May 29, 2000
Bechira/Choice
Gal Paz
The field of Jewish Music is not known for the prevalence of easy listening recordings within its ranks. Its domination by dance and pop stylings is well-documented, and not altogether unjustified. Still, when a really good album comes along with a different style, it becomes all the more noteworthy.
Despite this being his second album, Yosef Karduner is a relative unknown on the Jewish music scene. His first album was released with barely a ripple, and while its first song, Shir Lama'alot, is easily recognizable, particularly among the younger crowd, most people don't know the name of the artist who produced it.
This second album is more promising. It is a collection of 11 easy listening songs, most of which are very well done. The songs have the perfect mixture of a quiet but insistent beat and an insidious tune, to which listeners will often find themselves humming along even without realizing it.
There is a deep meaning to some of the songs as well. In addition to the usual sources of lyrics from Tehillim and prayers, Karduner's compositions include more mystical selections. Among the latter are songs such as Shemot Hatzadikim, Mi Sherotzeh Lashuv, and Zeh Yoshienu.
The best song on the album, and one that easily surpasses Shir Lama'alot, is Halelluka. I couldn't stop humming it for about an hour after the first time I heard it.
The impression I get from this album is of a person who has been profoundly affected by the Jewish experience in Israel - someone who is capitavted by the history and beauty of the Jewish people and its land, and who takes its lessons to heart and expresses them from the heart. This impression is corroborated by the album cover. On the cover of the cassette version is a collage of people dancing around a huppa, people learning at the table of their rabbi, and a one-on-one discussion between a rabbi and a non-religious youth.
On the cover of the CD, the same collage appears, but with one difference. The non-religious youth has donned the garb of the religious young man, and though he still sits with his mentor, he now has a look of deeper understanding on his face.
The message is that we all make our choices in life and that Karduner's choice is religion. He expresses the beauty of this choice through the beautiful, relaxing music he has composed and performed for this album.
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