Browse by Label: RENAIR (UK)

Artist:	VA
Title:	Shbahoth: Iraqi-Jewish Song from the 1920's
Label:	RENAIR (UK)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	REN 126CD

Originally released in 2008, this anthology presents for the first time on CD the greatest of the Iraqi Jewish singers in historical recordings from the1920s. This reissue, the first in a series of historic Jewish recordings by Renair Records, makes available, in carefully remastered sound by Duncan Cowell (well-known for his work for labels like Ace, Soul Jazz and Soundway), echoes of two millennia of tradition. In the 1920s, nearly all instrumental performers in Iraq were Jewish. The Jewish tradition in Iraq goes back to the time of the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar and the subsequent exile to Babylon some 2,500 years ago. This unbroken tradition finally ended during the mass immigration of 125,000 Iraqi Jews to Israel in the early 1950s. Although some recordings were made in Israel by Iraqi singers, this anthology allows us to hear the authentic sounds of Iraq without later influences. Shbahoth -- or Songs of Praise -- are sung on the Sabbath and on other important holidays, such as Sukkoth or the Feast of the Tabernacles (Selim Daoud's "Sukkah Welulab" and Shlomo Mouallim's "Sukkah Welulab") or pilgrimages to the tombs of Ezekiel or Ezra (Yishaq Maroudy's "Suri Go-Aliyyah"). Although sung by the abu shbahoth or "Master of Praises," he would be joined by the community in singing and clapping, as can be heard on Daoud's "El Eliyyahu" and "Eres Ha-Quedoshah." Also included are recordings by the abu shbahoth Hagguli Shmuel Darzi and two rousing performances by Israelite Choir. Following a chance discovery by Julian Futter of the original 78s (which included unissued test pressings), Julian and Sara Manasseh, the distinguished music scholar whose family came from Iraq, decided to make these records available again. Manasseh's illuminating sleevenotes place the music in its religious perspective and make it accessible to the non-specialist listener.

Artist:	VA
Title:	Shir Hodu: Jewish Song From Bombay Of The '30s
Label:	RENAIR (UK)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	REN 127CD

Shir Hodu is Hebrew for "Song of India." It also means "Song of Praise." This anthology, the second in a series of Eastern Jewish singers, presents for the first time on CD the most famous of the Indian singers from Bombay, in historic performances from the 1930s. Until the release of this CD, it had been taken for granted that no recordings of Jewish music had been made in India and that the only echoes of a tradition that was centuries old were recordings made by their descendants in present day Israel. Over the course of more than 5 years of searching and following leads for these long-lost recordings, Renair was able to produce this extraordinary compilation of recordings, some of them privately made, in the 1930s in Bombay. Among the performers are a shofar (ram's horn) blower who was born in the 1850s and a hazzan (cantor) known as "The Butcher." A musical link with the past has been brought to life by the memories and photos of the descendants of these singers and instrumentalists, gathered from across the globe and collected here, in a copiously-illustrated 24-page booklet. Several of the instrumentalists featured on this CD later played on some of the most evocative Bollywood films of the 1950s including Shree 420, Boot Polish, Awaara and even Mera Naam Joker from 1970. There is shouting, instrumental breaks and a real sense of excitement, which comes through loud and clear on these authentic sound portraits of a tradition that is now part of Indian and Jewish history. Sensitive remastering makes it possible to hear these recordings as they have never been heard before.

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