jewish music

O Hannukeh, Hannukeh! / arr. Ljova

Happy Hannukah (Khanike, Hannukeh, Chanukah, חנוכה, Ханука) to all of my Jewish friends! May we shine extra bright this year!

Here’s a video from last December of my arrangement of the Yiddish song “O, Hannukeh, Hannukeh”, with two superstars, Michael Nicolas on cello and Nick Revel on viola — and me, Ljova – on fadolín.

Meditation on Kol Nidrei

Doubt, confusion, an inner repentance – these were the themes I tried to work with in creating my “Meditation” on this most solemn prayer, recited on the Jewish day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. In my composition, the traditionally familiar motifs are fragmented, inverted, and fused together in a way that is connected by question marks. Will we be forgiven?