January 29, 2001
Made in Canada / Siman Tov
Gal Paz
The Toronto Connection has long been a most productive source of Jewish Music. In the 1970's the city produced the Toronto Boys Choir, whose three albums became classics, and part of the Shma Kolenu band, whose own three albums are de rigeuer in the historiography of Jewish Music. In the 1980s Abie Rotenberg began his Dveykus dynasty and has thus far released five critically acclaimed albums. The 1990s saw the emergence of Shlomo Simcha, the Nafshenu Orchestra, and the reincarnation of the Toronto Boys Choir, as well as the entrance of several composers, such as Baruch Levine.
Combining such talent in a single project is an idea whose time has come, and the recently released Made in Canada album is an excellent exhibition of the wealth of talent coming from Toronto. Shlomo Simcha is the main performer on the album, and he is joined by Rotenberg, Cantor Yaakov Motzen, the Toronto Boys Choir, and the Kol Chaverim adult Choir under the direction of Harvey Ehrlich, himself a product of the original Toronto Boys Choir.
The album itself is a good collection of music, some original and some remakes. By far, the best track on the album is the third, Ain Aroch, a remake of the Michoel Streicher version from the early 1990's. Whereas Streicher's voice is a healthy tenor and lends the song perhaps too much power, this version combines the soft, melodious voice of Rotenberg with the flavor of Simcha to provide an almost flawless piece. The one drawback this version has is that it lacks Rotenberg's harmony in the second half of the song.
Over all, this album is a very good package, providing whatever presence Toronto was lacking on the Jewish Music scene.
Various Artists
Shir Lama'alot
Noam Productions
THE new compilation from Noam Productions is a very good easy listening album. The album consists of 12 instrumental tracks, including some of the biggest hits of the past twenty years or so, such as the Miami Boys Choir's Mehaira, Yeedle Werdyger's Shiru Lamelech, Avraham Fried's Yesimcha, and Mendy Wald's Piha Pascha.
The musicians do a superb job capturing the flavor of these songs, and providing a healthy does of relaxing music. Some top names have contributed to this album, including Menachem Herman, Avi Singolda, Ron Vered, Arye Volnitz, Yaron Gotfryd, and others. The result is one of the best albums to be produced by Noam in a long time.
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