Volume 3 and Cantique des cantiques de Salomon were recorded at the same time and place: just before or after they were premiered publicly in a sacred music concert series in Paris (1986). It was at the time of their premiere that Mme. Haïk-Vantoura's work was featured on National Public Radio's Morning Edition (Tape #861029, "Song of Songs", taken from the October 29, 1986 broadcast).

Unquestionably, Volume 3 and Cantique des cantiques de Salomon are the best-produced of those recordings directly supervised by Mme. Haïk-Vantoura. This recording, in terms of the artistic merit of the material, is by far the best (as one might expect). The only real fault with the performance is its overly "classical" treatment (especially in terms of rhythm), which (as some listeners have indicated to me) not only robs the text of much of its emotional vitality, but makes it more difficult to understand. Still, it is a magnificent and moving production, and highly recommended.

N.B.: All but one of the recordings originally published by Disques Alienor (France) are now available via online order from the Official Web Site of Esther Lamandier (e-mail) or via postal order. The cost is 22 euros including postage (see the Web site for ordering details). They are also available online from Jewish Music - JMD in the UK (see search results: "Vantoura" and "Esther Lamandier"). This recording is currently available from Alapage.com in France (scroll down the following pages for lists of Suzanne Haïk-Vantoura's and Esther Lamandier's recordings).

Several new CDs and CD-ROMs, plus Latinized Hebrew-English booklets for some of the original recordings, are available from King David's Harp, Inc. (e-mail). You may download and print this order form in order to obtain these recordings and CD-ROMs (see this page). You will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to read and print these files (click on the button on the above left).