“Wings of Song”, a new single by New York composer/lyricist Cecelia Margules, tells the story of a young boy who embarks on a journey involving different situations in life. During the process, the boy discovers that his journey is a metaphor of the Jewish people’s yearning for Mashiach. In a recent interview on COLLive.com , Margules said that one of her mentors was Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach of blessed memory, who had listened to her music. “When I was in college, I remember Shlomo Carlebach going up on stage, all alone, with nothing behind except a guitar, and starting to play,” she said. “I was mesmerized. I loved his music.” Later, Margules met Rabbi Carlebach and asked him if he would listen to her music. “He told me immediately, ‘It would be my highest honor,’ and made an appointment with me right away. I brought him to my house and he sat in my living room and he said to me one word: ‘Play.’” Margules is a child of Swedish Holocaust survivors, and much of her music is an expression of the emotions and feelings her mother had expressed, which Margules then translated into music. “The survivors are not going to be here forever,” she said, “and I always imagine what happens when the last survivor dies and there’s no testimony. Even with the survivors alive today, we have all these people telling us that the Holocaust never happened. “We have to be their voice,” she added. “We have to make sure that they are never forgotten, and the only way to do that is by telling their story over and over again, and remembering for posterity.” Of “Wings of Song,” Margules said, “It’s just a whole image of the entrance of the Mashiach with song. Mashiach represents all that’s good in the world, all that we want and all the positive aspects of the world. It represents our longings, our desires, our sentiments. It represents hope for a better world. It represents everything good that we want and that we aspire to.” She spoke in the interview about the role of women in Jewish music and said, “What’s special for me is the fact that I was able to write the music, compose it (whether myself or with Rami Yadid) and express myself, and have it brought to life with the voice of various performing artists. The fact that I’m a woman and not really out there singing the music doesn’t bother me, but the fact that all these talents are singing it and bringing it to life is what gives me my satisfaction. “It’s important for women today to be able to express themselves in this modern world and to bring their point of view across, and that’s what I hope I did,” concluded Margules. Wings of Song Music by Cecelia Margules and Rami Yadid Arranged and Produced By Rami Yadid Lyrics by Cecelia Margules Executive Producer Cecelia Margules Director of Photography Mauricio Arenas Directed by Danny Finkelman, Sparks Productions.
