Celebrating unity through music

Jewish World Review Dec. 5, 2000/ 9 Kislev, 5761

Celebrating unity
through music

By Judith Bron

http://www.jewishworldreview.com -- NOTHING UNITES like music. It crosses barriers of the tongue and enters straight into the heart.

This Sunday, Dec. 9th, four international stars of the spirit will preform in a celebration of Jewish song at Manhattan's Jewish Center that promises to be a concert unlike any you've ever experienced --- or likely ever will.

Cantor Moshe Stern is considered the most accomplished cantorial performer in the world today;
Cantor Benjamin Muller of the Great Synagogue of Antwerp, Belgium is another sought-after cantorial master. His rich baritone voice is most often compared to that of the legendary Yoselle Rosenblatt.
Cantor Benny Rogosnitzsky, the architecht of the evening, will perform with his beautiful baritone voice that inspires his congregants each week at the Jewish Center in Manhattan.
Cantor Aryeh Braun, Cantor for the Israeli Defense Forces, completes the group of performingCantors.
Maestro Matthew Lazar and his all male world renowned Zamir Chorale and accompaniest Danny Gildar will perform with the artists that evening.

An honest intellectual will freely admit that the key to Jewish survival is the study of the volumes of scholarly works that date back to the Encounter at Mt. Sinai, more than three thousand years ago. While the study of these timeless works takes a person a lifetime to master, the culture that evolved right beside the Holy Books is the transmission of Jewish music that has survived from one generation to the other.

Long before the study of music theory and composition, Jews were already taking the words of their Holy Books and setting them to tunes that have come down through the ages.
While the forefathers were meticulous in recording every commentary made about passages from the Holy Books, the origins of the music is not as clear. The rich melodic masterpieces developed in synagogues to sing songs of praise to the Almighty, or beseech His mercy, became cornerstones in a culture that has survived every kind of oppression and deliberate attempts to wipe it from the face of the earth.
The music, like the books, went on to be a unifying force behind the survival of the Jews through the ages. Through much of the persecution of the Jews property was destroyed, lives were lost and one would think that nothing could survive this kind of devastation but the music heard in the service withstood the oppression and to this day it serves as a unifying factor for a people who often find it difficult to cite such.

To reserve tickets or buy a forthcoming sound track, please call 1-866-CANTORS.

Judith Bron is a Monsey, New York-based writer. Send your comments by clicking here.