By COLlive reporter
Mayer Rivkin, a Chassidic singer who lives in the oceanfront town of Surfside in Miami-Dade County, Florida, has brought the redemption to New York.
Before you brush him off as another ‘messianic,’ consider this: he has a voice and a knack for Chassidic melodies.
And the only salvation he is offering is a quick escape down memory lane to the summers at Camp Gan Israel in Parksville, Montreal, Detroit and elsewhere.
His new album entitled “Redemption,” to be released Sunday, May 16, features 13 meticulously chosen Chabad and other popular songs with the additions of English lyrics, widely described as “Camp Songs.”
The lyrics that were joined to these melodies, were mostly written over the years, by staff members of numerous Chabad-Lubavitch run overnight camps, known as Camp Gan Israel.
And joining him, for the first time on a CD album, is his 13 year-old son Mendel Rivkin.
Together, father and son entertain and inspire, with stirring as well as joyful songs of the Kabbalistic / Chassidic tradition.
“We are conveying the ongoing pain and tribulations of exile, together with a strong message of faith and hope for the coming of Moshiach and the immediate redemption,” he told COLlive.com.
Asked to describe the album, Rivkin said: “It is part of an inspirational journey of music and song, which will hopefully transport the listener to the ultimate destination – the era of our long awaited Moshiach and Redemption.”
The music for seven of the 13 songs on the album was arranged by musician and author Zalman Goldstein, with 6 songs being arranged by Eitan Kantor of Hyperstudio in West Hempstead, NY, who also did the mixing and mastering.
Both Goldstein and Kantor have worked with Rivkin on his two previous CD productions, ‘Expressions of the Soul – The Rebbe’s Niggunim’ and ‘Shliach Tzibur – Learn to Lead the Shabbat Morning Prayers.’
Cover and jacket art, together with an attractive 16 page song-book filled with translations and notes, was designed by Shlomo Danzinger.
As he was working on completing the Redemption album, Rivkin has produced and released two music videos of songs appearing on the ‘Redemption’ album: ‘It Happened Yom Kippur’ and ‘The Promise.’
The album will be for sale in New York stores Sunday, May 16, and will arrive in Florida, California and across the country the day after Shavuos, May 21, with sales starting in Australia, Israel, Europe and South America the following week on May 28.
If you just can’t wait, visit InfinityRecordings.net
Go Shloimie!
its nice to see that yousi percia learnt to take beautiful pictures
go uncle mayer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hatzlacha rabba!!!!!
click on this link 2 hhear the songs
http://www.infinityrecordings.net/rd_melodies.html
is that mayer rivkin in the photograph on the piano with the long hair before the sherenes? cooooool!
we live in california and just can’t wait till it gets here, so we jumped on the website to order and upon clicking on the credit page realized that the cd is dedicated to sholom mordechai halevi ben rivka…very nice and toughtful gesture…may hashem help sholom mordechai in HIS personal REDEMPTION and set him free immediately…we can just no longer watch this man being persecuted and his family (all of us) suffer…HASHEM! PLEASE BRING THE REDEMPTION.
if yu wont to hier the sung den yu most go to stor end pei sum shekels und by cd – den yu cen put it in yu kar and hier! tenks.
M RIVKIN IS MY NEIGHBOR AND LIVES IN BAY HARBOR ISLANDS, NOT SURFSIDE! SURFSIDE IS NICE BUT IT AINT NO BAY HARBOR. MAYER…MAZAL TOV WITH THE RELEASE…YOU MAKE US ALL PROUD…CAN’T WAIT TO PICK UP A FEW COPIES AT ASPACLARIA .
much, much success with your redemption! may we see the ultimate general redemtion for klal yisroel!!!
was begining to believe that after all the hype and single releases, the cd album redemption was never going to materialize…glad to see it’s a reality…will be the first on line at judaica world to pick one up on sunday…
now that’s a photographer – the kids got talent. that last portrait of rivkin is superb!
I think Mayer something a little different to the table with his genuine voice that just captures the simplicity and beauty of the song he sings…. Well done once again. And as for his son Mendel I think he has a very nice and pure voice and will like to hear him sing more.
col, cen you putit? tenks