Customer Reviews

Vol. 2 - Festival of Light

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a Jew who grew up with the song, " Dreidel Dreidel Dreidel I made out of clay" as the only song to Chanukah this CD opened up a whole new world of holiday music to me with a combination of music from around the continent. Also, it has a nice variety of up and coming musicians as well the regulars in the Jewish music industry. I especially was touched by the song Haneros Hallelu by Le'eyla. His voice is so soulful that I did not want the song to end. After you light the candles this Chanukah try to remember to say Haneros Hallelu after. It might be more inspirational.

Many seem to feel that this second volume in the Festival of Light series is not as good as the first. I do not agree, and in some ways I think it is actually stronger. Le'Eyla's opening track, "Haneros Halallu," is all I need to play to put me in the mood for Chanukah. A beautiful melody for this traditional prayer, I find myself playing it over and over. Neshama Carlebach's "A Love Trancsending" is another beautiful tune, haunting and moving. They Might Be Giants, an always quirky and offbeat group, give their take on the holiday with the wry "Feast of Lights," and it always makes me smile. Israeli vocalist Chava Alberstein is a standout with the Klezmatics on the Yiddish "I'm Going to Take Off My Shoes." As with the first CD in the series, the musical styles presented are varied, but they are all interesting and fun. Again, this is a great CD for getting into a Chanukah mood or frame of mind. As a bonus, it may expose the listener to some new or unfamiliar artists on the Jewish music scene.

Aha! A Hanukkah CD that's fresh, eclectic, and not too folksy-sappy. This is an enchanting, original combination of music styles to enhance the Festival of Light. In particular, "La Mujer de Terah," a Sephardic selection, was astoundingly beautiful. My only regret is that some of the songs don't have a more obvious connection to Hanukkah.

What an excellent CD! I'm not even officially Jewish [only 1/8th on my dad's side] <sniff> but I keep the promise & the flame in my heart as well. What I like most about this Hanukkah CD is that it travels the globe with taste & style. Neshama Carlebach is simply exquisite-- her father would have been so proud; Dave Koz, smooth as usual; Continuo with those Turkish/Sephardic melodies & vocals by Berta Aguado BLOWS ME AWAY on La Mujer de Terah-- WOW! I could live without Peter Himmelman, but with art, like life, you get everything... including a little comedy relief from They Might Be Giants [Adam Sandler might have done equally as well in that slot...] Frank London with or without his Big Band is AWESOME-- Song of Praise is both solemn & dreamy. These are just the highlights folks! Get this CD!! From start to finish it's wonderful!

This CD, a follow up pf the previous, and I beleive better, Festival of Light, contains a wide array of music for the Holidays--that other one---NOT Christmas! The music is always interesting and some pieces are outstanding, especially the one by Irina Mikhailova and Ira Stern. Others are a little too loud for me, like the piece by "They Might be Giants". But, OK, I admit that I don't really like full-blown Klezmer music. If I had to chose between the two, I would definitely get Festival of Light (1). If you already have that one, get this one next, you will enjoy it.

Well put together and a definite improvement on the original Festival of Lights CD. However, I don't think the Might Be Giants song is appropriate for this CD. Having a Jewish mother and a Catholic father I have come to appreciate my exposure to Jewish music. I believe that CD's like this are 'a good start' when compared to Christian music CD's like WOW 2000, which is better.

the opening track on this cd by l'eyla is amazing. elan berenholz is the hottest up-and-coming singer on the jewish music front! a must buy for jewish music lovers

Since the first "Festival of Lights" was one of the more unique, inspired and inspiring Holiday albums, I eagerly picked this one up this past Hannukah (I don't know how it got by me these past seven years). I'll have to live with it a while. On first listen, it doesn't seem to approach the original, a tough act to follow after all. However, I must say that Peter Himmelman's "In the Embryo of Silence" is absolutely awful. It reminded me of one of those old National Lampoon parodies of, in this case, Dylan. And then, there was another track that used Hannukah/harmonica, a rhyme forever owned by Adam Sandler. I guess I'll just program the good stuff, or better yet, compilate the best of both albums.