''Brother Moses Smote the Water'' is a live album by the American

klezmer Klezmer ( yi, קלעזמער or ) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for l ...

group the Klezmatics, with Joshua Nelson and Kathryn Farmer. It was released in 2005 by Piranha Records. The album mixes together traditional Yiddish songs and gospel. The Klezmatics and Nelson supported the album by touring together in 2005.

Production

Recorded live in

Potsdamer Platz Potsdamer Platz (, ''Potsdam Square'') is a public square and traffic intersection in the center of Berlin, Germany, lying about south of the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag (German Parliament Building), and close to the southeast corne ...

, the songs on the album are about the Jewish exodus from Egypt, and the commonality of Jewish and African American historical experience.

Critical reception

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' thought that "it's not so much a world music fusion as a spiritual transformation, and the result is as soulful as it is uplifting." The ''

Philadelphia Daily News ''Philadelphia Daily News'' is a tabloid newspaper that serves Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper is owned by The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC, which also owns Philadelphia's other major newspaper ''The Philadelphia Inquirer''. The ''Dail ...

'' deemed the album "an intriguing collaboration" concerning "the struggle against repression common to the histories of Jewish and African-American people." ''

The Plain Dealer ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. In fall 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily and 15th on Sunday. As of Ma ...

'' determined that "while some musical fusion sounds forced, the Jewish kosher music updated by the Klezmatics blends naturally with the black gospel songs newly interpreted by vocalists/keyboardists Joshua Nelson and Kathryn Farmer." ''

The Virginian-Pilot ''The Virginian-Pilot'' is the daily newspaper for Norfolk, Virginia. Commonly known as ''The Pilot'', it is Virginia's largest daily. It serves the five cities of South Hampton Roads as well as several smaller towns across southeast Virginia ...

'' called the album's performances "stirring, joyful, reverent and triumphant."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

wrote that "the styles are crunched together nearly seamlessly, the languages used (alternately Hebrew, Yiddish, and English) being the only differential in some parts."

Track listing

# Eyliyohu Hanovi # Elijah Rock # Ki Loy Nue # Shnirele Perele # Walk in Jerusalem # Go Down Moses # Moses Smote the Water # Oh Mary Don't You Weep # Didn't It Rain # Ale Brider

References

{{reflist 2005 albums The Klezmatics albums