„Nizozot”
(Audio Cave, 2023)
Nigunim are a Hasidic musical form that date back to the 18th/19th century – melodies, mystical songs without words, and prayers.
On this album, the Bastarda ensemble draws on the legacy of nigunim from three of the Hasidic dynasties – Modzitz, Shapiro and Kozhnitz.
The title of the album, Nizozot, is a Hasidic term for the Divine creative act, which can also be understood as any creative act.
It consists of three stages. First, the sparks of love are placed by God in a glass vessel. Then, the vessel breaks, and the sparks are dispersed across the world. All human souls and things created ex nihilo contain these holy sparks, which constitute their origin and life force, their true essence.
The musicians of the Bastarda trio rediscover the universal beauty of Jewish melodies, and at the same time tell their own stories by exploring and filtering traditional songs in the band’s signature language. Their original arrangements and recompositions are inspired by the structural and narrative power of nigunim. These are tales of joy and sorrow, of violent struggle and pure spirituality – of life in the full spectrum of sensations and emotions. Tales that seem to embody the essence of Hasidism – always oscillating between anticipation of the end of the world, and a joyful near ecstatic affirmation of life.
Paweł Szamburski – clarinet
Tomasz Pokrzywiński – cello
Michał Górczyński – contrabass clarinet
Special guest dj Lenar on „Nizozot”
Recorded live in full analog, mixed and mastered by Piotr Zabrodzki at Pasterka Studio
Graphic design and layout by Jarosław Pawlicki / Pneuma Studio
Executive producer Marcin Mizerek