National Geographic Music (National Geographic)

Unlike any other seasonal release, Festival of Light captures the spirit of Hanukkah holiday that celebrates religious freedom and cultural unity shared by Jews around the world. Festival of Light is an accessible blend of the contemporary and the traditional, the unexpected and the familiar. The perfect musical gift for anyone who\'s Jewish and everyone who\'s not. While its arrangements and instrumentation are far from traditional, Festival of Light is highly listenable, seamlessly weaving together both vocal and instrumental material.

Featured vocals include Jane Siberry, Marc Cohn, a duet with Peter Himmelman and best-selling Israeli artist David Broza, and The Covenant—a group that uses Cantoral vocals in a style reminiscent of Enigma and Deep Forest. An eclectic, all-star New York ensemble assembled specifically for this project features Klezmatics leader Frank London, guitarist David Torn, percussionist Glen Velez, jazz klezmer clarinetist Don Byron and other special guests. Instrumental treatments range from the atmospheric guitar suites of John Leventhal (Producer for Shawn Colvin, Roseanne Cash) to the hammered dulcimer, cello and harmonica of John McCutcheon.

— CalabashMusic.com