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Deborah Katchko-Gray - News & Reviews

The Spirit Moves Them

The Spirit Moves Them (09/04/2007)
Songs (and music) for Elul.
George Robinson - Special To The Jewish Week

The month of Elul, that time of introspection and self-examination that precedes the High Holy Days, almost by its very nature should bring us towards a peak of spiritual intensity that washes into the Days of Awe. No surprise, then, that the music of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur is among the most powerful, the most emotional that Jewish liturgical composition has to offer. Inevitably, recordings of this music can barely begin to capture the heightened psychological states to which the prayers and songs aspire. But there are always a few artists who can reach beyond themselves and, as Beethoven does in the late string quartets, shatter the boundaries of form and instrumentation.

The records reviewed here are not all (or even mostly) High Holy Day music, but each of them is focused on their spiritual content as much as on the music itself. As a result, they seem an unusually apt group for this time of year.

Cantor Deborah Katchko-Gray: "Jewish Soul: A Collection" (Self-distributed)

Katchko-Gray is a fourth-generation cantor and the founder of the Women's Cantorial Network, and she possesses a lilting soprano voice and a poise you can almost hear. This set is clearly designed to show off her range, moving from a terrific Yemenite "Et Dodim" to a Yiddish chestnut like "Mayn Rue Plats" and a faux-country song, "Peel One More Potato." There are some very strong selections here, particularly a live duet with Benjie-Ellen Schiller on "Shiru Shir Chadash" and her version of "Hashkiveinu" composed by Adolph Katchko (who I assume is her grandfather). Available from www.oysongs.com.

Rating: 4 stars.

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