The Wolf and the Lamb: Live at the Shakh

Recorded live in the Shakh Synagogue in Holešov, Czech Republic, The Wolf and the Lamb is a klezmer album that seeks to expand upon the sometimes myopic view that Europe's historical Jewish communities were hermetically sealed from the outside world. It demonstrates, through music, that cultural exchange has always been a part of the relationship between Jews and Gentiles, and that, while Ukrainian peasants danced the Jewish sher, the Jews were dancing the French quadrille. Although very dance-based, the album is mainly vocal-led. The expressive Yiddish voice of Elizabeth Schwartz guides us from religious verse to a rendition of ‘Nature Boy / Natur Bokher’ – itself written by the half-Jewish Eden Ahbez. We also hear from Livonia, Belarus, Transylvania and other regions of Jewish settlement, giving the album a truly pan-Ashkenazi feel. Each musician is a formidable virtuoso – particularly the accordion and sax players, who occasionally take flight on wild and ecstatic solos which bounce around the cavernous acoustics of the synagogue as the syncing of the beat ebbs and flows. While this album would affect most deeply those with an understanding of Yiddish, there is something here for all.