The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra took a Middle Eastern twist on the Eurovision intro song on Sunday. Te Deum, a song composed by Marc-Antoine Charpentier, a French composer of the Baroque era, has become popular as the Eurovision theme song. When the philharmonic introduced their version, they played the song, but with a surprise, giving the song a Middle Eastern and klezmer flavor. The orchestra also included the use of Daraboukas, a goblet shaped drum often used in Middle Eastern and North African music. The Israeli arrangement was written by Lior Ronen and the idea was original conceived by Jonathan Hadas, a clarinetist in the orchestra.
