Innovation in the Familiar

While fans have been waiting since Shir 2 came out in 2016 for the next Shir album to emerge, composer SHLOMO YEHUDA RECHNITZ has been working on it for a lot longer than you’d think. Yitzy Berry, who together with his partner, Eli Klein, arranged six of the songs on the new Shir 3, explains that there had been back-and-forth between them about some of the songs for around four years.

“The work began when Eli and I were in L.A., together with producer David Fadida, around four years ago, and continued when Shlomo Yehuda came to Eretz Yisrael, before coronavirus,” says Berry. “Recently, of course, it’s been long distance.”

One track, “Lecha Amar Libi,” sung by Motti Steinmetz, has been waiting a lot longer than that, though. It’s one of Rechnitz’s earliest compositions, but due to the utter simplicity of the melody — it uses only four chords — he held onto it for decades, never thinking of it as album material. Now seemed to be the right time, and with the melody transposed to Motti Steinmetz’s key and range, the song goes straight to the heart.

The album also includes “Mizmor Lesodah” and “Nachamu,” which were previously released in honor of Shlomo Yehuda’s daughter’s wedding, but will reach a wider audience now they have taken their slots on Shir 3. Shlomo Yehuda’s younger brother, Chaim Moshe Rechnitz, has contributed a few noteworthy songs and some lyrics as well, including a catchy “Achakeh Lo” sung by Avraham Fried. Far from a sombre “Ani Maamin,” this is an upbeat song of joyful anticipation.