about the composer
 

Daniel Akiva's Jewish-Spanish Song Cycle includes arrangements of the following Ladino songs for voice and guitar:
1. La serena
2. Durme, durme
3. Como la rosa
4. Ya vien el cativo
5. Durme hermoza hijico
6. Ya abaxa la novia

Suite Sefaradite for piano solo is based on the following songs:
1. No me puso de mi madre
2. El juicio de Salamon
3. Morena me llaman
4. Yo m'enamori d'un aire
5. Noches, noches
6. Esta montana

Three Pieces for Flute Solo
is a short concert selection for the advanced flutist. The three pieces are a liturgical song ("Leikh el t'shukati") of the Sephardic Jews of Haifa, a romance ("Silvana"), and a cantiga ("Ven kerida"). The work has been recorded by Michael Meltzer and is included on the CD Siniza i fumo.

Litanies, for solo alto recorder
The work is a single prayer, divided into three parts. In the first part there is a transition from recitatives to dance movements, the second part integrates meditative passages with "bursts" of feelings. The third part is a type of dance integrated with a liturgical poem. Litanies was premiered and recorded by Michael Meltzer, and is included on the CD Siniza i fumo.

Selichot, a trio for oboe, guitar, and cello
The trio was inspired by the penitential poems of the Sephardic Jews for the High Holidays. The composition is a series of dialogues between the three instruments. The dialogues include confrontation, reconciliation, and agreement, three traits of human behavior. The first movement begins with solo oboe which introduces the first theme. The second theme is introduced by the cello, and is based upon the Neilah prayer which concludes Yom Kippur. The second movement begins with a meditative motive played by the guitar and based upon the melody of the poem "As a servant longs" by the medieval poet Solomon ibn Gabirol. The melody is introduced later by the oboe. In the third movement, "The year has ended with its curses," expresses reconciliation and agreement, and is based upon the melody of the poem whose name it bears. Towards the end of the movement, the Neilah motive of the first movement returns as the motive for the blessing which concludes the work. This work is a welcome contribution to the growing literature of chamber music which include guitar.

Sarina kanta, for mezzo-soprano and string orchestra
The song cycle Sarina kanta is sung in Ladino and was inspired by Sephardic folk songs.Various folk songs are quoted in the work. The first movement, "Dia y noche" ("Day and Night") is based upon a cantiga (lyric love song). The second movement is a fantasia based on a poem by Avner Perez, "Sarina kanta romansas," ("Sarina sings romances"). Sarina is Perez's grandmother, whose memory is recalled in this cycle of poems. The third movement was originally a romance of the Sephardic Jews from Turkey, "Una matika de ruda" ("A spring of Rue"), which over time turned into a cantiga. The fourth movement, "Ya abasha la novia" ("The Bride is Coming Down"), is a humorous wedding song. The fifth movement is a lulluby with a violin obligato part. The cycle concludes with "Ya salio de la mar" ("Here She Comes from the Sea"), a wedding song.
 

Daniel Akiva was born in Haifa, Israel in 1953. A graduate of the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem, he studied composition with Haim Alexander and guitar with Haim Asulin. In 1987 he won the prize for Composition and Performance awarded by the Swiss Confederation, which enabled him to study at the Geneva Conservatorium with Prof. Jean Ballisa (composition) and Jonathan Rubin (lute). His works include compositions for solo instruments, chamber ensembles, choir, voice and guitar, piano, and chamber orchestra. In 1990 his work Mizmorim (Psalms) for guitar solo was awarded the ACUM prize for composition. He has also written music for films including the eight-part television series Jerusalem Which Was in Spain, broadcast in five languages throughout the world. Akiva appears frequently as composer, performer, and recording artist. In 1982 he performed his works in the series "Here and Now" at the Israel Museum.  In 1983 he represented Israel at the Festival of Israeli Art in Ham and Bochum, Germany.  In 1984 he accompanied the soprano Victoria de los Angeles in a series of concerts at the prestigious Israel Festival.  Since 1985 he has appeared in many festivals and concerts as soloist and chamber player, and together with the soprano Eti Kahn in Spain, the United States, and fourteen countries in Latin America.  Currently, Akiva heads the Music Department at the WIZO High School for the Arts in Haifa, which he established in 1986.