PRICE:
$17.00$14.45
IN STOCK
ARTIST
TITLE
Shir Hodu: Jewish Song From Bombay Of The '30s
FORMAT
CD

LABEL
CATALOG #
REN 127CD REN 127CD
GENRE
RELEASE DATE
2/2/2010

Shir Hodu is Hebrew for "Song of India." It also means "Song of Praise." This anthology, the second in a series of Eastern Jewish singers, presents for the first time on CD the most famous of the Indian singers from Bombay, in historic performances from the 1930s. Until the release of this CD, it had been taken for granted that no recordings of Jewish music had been made in India and that the only echoes of a tradition that was centuries old were recordings made by their descendants in present day Israel. Over the course of more than 5 years of searching and following leads for these long-lost recordings, Renair was able to produce this extraordinary compilation of recordings, some of them privately made, in the 1930s in Bombay. Among the performers are a shofar (ram's horn) blower who was born in the 1850s and a hazzan (cantor) known as "The Butcher." A musical link with the past has been brought to life by the memories and photos of the descendants of these singers and instrumentalists, gathered from across the globe and collected here, in a copiously-illustrated 24-page booklet. Several of the instrumentalists featured on this CD later played on some of the most evocative Bollywood films of the 1950s including Shree 420, Boot Polish, Awaara and even Mera Naam Joker from 1970. There is shouting, instrumental breaks and a real sense of excitement, which comes through loud and clear on these authentic sound portraits of a tradition that is now part of Indian and Jewish history. Sensitive remastering makes it possible to hear these recordings as they have never been heard before.