Search - Essential Voices USA :: Cherished Moments - Songs of the Jewish Spirit

Judith Clurman combines the expertise born of thirty years as a prominent conductor with memories of her own childhood in synagogue and an intimate knowledge of this poignant repertoire to create the unique recording Cherished Moments: Songs of the Jewish Spirit. The recording introduces arrangements of traditional songs representing the Jewish holidays and life cycle events: from the centerpiece Songs of Freedom: A Celebration of Chanukah, a cycle for chorus, soloists and orchestra that premiered at Carnegie Hall, to the 19th c. lyrical classicism of Louis Lewandowski and Emanuel Kirschner, to works by folk artist Debbie Friedman, cantor-composer Bruce Ruben, and Canadian composer Ben Steinberg. The recording also features new works, among them a minimalist setting of Set Me as a Seal by Nico Muhly, Larry Hochmans Shomeir Yisrael, and Paul Schoenfields Al Hanisim, all written for Ms. Clurman. The recording features the singers of Essential Voices USA, soloists Ron Raines, Bruce Ruben and Michael Slattery, and guest instrumentalists including composers Larry Hochman and Paul Schoenfield accompanying their own works.