usher in Shabbat and accompany worshippers as they leave the synagogue and journey home for the Shabbat meal), the disc includes settings of six "Shtetl Songs," (in Yiddish) for voice and piano. These are masterfully performed by Israeli soprano Re'ut Ben-Ze'ev and pianist John Musto.

But the centerpiece of the recording is "Celestial Dialogues" which (according to the back of the CD jacket) ". . . combines two great Jewish musical traditions: a klezmer clarinet solo - deriving from the haunting virtuoso sounds typical of traditional eastern European Jewish bands - and cantorial vocal passages that emanate from age-old Ashkenzazi liturgical ritual."
As interpreted by Cantor Alberto Mizrahi, clarinetist David Krakauer (man, can this guy play!), and the Barcelona Symphony directed by Karl Anton Rickenbacher, this is fascinating and amazing music that is likely to have you listening with your mouth wide open. Wow!

Naxos' sound quality is top notch, the liner notes very informative. Text for the works are presented both in English and transliterated Hebrew. Definitely one of the best recordings in the excellent Milken Archive series. And a great price, too.