Festive Cantorial Concert at the Tower of David Museum: Shabbat with Yossele Rosenblatt

The Tower of David presents Festive Cantorial Concert: Shabbat with Yossele Rosenblatt – Cantorial and Shabbat Songs created by the Greatest of all Cantors

Tuesday September 4, 2012 at 20:30

In the calm of the Jerusalem night air, safe inside the magnificent courtyard of the Tower of David Museum, the annual Chazanut concert will take place on Tuesday September 4, 2012.

Since 1996 the Tower of David Museum has held an annual Cantorial Concert. In 1996 a tribute concert was held in honor of Yossele Rosenblatt and this year, once again, the Tower of David Museum honors the greatest cantor of all times with a rich program of liturgy and Sabbath songs, some of which have been rediscovered and will be performed for the first time on the Museum stage.

Yossele, a renowned composer, is considered the greatest cantor of all time, and was one of the first cantors to have recorded works together with Zevulun Kwartin and Gershon Sirota, thus preserving a record of his rich golden voice. Born in Biella Tzarkov in White Russia, Rosenblatt was a child prodigy, who served as cantor in Munkatch, Pressburg, and Hamburg in Europe. In the early twentieth century he immigrated to America and was famous there as the king of cantorial and Yiddish music. He refused to star on the opera stage and remained true to his calling as a synagogue cantor. He did agree to contribute his voice to the first talking picture soundtrack “The Jazz Singer.” In 1933 he came to Palestine to star as a cantor singing songs of Zion and prayers against the backdrop of the Holy Land. During his visit, he was enthusiastically received by crowds of admirers. After an exhausting day of shooting on the Jordan River and the Dead Sea he returned to Jerusalem where he had a heart attack and died at the age of 51. Thousands accompanied him to his burial on the Mount of Olives.

Participating CantorsSimon Cohen, Reuven Pinsky, Yechezkel Klang and Yakov Rubin

Musical Arrangements and Pianist: Raymond GoldsteinFlute: Michael LukinArtistic Director and Host: Dr Motti FriedmanProduction: Tandu Education and Cultural Activities – Tel Aviv Cantorial Institute

For more information and tickets: 02 6265333 / *2885 / www.towerofdavid.org.il