Through the ages many traditions have sung hymns and worship songs based on the popular music of the day with the secular lyrics replaced by religious themes and words. It’s also a tradition called piyyut among the Mizrahi, the Jews of the Middle East. The American-based women’s ensemble Divahn is bringing the music of this vibrant tradition to modern audiences and in some cases updating it a bit to reflect what’s going on in the world today. Led by the powerful Persian-American singer and composer Galeet Dardashti, Divahn’s latest release Shalhevet brings these traditional Sephardi and Mizrahi songs up to date with Western and Middle Eastern stringed instruments, Indian, Middle Eastern and Latin percussion, and lyrics in Hebrew, Persian and Arabic.

The ensemble’s name Divahn is a word that means a collection of songs or poetry in Hebrew, Persian and Arabic languages. In addition to Galeet (who is also a writer and anthropology professor) Divahn is Megan Gould on violin, viola and kamanche, an ancient Persian bowed fiddle; Eleanor Norton on cello; Elizabeth Pupo-Walker on cajon, congas and other percussion; and Sejal Kukadia on tabla – all contribute harmony vocals. They’re joined by several guests on oud, bass, percussion, and the tambourine known as the riqq, on various songs.