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Holiday Release - "Light the Legend"

 "Light the Legend (A Song for Chanukah)” is a choral piece composed by Michael Isaacson and Susan Nuremberg in 1976. I have had multiple requests to produce a singing call for Chanukah (using the spelling from the sheet music I purchased), but finding the right song proved a bit challenging.

Last year, Vic and I attended a Winter Concert at the University of LaVerne in support of Adam Pepper (son of caller Tim and Vicki Pepper). One of the pieces sung at this concert was “Light the Legend.” As I was enjoying the beautiful performance of the piece, my producer brain reared its head and said…”This! This is your Chanukah singing call!”

Making it happen was a little more challenging than usual. When producing a song, I typically purchase the original cut of our inspiration and we try to follow it as closely as possible when creating our singing call adaptation. For this song, I purchased the sheet music for a choir, and Jimmy and I watched and listened to various renditions of choirs performing the piece in YouTube videos. Once we had the arrangement done to fit the standard singing call structure, the rough tracks were created and we had the first inkling that this just might work.

Not being of the Jewish faith, I ran the song by friends who were, to make sure this would be a Chanukah celebration piece, and not disrespectful in any way. All were very excited about the project.

Justin Russell and Patty Greene were invited to record the vocals and both delivered stellar tracks with only the rough music as a guide. I knew I had made the right choice to sing this song, and they both proved me right.

Last Saturday, I finally made it in to the studio with Jimmy Mac to finish the music and record the background vocals. I had to postpone the session scheduled earlier this month since my favorite caller-on-sabbatical decided he needed attention and fractured his shoulder to prove the point. We had limited studio time available so Jimmy spent a few hours on his own prior to my arrival and what he had created was amazing. Our rough track with basic rhythm and keyboard melody had been transformed into a fully orchestrated masterpiece. With basically nothing as a guide, I think Jimmy did some of his best work to date.

By the end of the day, music was finished, background vocals were recorded and the final mixing was done. I could not be more happy with how this turned out. I hope you enjoy it, too!

CHIC 1063 in the male vocal range features Justin Russell, courtesy of Royal Records.

CHIC 2063 in the female vocal range features Staff Caller, Patty Greene.

To purchase, just head on over to the Chic Boutique for fast and easy mp3 downloads.

Introductory price is $7.50 and includes the music with and without melody, and the vocal cut.

Both are being sold separately since they were produced separately, but we do have a dual-key option at a discounted rate for those who prefer to have both keys.

Click on the youtube links (to the left) for previews!