JUF News 2000

JUF News, August 2000

Two Jewish CDs Debut: Good Sounds in Small Packages
by Paul Weider

Two guitars, women's vocals, Jewish songs… from the outside, the small ensembles Shakshuka and Mishpacha seem to be very similar groups. But their sounds are as divergent as East and West….

A pristine recording job was done by Mishpacha on their debut, "InSight & Visions." This quartet used a pair of Shure microphones - not only preferred by everyone from Joan Osborne to Ozzy Osbourne but the U.S. presidential standard - and used the High-Density Compact Disc recording process. The result is so clean you could eat off it.

Mishpacha - Hebrew for "family" - is from the unlikely town of Raleigh, N.C. However, they formed in a likely place, their synagogue. Not surprisingly, "InSight & Visions" is their take on the Shabbat service.

Unlike Shakshuka's exotic sound, Mishpacha uses roughly the same ensemble structure to achieve a distinctly Western tone, rooted in both folk and classical styles. Their two guitars and two altos produce a sound similar to that of Peter, Paul & Mary in their more pensive moments. Five of the songs were composed by Debbie Friedman, but several other contemporary composers are covered as well, most notably Julie Silver, Arik Einstein and Bonia Shur.

The first half of the generous 23 tracks focuses on the liturgy. One nice feature is two version of "V'Shamru" performed back-to-back; both are by Friedman, but written 10 years apart. And the rendition of Shur's "K'dusha" was overseen by its composer, the director of liturgical studies at Hebrew Union College, himself. The non-liturgical tracks include "Ani V'Atah" (the Einstein arrangement), "Lo Yisa Goi," "Miriam's Song," again by Friedman, and Hanna Szenes's eternal "Eili, Eili." While many songs are based on Torah passages, a fair amount of English is included.

Mishpacha's sound is lovely and meditative. Bonnie Nichols and Gale Touger harmonize very tightly, much like the Roches or Crosby, Stills & Nash. They are backed by the twin guitars of Roger Friedensen, who favors Pete Townshend, and Steve Katz, who adds a Debussy-like classical element. One listener even compared the group's arrangements to those of a string quartet.

Many of the songs could be used as lullabies. Still others, especially toward the end, are performed with energy and volume. Overall, there is a delicacy and deliberateness quite rare in music today, evidencing a true reverence for the material.

As disparate as they are in sound, Shakshuka and Mishpacha share something besides small size - a passion for well-performed Jewish music. And there is nothing at all small about that.

Paul Weider is a public relations associate at the Jewish United Fund.