Out Of The Reeds

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Sample Album
Out Of The Reeds album cover
Album Information

Total Tracks: 11   Total Length: 41:53

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Basya Rules(No doubt)

Rudradev

One of the reviewers of Pharaoh's Daughter's album "Out of the Reeds" will have you believe that Basya Schechter is some sort of cultural dilettante. Ha! Far from it. This woman is not only an accomplished singer/multi-instrumentalist, but is an outstanding composer/arranger as well. She plays regularly for her congregation in the B'nai Jeshurun ensemble and took that devotion and her prodigious talent to the recording studio and produced three excellent recordings as PD. Oh, and one more thing...her music on this album and on all the other Pharaoh's Daughter/Basya Schechter albums, has soul. Real soul. Contrary to what the other reviewer/polemicist would have you believe, Pharaoh's Daughter is well worth downloading AND listening to on a regular basis, as are all her other works.

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singer's voice lacks necessary depth

mjs

When singers attempt music not indigenous to their heritage (in this case a european woman with a thin, light voice lacking depth or substance but nicely executed in a very predictable, cerebral way), the results can be disappointing at best. That has been my experience of this singer, whose voice quality and expression is out of sync with the intent of the music, albeit composed from a european perspective. She would do best to attempt music that suits her inherited voice timbre and tone--european music.

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They Say All Music Guide

Out of the Reeds is an absolutely gorgeous album from Pharoah’s Daughter. Leader Baysa Schechter learned Hebrew and Yiddish as a child, then joined a stepfamily of Syrian descent. It is this multicultural background that informs the music of Pharoah’s Daughter. Tabla and dumbek provide the rhythm under Schechter’s beautiful voice and acoustic guitar or oud. Flute and cello add a sublime richness as she sings traditional liturgical texts in Yiddish and Hebrew. Despite the appearance of downtown players Anthony Coleman and Matt Darriau on several tracks, the music has a very traditional and reverential Middle Eastern feel. The haunting melodies are derived from traditional Jewish music, Armenia, and even West Africa. Pharoah’s Daughter manage to combine these musical traditions in an utterly complementary fashion, resulting in a work of uncommon beauty. – Sean Westergaard

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