O Jerusalem

It looks like a flute and is played like a shehnai. The recorder,one of Israel’s historical instruments,held pride of place during a concert at Alliance Francaise on Wednesday evening. “Unlike India,Israel’s musical legacy goes back only to the 14th century. Almost everything that came before has been lost,” said Michael Melzer,who is considered the father of recorder playing in Israel. Accompanying him was another leading recorder player,Yael Melzer-Shimshoni,percussionist Adam Cohen and singer Shani Cohen. The concert,called “Paradise Lost and Found in Jerusalem”,comprised a mélange of styles — from dance music to lullaby to a Telemann sonata.

Displaying a range of recorders,from a 2-ft-long bass instrument to a soprano stick that is just a few inches long,Melzer explained how these were originally “made to complement the music of the best singing birds”. His solo piece for the evening,Jacob van Eyck’s The Nightingale of the Angels,which exquisitely captured the twittering chorus of birds,was played out to an awed silence in the audience and ended with a resounding applause.

The recorder wasn’t the only exotic instrument on display. There was also Adam’s cajon,a medium-sized box that was traditionally used to keep the beat during flamenco dances in Spain. “Many of our songs,like Nani nani,a Ladino lullaby,talks about the paradise that the Jewish people once had in Spain and are now trying to rebuild in Israel,” said Melzer,adding that the recorder could be used to reproduce any kind of sound — even the strains of Jai ho,which Melzer-Shimshoni interjected into her rendition of Tre fontane,the last piece of the evening.