Composing and Arranging

Here are a few I wrote in the 1990s:

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.
Shavuot - music from Buddy Holly's "Take Your Time", words about the mysterious holiday of Shavuot.
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 (hubris) of Antiochus Epiphanes, the bad guy of the Chanukah story.
Moshe v'Aharon - from Psalm 99, with a Latin feel.

Orchestral Compositions & Arrangements
These are links to my tracks on Soundcloud.com.  All were rendered from Finale, 2021 to the present.
Shul Medley No. 1 - This piece includes Ein Keloheinu and V'sham'ru by Eitan Kantor (first and third melodies) and a L'kha Dodi by me.
Friday Evening at the Table (before the meal) - you will hear these melodies if you come to our house for Shabbat dinner.
Happy the Man Who Forgets Thee Not - this is an original melody for a passage from Rosh Hashana liturgy (Ashrei ish shelo yishkacheka).
Zam'ru - an original setting for a passage from Psalm 98.
A Freygish Modim - an original setting for the "thanksgiving" blessing of the Amida.
Standing by the Bedside of a Neighbor - an orchestral arrangement of Thomas A. Dorsey's song, as performed by the Dixie Hummingbirds.
Hide Me in Thy Bosom - an orchestral arrangement of another Thomas A. Dorsey song, as performed by the Dixie Hummingbirds.
When the Gates Swing Open - an orchestral arrangement of another Thomas A. Dorsey song, as performed by the Dixie Hummingbirds.
Peace in the Valley - an orchestral arrangement of another Thomas A. Dorsey song.
Yerushalayim Shel Zahav - Naomi Shemer's 1967 classic, arranged for string quartet plus double bass.
Shabbat Hamalka - the song by Chayim Nachman Bialik, arranged for string quartet.


Arrangements

I have discovered the pleasure of arranging.  Most of my work has been done for Harif, my "shul band," and Meshorerim, the male octet I sing in.

Psalm 93 - a bossa nova stolen from "Agua de Beber" by Jobim.  Generated from Finale.
Al Hanisim - using the Bulgarian folk song "Shto mi e milo."  Sung by Harif.
Hatov ki lo chalu rachamekha - using Carlebach's "R'ei Noh".  Generated from Finale.
Maoz Tzur - using Carlebach's "Simcha L'artzekha".  Generated from Finale.
Torah Service - from a number of sources... sung by Hazzan Sharon Nathanson, Alison Fox, and Sarah Shulman.
Modim Anachnu Lakh - part of an entire Shacharit Amida I composed/arranged.  Sung by yours truly.

Copyright 2006 by Andy Curry