NEW Worship Music

Music You'll Love| Yeshua - Shilo Ben Hod

My subscription played this song today, and it stopped me in my tracks. In fact, I was preparing an altogether different post about something very different and my mind went so many different places with this song, I thought it merits sharing.

I've said before that I'm a real fan of worship music out of Israel. Shilo Ben Hod is one of my favorites and the ensemble he sometimes records with, SOLU Israel is frankly amazing. This song in particular though has struck a chord with me, pun intended. YOu can hear for yourself by clicking the link above why this is absolutely one of the most beautiful songs and performances, but let me take you on a journey first. Imagine you are not just tasting wine, but that you are on a wine journey with a certified level 4 sommelier. As best I can, I will paint a picture and describe in detail what you should experience in this music and why you too should love it!

Opening

The song starts with an elegant but evocative violin cello paired with an acoustic guitar. The guitar. The legato melody is longing and mournful and set with a resonating reverb that feels like it's a lone voice in a very large hall. The guitar plays a pensive almost pizzicato repeated rhythm on the off beats. The setting is up close as if there is nothing else nearby at all. This contrast with the tone of the instruments gives you the sensation of introspection and walking alone through the woods deep in thought. That's the first eight seconds.

Verse

Shilo Ben Hod enters with the lead vocal. The lyric is simple, direct, and profound. "Yeshua."

It's difficult to be a baritone in a world of tenors. But this vocal recording is uncanny. I've heard a number of Shilo Ben Hod's recordings and this one stands out as being notably more expressive and vulnerable. He doesn't sing with yells or melodramatic frills. He's a man feeling something profound and conveying the depths of that emotion with nuanced lilts, tremors, and unaffected cracks at unexpected moments. When you hear it you say, "Wow, I felt that."

Eternal Power

The version I heard was only Hebrew. The link above is in Hebrew and Korean. Before I knew of this version, I was formulating my words about the song as I was driving. Now listening to this Korean version, I'm sure of what I perceived. There is something anointed and powerful about this song. Essentially, it is universal in appeal and has a depth of character that is uncommon. Let me explain, the meditative pattern in the guitar is reminiscent of the way Sting plays incorporating ninths and subdued but pensive patterns that draw you in. The toms on the drums play against the high hats and the shakers. They contrast with a 1/8 note triplet against straight sixteenths. This creates a hemiola pattern common to Spanish Flamenco, all the way to India in addition to West Africa, THe Caribbean, and the Afro-influenced music of the United States. This rhythm pattern is probably one of the oldest in the world. It is a universal language. The female vocal lead is astoundingly powerful in the same way. The melody and style of her vocal are reminiscent of singers from the Jewish Ladino tradition in that it hints faintly at medieval melodies in the way that some modern Ladino singers do, but she sings in Korean! By the time you realize what's going on, you go from feeling alone and pensive to having the entire soundscape within your head filled with ancient and modern rhythms and a chorus of voices saying the same thing, Yeshua, Yeshua, Yeshua!

Add this to your play list! You won't regret it.

Baruch Hashem