And the Angels Sing Songbook: Contemporary Jewish Music Compositions

Description

An inspiring collection of contemporary Jewish music compositions by poet, scholar and humanitarian Lisabeth Kaplan, the "And the Angels Sing Songbook" delves into the living message of Torah and its wisdom and love for humanity. Sung in English and Hebrew and arranged with guitar, piano, cello, acoustic bass, Celtic harp, oboe, English horn and more, the songs contain a universal message that moves the heart. She draws from Jewish liturgy and her devotion to family, to her students and community as well. They sweeten life's severities and bring us closer to each other. They shine a light on truth. And they are as beautiful as Lisabeth was, and as her spirit will always be.

Beloved singer-songwriter Lisabeth Kaplan's incredible talent has touched the lives of many people in her Central Coastal California communities. Her dream was to reach many more people with her songs, but illness cut her passion-driven life tragically short. Fortunately, her CD And the Angels Sing makes her dream possible even after her untimely death. And now, with the assistance of graphic artist Sara Glaser and musician and transcriber Gordon Lustig, we are pleased to make And the Angels Sing available in songbook and sheet music. A music graduate from California Institute of the Arts and a prolific songwriter, Lisabeth was also one of the first women to receive full paramedic credentials, and served the Monterey Peninsula communities as a paramedic for almost two decades until her illness. In addition, she served many Jewish communities as a Cantorial Soloist and composed and arranged a litany of music for synagogues and other Jewish community organizations in the Santa Cruz and Monterey areas. She devoted herself to interfaith community work, especially the Moslem- Jewish dialogue, and sang her songs to bridge understanding and achieve reconciliation and well-being for all people. An intrepid traveler with a gift for foreign languages, she ventured into pre-apartheid South Africa, made several trips to the Middle East with interfaith peace organizations, drove an ambulance in the West Bank on 13-hour shifts every night for two weeks, helped spearhead the effort to restore a Jewish Cemetery in Lithuania, and aided victims of Hurricane Mitch in Nicaragua in 1998. Lisabeth was diagnosed with cancer in November 2007. In December we began exploring the idea of recording her songs and scheduled studio dates for January 2008. Up until then, Lisabeth had never been in a recording studio. Even on days when she was weak, singing and playing in the studio energized her and gave her new life. Lisabeth recorded 10 songs over the next several months, the last in September 2008, just after her 45th birthday. When it was evident she would not be returning to the studio, she asked us to finish the album for her. We sat with her in her living room as she listened to the mixed tracks and we sensed her satisfaction. She passed ten days later, on October 27, 2008. Following her death, more musicians added additional parts, which would have given Lisabeth great pleasure. Lisabeth touched our lives with her wisdom and friendship as well as her music. Though we miss her, her radiant spirit lives on in these songs. May they continue to move us in the direction of understanding and unity. We remember you Lisabeth. - Alisa Fineman To purchase Lisabeth's CD please visit: https: //store.cdbaby.com/cd/lbkapla