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Shema
by Magritte

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Submitted on: Oct 12, 2005 - 09:22:42 AM
Last Updated:
Description This is a short treatment of a well-known melody for the "Shema Yisrael," one of the best known Jewish prayers. While I composed it and am posting it in honor of Yom Kippur, I have categorized it as "Classical" since I personally am not very religious and it sounds to me more like classical music than something you'd hear at temple.

Many thanks go to Cantor, who pointed out several important things I would like to mention. First of all, the tune of the prayer was written in the mid-1800s in Vienna. Secondly, my pronunciation of "Yisrael," while common, is inaccurate (this is what happens when you don't go to shul like a nice Jewish girl should!), and I apologize if this offends anyone. Finally, Cantor also mentioned that some people may be sensitive to my having taken the name of the Lord in vain, so I also apologize for that. This was a truly secular effort so I seem to have fuzzed the religious details a bit.

Also thanks to alley-oop for encouraging me to record my singing.
Lyrics (transcribed from the Hebrew):

Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad.

translation: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Hardware iMac G5, OS 10.3.8, M-Audio Keystation 49e, Snowball mic
Software: Garageband 2.0.2
Fan List

Reinholt56

drakonis

Cori Ander

Cantor

beatrix

DOS

mythago

tsand19151

Roxylee

stevewhit

1rwhite1
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thetiler said 1135 days ago
always enjoy your stuff.
Love that oboe, of course the harps are fun to hear as the rest of the
stuff.

Are you singing this, wow nice voice as well!

This is really nice. Would nice to hear something like this only a little
longer.

Nice going though indeed!

caroline said 1135 days ago
this worked for me....
and bearstein! your proununciation of 'yisrael' would work perfectly in england - just goes to show! a special treat today - reminded me to feel guilty!! thank you - you sound lovely and so does your music x

Audiologic said 1135 days ago
Nice Voice
and the Cello?. It ads a very full spectrum of sound.

Ben

Reinholt56 said 1135 days ago
Very enjoyable..
I enjoyed the piece very much.

R.

Peter Greenstone said 1135 days ago
Beautiful
You did a wonderful arrangement on this. Absolutely beautiful. Oh, and
thanks for reminding me that I need to call my parents tonight.

drakonis said 1135 days ago
Love, life and music...
All far too short! I love this, your choice of instrumentation, the clean
production, the sweet voice. Another fave. The only critique I can
think of is the double-double bass sounded (unnaturally) an octave too
low... it rattled my fillings, and I'd have preferred it 1 I think, but
that's just me.
ttfn,
Drakonis

Magritte said 1135 days ago
Love, life and music...
Well, there are two reasons for the bass. One is that I wanted to introduce a somewhat ominous feel to those parts of the song, and the other is that I am of the "too much is not enough" school when it comes to bass. :-) Seriously, I'm sorry your fillings were rattled, but I thank you for the listen and the very nice comments.

Myshkin said 1135 days ago
Outstanding
Absolutely gorgeous! I agree - I wish it had gone longer. Beautiful arrangement and your singing is superb. More please!

Mystified said 1135 days ago
Beautiful
You have a lovely voice! I'm so glad you posted this.
Very well done! :)



Magritte said 1135 days ago
Beautiful
Thank you (and everyone else! yes, I'm one of those people who feels like a dork responding to every comment...) for your very nice words on the piece. It's a relief not to have my vocal debut booed off MacJams. :-)

Oh, and Mystified, I have Myst V sitting right here waiting to be opened. (My best friend in San Francisco and I play "together" over the phone, since we played Riven together when I lived there and since then we haven't been able to play a Myst game without each other!)

Dadai said 1135 days ago
By your voice....
to God's ear, a magnificent prayer beautifully delivered. Magritte, this
is, as they say, short and sweet, but not insignificant. Though you are
not coming from a religious place, this nonetheless is respectfully
and so tastefully done. Your artistry shines here. Kudos.

Jack

Dadai said 1135 days ago
By your voice....
...by the way, I meant to ask, what is the song art photo of?

Jack

---
Making melody with your heart...

alley-oop said 1134 days ago
Told you, told you, told you
Magriite, You have such a wonderful voice! You must sing ever song now! Very sweet tone, great vibrato. Very clean and clear recording. Musical accompanyment is excellent. I'm happy you busted out. My, your garden is blooming.

rtcooper said 1134 days ago
Gripped and Held Fast
The Gods might listen more closely if all Prayer were thus.

I find the vocal quality imploringly human; warm, fragile and full of
message.

Thank you for presenting this piece.



obbster said 1134 days ago
Stunning
This sounds fantastic. Powerful melody and superb singing.

Ejh said 1134 days ago
This is beautiful...
It's a perfect prayer, and the arrangement here is striking. It's short, and I
originally wanted it to be more, but now I'm not so sure... the Shema says
what it says, and is enough...

Not being Jewish, but living in a "blended household" as people like to
say, this is one of the prayers/phrases that has stuck out for me over the
years as expressing a truth deeper than just the words...

It's very moving, and I thank you for posting it.

Ed

Bonka said 1134 days ago
nice job
I really enjoyed this.

MidiOrleans said 1132 days ago
Delightful
Delightful!

macgalver said 1003 days ago
dreamlike
These sounds envelop me. I adore this music you are making.
Beautiful, beautiful stuff. Lucky me. xxxoo, kelli

mythago said 910 days ago
Wow!
This is incredibly beautiful, and I loive your voice! I didn't want it to end!!

Love, Jen

tsand19151 said 841 days ago
Beautiful....
Haunting yet peaceful. Way too short. This could have gone on for hours. Excellent mix and recording as well......

Roxylee said 786 days ago
Gorgeous
Everything. :-) Faved and downloaded.

Doadars Uncle said 760 days ago
Deep
Very immersing. Your voice is wonderful! Great arrangement and
presentation!

stevewhit said 755 days ago
very nice -thanks!
I love the feeling & emotion you achieve in this

Thanks

Steve

ZOI said 651 days ago
ThankYou so much . . . . : )
This is absolutely GORDEOUS. . . It IS a PRAISE To GOD in my ears: ) . . : ) : ) : ) Much too short:( :( it's like the prologue of a REALLY GREAT BOOK ...
ThankYou so much!!!! please dont apologiZe, this is GREAT WORK I LOVE IT ; )
MUSIC UNITES
PEACE

1rwhite1 said 528 days ago
Short but Incredible
I agree with what Zoi wrote: There's no need to apologize for anything. I only wish that this could have been longer. You're doing some really amazing things on that little Keystation 49e. The harp is what stood out to me the most. I have a close friend who's into everything Judaeo-Christianity. He would absolutely love this piece. If it's okay, I will send him the link to this song.

Birdman Wayne said 193 days ago
Great!
Thanks for this masterpiece. Cool vocals and a musical gem!

Take Care
- Yeman A. Al-Rawi

Artist Profile
Magritte photo
Magritte

Artist Bio I'm a teacher and sign language interpreter in L.A., but originally an East Coast girl. I grew up training classically in piano, violin, cello and harp, but that all pretty much fell by the wayside once other things took over in life. It's nice to get...[more]
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