I've tapered off of this, but in the mid-to-late 1990s I experienced a
blossom of creativity. I recorded them however I could.
It Matters to
Me - this is the only purely secular song of the bunch, and I think
it's a
fine song. Midi piano and drums; upright bass, rhythm and lead
guitar by me, "fill" guitar by John Lomas. The horns were
produced with a Roland guitar synthesizer.
One God - kind of sixties-ish
anthem, a little reminiscent of the Rascals' "People Got to Be
Free." Off of the Nigun Orchestra album.
Run, Rabbi,
Run! - this Chuck-Berry-flavored number is about the demands made
on congregational rabbis.
Al Tira Avdi Yaakov -
"Fear not, My servant Jacob". The text is from a Havdalah
acrostic piyyut I found in the Artscroll Siddur. I set it to
music while preparing to lead havdalah for a wedding party.
Under the Rug
- this song is what you might call tragicomic. One of my best, I
think.
Bread! -
another Pesach-based song, built around how much we Jews come to miss
bread during Passover. I'll have to redo this one sometime
without the heavy echo on my voice.
Ani Omed
L'hitpalel - stolen from the old gospel shout song "Standing in
the Need of Prayer" performed by Lester Flatt and the Foggy Mountain
Boys. I just translate some verses into Hebrew...
Hamapil - a musical
setting of the bedtime blessing.
Leshev Basuka -
"to dwell in the sukkah." About the pleasures of outdoor living
during the festival of Sukkot.
Avot - a gloss on
the opening blessing of the Amidah, combining English and Hebrew.
It's pretty much for children in a Reform setting, but Rabbi Cohen and
Rabbi Kane both loved it. The second [gvurot] blessing is
included, which, of course, is not composed by me!
Thanks, God! -
a gloss on the "bathroom blessing." I performed this song for the
whole gathering at Hava Nashira in 1999 during group sing, and it was a
hit. Kids love it too. Much peppier than Debbie Friedman's
version of the blessing!
The
Hammer Came Down - a song about the fatal flaw (arrogance) of
Antiochus Epiphanes, the bad guy of the Chanukah story.
Copyright 2006 by Andy Curry