Playlist & Artist Bios


Esther: The Feast of Masks

written by
Ellen Kushner

Ellen Kushner: narrator, vocals
Michael McLaughlin (Music Director): piano, accordion, guitar, mbira & vocals
Mary Casey: vocals, guitar
Josef Kessler: fiddle, vocals

All music arranged by Michael McLaughlin.

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PART I: VASHTI: SAYING NO

Rita

Wicked Man instrumental - trad. Jewish
Utzu Etza, (Narrator theme) - trad. Jewish (Hebrew) (Complete lyrics and MP3 available here.)
          Translation:
          They have devised schemes but they have been foiled,
          they have made declarations [against us],
          but they will not be fulfilled, because God is with us!
Persian Music - trad. Persian
True Love - Cole Porter
Go Away From My Window - John Jacob Niles (Hear him singing it himself!)
Riverboat - Holly Near (on her 1978 album Imagine My Surprise [Redwood 401], out of print)

PART II: ESTHER: THE DISGUISE

Miss Ida B. Howell

Utzu Etza - trad. Jewish
Motherless Child - trad. African American (recorded by many artists including Eric Clapton, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Harry Belafonte and others)
Blues guitar interlude - M. McLaughlin
Motherless Child - trad. African American
Mari's Wedding - trad. Scottish (recorded by Van Morrison & The Chieftans on Irish Heartbeat [Mercury Records 834 496-1])

30-second break: Thought Music - M. McLaughlin

PART III: ESTHER: OPEN EYES

Natalie

Utzu Etza - trad. Jewish
Menace Music - M. McLaughlin
Thought Music - M. McLaughlin
Mbira interludes - improvisation, M. McLaughlin
Thuma Mina - trad. South African

PART IV: ESTHER: UNMASKING

Nate*

Utzu Etza - trad. Jewish
Don't You Push Me Down - Woody Guthrie, arr. M. McLaughlin

PART V: ESTHER & VASHTI: THE NARRATOR UNMASKS

Ellen Kushner

Utzu Etza (Party theme) - trad. Jewish
Wicked Man - trad. Purim song, based on an old English drinking song. (Complete lyrics and MP3 available here.)
Wo Ya Ya - Osibisa (a Nigerian group) (Recorded by Art Garfunkel on his 1973 album Angel Clare.)

Additional vocals provided by Ned Casey, Rebecca Garland, Delia Sherman and Brooke Wurst.

*"Nate" section written by Ellen Kushner and Michael McLaughlin

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Ellen Kushner (writer, narrator, vocals) is the host of PRI's radio series Sound & Spirit (produced at WGBH Radio Boston), which Bill Moyers calls "the best program on public radio bar none." Before developing Sound & Spirit she hosted the radio programs NightAir and Caravan on WGBH, and was the writer and host of the Nakamichi International Music Series of classical concert music also distributed by PRI.

She is the author of acclaimed works of literary fantasy, including Swordspoint, the multiple award-winning Thomas the Rhymer, and her latest novel, The Fall of the Kings (co-authored with Delia Sherman). Her short fiction has appeared in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror. In addition to Esther, Ellen is the author and narrator of The Golden Dreydl: A Klezmer "Nutcracker," which she performs with Shirim Klezmer Orchestra, available on CD from Rykodisc. She is a popular teacher and lecturer, from synagogue pulpits to fantasy & science fiction conventions. You can learn more about Ellen at ellenkushner.com.

Michael McLaughlin (music director, piano, accordion, guitar, vocals) is the pianist/accordionist and composer/arranger for the Klezmer band Shirim and "radical Jewish music" band Naftule's Dream. Michael is a co-founder of the international performance art group Terra Nova, was the musical director for the award-winning group which backed Senegalese drummer Ibrahima Camara, and has had the good fortune to play with the world-renowned pioneers of Ska, the Skatalites. He is currently working on a Doctorate in Musical Arts at New England Conservatory where he studies with Lee Hyla.

Mary Casey (guitar, vocals) is a folk musician and recording artist who has been singing and playing Celtic and folk music for over 20 years. Mary performs in coffee houses, at folk festivals, and plays at benefits in North Carolina and across New England. She has recorded extensively with singer-songwriter Carolyn McDade, and most recently performed with Gail Rundlett and Dimitri Eleftherakis at several local folk venues and festivals in the Boston area.

Josef Kessler (fiddle, vocals) has been a mainstay of the Irish music scene in Boston, toured the United States and Canada for five years with the Minneapolis-based ethnic rock group Boiled in Lead, and has been featured in large music festivals including the Montreal Jazz and Berlin Jewish Music Festivals. He and his father, cantor Jack Kessler, play together at many events in the US and abroad. They are also part of the band Atzilut, whose work focuses on bringing Jewish and Arab musicians together to celebrate the common roots of Arab and Jewish music.

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