Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Three Jewish Tenors

Nurit Greenger

You must have heard of the Three Tenors, Plácido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti, José Carrera. So allow me to introduce you to the three Jewish tenors, who, in my opinion, are as equally good. Or, perhaps I dare state even better. What make these three world class virtuosos better is the fact that they make ancient Jewish cantorial music come alive in modern times and thus they ensure that the future generations of Jews continue the Jewish nation's Jewish legacy.

I refer to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief Cantor, Lieutenant Colonel Shai Abramson, Cantor Netanel Bar-Am, currently serving as the cantor at Young Israel of North Beverly Hills, and Cantor Marcus Feldman serving as the cantor at Sinai Temple, Los Angeles.

These three chazzans simply shine in every sense of the word.


In a concert organized by the Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy (http://hillelhebrew.org/), in collaboration with Young Israel of North Beverly Hills (YINBH) (http://yinbh.ipower.com/), to a full auditorium, the three tenors performed to perfection, singing a collection of Chassanut, Yiddish mamaloshen (Yiddish word that refers to the language, lovingly, as my grandmother's lingo), Hebrew and Italian songs.

Young Israel of North Beverly Hills (YINBH) is an orthodox synagogue, operating from a modern and brand new building located in the heart of Beverly Hills.
The concert, with Chamber Orchestra accompanied by USC's Thompson School of Music, conductor Joseph Ness, was a musical gala, a salute to Israel and a dedication to the Holocaust survivor cantors.

The three vocal prodigy, at time accompanied by children choir, presented Jewish religious music in different light, bring it to new heights.

Traditional Judaism is full of music. King David played the harp and wrote the Book of Songs, Book of Psalms; King Solomon is known for his wisdom and what commonly referred to as Song of Songs, or Song of Solomon, a book found in the last section of the Tanakh, known as the Ketuvim (or "Writings"). It is also known in English as Canticle of Canticles or simply Canticles. Undoubtedly, throughout the generations of Jews in exile, cantorial music was instrumental in keeping Jewish tradition alive.

When words are put into music the heart if filled with joy.

We definitely can end each day with the following prayer for the State of Israel, meaning a prayer for the only homeland of every Jew: "Heavenly Father, create and redeemer of Israel, bless the State of Israel, our early rise of redemption..."
The Prayer for the State of Israel

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