PRESS RELEASE                                  Back

Voice of the Turtle Releases The Sword of the Dove: A Judeo-Spanish Purim Fantasia Quartet Celebrates 23^rd Year with 12^th Recording Release

February 12, 2001. Boston, MA. Since 1978, Voice of the Turtle, a Boston based quartet has focused upon the music of the Spanish Jews. The group has released The Sword of the Dove; A Judeo-Spanish Purim Fantasia, their twelfth recording. A collection of melodies sung for centuries at the time of the spring holiday of Purim, the repertoire represents the astonishing variety of expressions created for this holiday, ranging from liturgical through the burlesque.

Created, remembered, preserved and adapted through five hundred years of exile and dispersion, the texts derive from the rich treasure trove of legends and poetic expressions which tell of the ancient Persian Jewish community's miraculous escape from destruction. Included are traditions from many different Judeo-Spanish communities, liturgical expressions in Hebrew (Piyyutim) and Coplas, a genre of poetry in Judeo-Spanish which focuses upon Jewish subjects.

The release package also includes an informative booklet with background notes on the holiday, as well as the complete texts and translations. A special feature to accompany this recording can be found on the Voice of the Turtle website -- http://www.voiceoftheturtle.com -- a scholarly article on the texts and musical background of the included repertoire by Professor Edwin Seroussi of the Jewish Music Research Center at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Instruments include: 'ud, cornetti, chalumeaux, baglama, saz, medieval Spanish bagpipe, medieval fiddles, kamanja, rebec, nay, flutes, harp, psaltery, violin, mandolin, guitars, clarinet and a wide variety of Middle Eastern and North African percussion.

The group has been widely acclaimed for a unique five volume collection, Paths of Exile, initiated to mark the 500^th year since the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492.

Contact: Jay Rosenberg, Distribution Manager. 781-646-3785; jayjayrose@aol.com

About Voice of the Turtle
Voice of the Turtle has performed concerts of Judeo-Spanish (Sephardic) music for 22 years. The group's signature instrumental and vocal arrangements of rarely heard repertoire have been heard nationally and internationally, and have been acclaimed by the Boston Globe, The New York Times, London's Jewish Chronicle, and Ha’Aretz in Israel. Voice of the Turtle uses an expansive palette of instruments which reflects the complex and intriguing paths of exile of the Spanish Jews since 1492 through North Africa, the Balkans, and the Near and Middle East: saz, 'ud, baglama, rebec, kamanja, shawms, chalumeaux, bombards, flutes, middle eastern percussion, as well as modern instruments. The current members, Derek Burrows, Lisle Kulbach, Jay Rosenberg, and Artistic Director Judith Wachs are all the original members of the group. The group has performed in almost every state of the United States, and in London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Madrid, Hong Kong, and Jerusalem.