Israel—the promised land; the land of milk and honey. All the world knows the significance of these words. For the peoples of this small land, whose anthem is Hatikvah (the hope), have known suffering down through the centuries. Today, the world holds this newborn nation in wonder as the joy of prophecy is fulfilled.
The true song of Israel is in her suffering—her answer to her oppressors is the fervor and emotions that are anchored to a never wavering faith in God and mankind. This is the heart and emotional fountain that feeds the music of Israel.
This program, scored by Monty Kelly, has a depth and beauty never before achieved in the presentation of these songs known and loved by peoples of all faiths. It portrays the valor of the Haganah (Israli Army) . . . the reverent beauty of faith in Kol Nidrei and Eili Eili... the gaiety of a wedding in the kibbutz (co-op village) ... the hauntingly sad reflection of My Yiddishe Momme and the strains of the anthem Hatikvah (the hope). From the rhythm sections dance pulse of Tzena, Tzena, Tzena to the sonority of the world´s largest string and woodwind sections, 101 Strings paint a

The lush magnificence and stereo depth of "101" Strings is due to a combination of factors. First in importance, is the concept of scoring for the strings. The necessity of using 101 strings instruments is to utilize various harmonies and voicings and not weaken the dynamic of quality of any one line when playing counter lines. This is particularly importance with the violins and violas, and creates a wonderful rich channel separation for stereo recording. The listener will note that a times the melody line is in full presence and possibly a full and lovely conter line is being played without sacrificing the full dynamic value of either. Secondly, the original performances have been records under the most exacting audio engineering standards with specially designed microphones with characteristics to compensate for any possible distortion from the tremendous bass frequency response in cello and string bass. Third, and of extreme importance, are the players themselves. They represent the finest musicians in Europe today. There are, in fact, eleven concertmeisters in the first chairs.