This is Sephardic music, sung in Ladino, the language of a Jewish people without a homeland, who were expelled from Spain in 1492 and fled to the Ottoman Empire. The result is a compilation with an Eastern flavour originating from countries like Bulgaria, the Balkans, Greece, Turkey and
the Middle East.
 Some of Melbourne's finest folk musicians play songs about
fate and longing, heaven and earth, the sun and the moon; it's the sort of music that gets into your blood and warms your soul..

The CD introduces a blend of cultures: Spanish, Turkish, Greek and Hebrew.The sound is tantalisingly familiar and yet I'd never quite heard any of these versions before. Deep guttural lead vocals are by Sarah Mandie who has a special interest in Jewish music. Sarah chose most of the work herself.
Some of the instruments are presumably traditional for Sephardic Jews although clearly poetic licence is also at play. The musical talent brought in by Sara includes some of Melbourne's finest improvisers: guitar, piano hammer-dulcimer and "Angel Guitar" by Harry Williamson who arranged most of the music and is noted for his collaborations with Anthony Phillips from Genesis and Sting; violin,viola and mandolin played by Ernie Gruner; recorder and backing vocals by Kate Neal; clarinet and backing vocals by Martin Mackerras; and two drums of Persian origin, the zarb and tavil, played by guest percussionist, Tunji
Beier. Track 2, Durme, Durme, is a lullaby where voice harmonises with recorder lamenting the fate of the people of Zion: 'My wings have been clipped and my voice has been silenced'. Track 7, La Sirena, has a medieval sounding rhythm where the drums in the background are like rumbling thunder, as Sarah sings: 'Yet into the sea I will throw myself if the sirens call me.' The last track, called Morenica Sos goes 'Your blood is so sweet it enters my soul'- the sweet resonant music of the hammer dulcimer, or
cimbalom, from the Balkans, ending the CD on a high point.
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Solar and Luna energy mingle in this work of beauty: sephardic fusion by Australian band, Soleluna. Celebrating Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) songs through modern interpretations, led by the expressive, vibrant voice of Sarah Mandie, this album was produced and arranged with Harry Williamson, who also plays several instruments on it including tiple, piano, hammer dulcimer and his own invention, angel guitar. I bought this CD at its launch in Melbourne, being impressed by the versatile performances on a rich array of instruments, such as clarinet, recorder, viola, zarb and tavil, all of which appear on the recordings. Highly recommended.
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