by Sean WestergaardThe Golem represents about half of Daniel Hoffman's full 90-minute score for the 1920 German expressionist film Der Golem, in which a clay statue is brought to life in order to protect the Jews of Warsaw from expulsion. Davka's background in Eastern European music and Jewish melody makes him a perfect fit for this new score. For this project, Davka's violin, cello, and percussion are augmented by the bassoon and clarinet of Paul Hanson. This is beautiful music that wholly succeeds on its own, without any tie to the film. It would be interesting to see the film with Davka's entire score, then to contrast it with the score composed by Gary Lucas and Walter Horn as documented on Skeleton at the Feast. This music is highly recommended for folks who enjoy the Masada String Trio.