More Modern Renditions of Piyyutim
I recent wrote here about Berry Sakharov and Rea Mochiach’s putting of poetry by Shelomo ibn Gabriol to music. One of the pioneers of such attempts is Meir Banai of the multi-talented Banai family. In 2007 he released an album שמע קולי which features musical renditions of traditional Jewish liturgical compositions. One of the albums most popular songs is לך אלי (text) by R. Abraham ibn Ezra (12th c.) which can be heard here. Reviews of it can be found here and here. Ynet has a recent article about his tour which includes his rendition of the piyyut אל נורא עלילה. The piyyut was written by R. Moshe ibn Ezra in the 11th century. The text can be found here and traditional renditions of it can be found here and here. Here is the version by Meir Banai.