Something completely different

In tune with my eclectic (or so I am told) taste in music, I stumbled upon an emerging new artist by the name of Christopher Tin.  His album, "Calling All Dawns," was released last year but never made its way to my computer until today.  The album's concept is multilayered and fascinating: three cycles corresponding to day, night, and dawn.  Each one of the twelve tracks is sung in a different language and joined by an orchestral accompaniment.
Beside the wonder of hearing each language's unique cadence, Tin somehow manages to seamlessly link each song to the next in such an elegant manner as to make each language flow into the next.  It may not seem impressive, but considering that the twelve languages are as diverse as Swahili, Japanese, Mandarin, Portugese, French, Latin, Irish Gaelic, Polish, Hebrew, Farsi, Sanskrit, and Maori, Tin's feat is truly incomparable, certainly unparalleled.
The opening track, "Baba Yetu," a moving rendition of the Lord's Prayer in Swahili, is familiar to anyone who has played Civilization IV (it's a song so impressive, they synced the Dubai Fountain to it, check out the link).  Although the briefest of the twelve tracks, the Hebrew song "Hayom Kadosh" (Today is Holy) is an adaptation of part of Nehemiah 8:10:

"כִּי-קָדוֹשׁ הַיּוֹם, לַאֲדֹנֵינוּ; וְאַל-תֵּעָצֵבוּ"

"...For today is holy to our lord; do not grieve..." 

Tin's adaptation of biblical verse tastefully employs instruments traditionally associated with biblical Israel: flutes, drums, and strings.  As the opening track for the third cycle, dawn, symbolic of rebirth and renewal, "Hayom Kadosh" is also an appropriate selection for the opening of the section.
His closing track is the one I wish to close with here.  Its lyrics have a magical, almost otherworldly ring to them imbued by the majesty of the Maori language.  The song, "Kia Hora Te Marino,"is a Maori farewell that, in its entirety, reads:

"Kia hora te marino / Kia whakapapapounamu te moana / Kia tere te karohirohi i mua i t  koutou huarahi"

"May peace be widespread / May the seas glisten like the green stone /And may the shimmer of light guide you on your way" 

"Kia Hora Te Marino" sets the listener on an epic journey with a fond farewell.  Its message is a simple yet powerful one that, like the other tracks, imbues a sense of universality -- one that would do well to be heard here in Israel and elsewhere.  If there is a bottom line to this album, it is this:  despite our differences, universally human emotions tie us together the same way Tin's music seamlessly flows from one tongue to the next.  
Don't take my word for it, check out Tin's album yourself.  

Kia hora te marino!