Dumiyah (Magenta, 2014)
Pharaoh’s Daughter album Dumiyah presents a series of devotional Jewish songs with a mix of traditional music and cutting edge electronica. The band is led by singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Basya Schechter, who sings in Hebrew and has a sweet folk-pop style.
Dumiyah features ancient and modern liturgical poetry and prayers with new arrangements that blend trip hop, world music and new age. The first track, Adon Olam (Eternal God) is attributed to Ibn Gabirol early 11th century and ends most Jewish services.
Zikaron (I worry/remembrance) is a text attributed to Yose ben Yose (5th century) and is included in the “zichronot/remembrance” section of Rosh Hashanah/New Year liturgy.
Avrohum (Abraham Abraham) appears in Genesis 22:12, it’s a Biblical prayer by an angel for Abraham to stop the sacrifice of his son.
P’tach (Open the Gates) is a Yom Kippur prayer; Maoz Tzur (Stronghold of Rock/rock of ages) is assumed to have been written in 13th century during crusades, counting four enemies Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, Haman, Antiochus, sung on Hanukah
Hanerot (These candles) , an ancient chant mentioned in Talmud, sung on Hanukah; Dumiyah (To you silence is praise..), a piyyut (poem) attributed to Saadya Gaon about the power of song and praise in light of transcendent silence.
Ribono (Master of the Universe), a Yiddish text from the tradition of tkhines (women’s prayers written mostly in Yiddish) which is part of the havdala ceremony, bestowing blessings of strength, kindness, and health on children.
Yachid (One and only exalted one) is a text excerpt from Ana B’choach, considered to be one of the most powerful mystical prayers in Judaism.
Tzu Vemen (To whom can we attribute?), a mystical text from Hekhalot Rabbati, origins in the days of the Talmudic Sages, angels expressing in aleph bet order the attributes of God (sung on Shabbat).
The last song is Shebishlifleynu (In our lowliness), a verse from “Ki l’olam chasdo” (everything is in his grace), sung during Passover Seder.
A key figure in this recording is producer and keyboardist Jamshied Sharifi who plays keyboards and guitars, contributing his world class arrangements.
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
