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In This Issue
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Josh Jacobson's Musings
Upcoming Concerts
Winter Roundup
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Reserve Now for "Divine Majesty"
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The Zamir Chorale of Boston presents an encore performance of
Divine Majesty:
A Glorious Revival of 19th-Century Synagogue Music
Joshua Jacobson, Artistic Director
with Cantor Peter Halpern, soloist
Thursday, April 14, 2016
7:30 pm
Central Reform Synagogue
15 Newbury Street, Boston
6:30 pm
Special pre-concert performance of Lewandowski's "Holiday Preludes," with organist Edwin Swanborn
This is a free concert;
in cooperation with the Central Reform Synagogue
"Divine Majesty" is made possible by an anonymous donor in memory of Mary Wolfman Epstein and Cantor Barney Mould.
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Reunion with Cantor Hinda Eisen Labovitz
in Maryland
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Last month, Josh Jacobson had the pleasure of working with one of Zamir's prominent alumnae, Cantor Hinda Eisen Labovitz. Hinda is the Cantor/Educator at Ohr Kodesh Congregation in Chevy Chase, Maryland, where she has served since June 2014. She sang in Zamir for eight years, including one year as the Mary Wolfman Epstein Conducting Intern. "It was a great pleasure for me to be a guest speaker and conductor in this vibrant congregation," said Josh, "and to shep nakhes from my former student."
Stop the Presses! We just learned that Hinda gave birth to twins (boy and girl) on Monday, March 28. Mazel tov to Hinda and Bob!
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Baruch Dayan Ha-Emet: Esther Herlitz
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In our last issue, we paid tribute to our friend Esther Herlitz, former director of the Zimriyah, Israel's international choral festival,
at which Zamir has performed several times.
The Zamir family was sad to learn of
her passing last week at the age of 94.
Ms. Herlitz was awarded the prestigious Israel Prize for her "unique contribution to society and the state."
She always kept in touch and recently was an avid emailer. She delighted in receiving our "E-Notes from Zamir" and would always respond to us. "While some of us remember Esther as a tough cookie," said Josh Jacobson, "she ran a great festival, with high values. Ronda and I visited Esther in her retirement apartment in Tel Aviv one year ago, when she had just been told that she was to receive the prestigious Israel Prize. May her memory be an inspiration!" Read more in the Times of Israel obituary.
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Fun Fotos from the Archives
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Zamir Chamber Chorus 2008:
Left to right, back row: Sue Carp-Nesson,
z"l,
Michael
Krause-Grosman,
Larry Sandberg
Left to right, front row: Deborah Melkin, Susan Rubin,
Deborah Weinberg Wollner
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Zamir Alums 2012: Dawn Ringel, Herb Birnbaum,
Hal Katzman, Liz Mandelbaum
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Zamir in Berlin 2011: Steve Ebstein, Rich Lustig, Deborah Weinberg Wollner, Cantor Joel Caplan, Michael Kronenberg
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Dear Friends of Zamir,
Sunny springtime greetings to you! Get out your calendars to mark down a number of upcoming concerts to round out another busy season of the best in Jewish choral music, including a reprise of "Divine Majesty" on April 14 in Boston, and our exciting tribute to Israeli composer Yehezkel
Braun on June 5 and 6. Also in this issue, Artistic Director Josh Jacobson reflects on the roots of Braun's musical influences.
May this season bring you peace and
health, and may you and yours celebrate a meaningful Passover.
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| JOSH JACOBSON'S MUSINGS |
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In each issue of E-Notes, Artistic Director Joshua Jacobson offers his unique insights and experiences as a world-renowned scholar, composer, conductor, and influential teacher of Jewish music.
When is a composer just expressing him- or herself? We tend to categorize and pigeonhole the
great creative artists. Bach was a Baroque composer. Debussy?  Very French! Amy Beach? The
woman composer. Copland? The quintessential American. Ernest Bloch? The great Jewish
composer. But to what extent is musical output influenced by nationality, by religion, by gender,
by era? And to what extent does a composition just reflect the personality of the composer?
Of course the answer to these questions must be: It's not either-or; it's all of the above. Take the
case of Yehezkel Braun, in whose music Zamir is now deeply immersed as we prepare for our
tribute concert in June. Braun was born in Breslau, Germany, in 1922, and was brought to the
land of Israel with his parents when he was two years
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Yehezkel Braun
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old. But still, he was brought up in a
German immigrant home. Braun's earliest musical memories were, on the one hand, the
recordings of Italian opera that his father would often play, notably
Madame Butterfly
and
La Bohème;
and, on the other hand, the indigenous singing of Yemenite women who would pass by
his home on their way to work.
Braun studied composition with Alexander Boscovic, who believed that composers should strive
to cultivate an "Israeli" style by consciously incorporating rhythms and melodic motifs borrowed
from traditional Jewish chant.
 Braun was certainly attracted to traditional Jewish melodies; he
collected them and used many of them in his compositions. But he also was attracted to
Gregorian chant, which he studied during sojourns to the Solesmes Monastery in France. He
studied music at the Tel Aviv Academy, from which he graduated in 1953, and then returned to
academia two decades later to study for a bachelor's degree in classics at Tel Aviv University.
One can certainly hear all of these influences in Braun's music.
Braun...composes horizontally,
conceiving of each voice part as its own
melody.
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Anyone who sings Braun's music
can appreciate his love of vocal melodies. Many years ago, Braun told me that he
doesn't compose harmonically, rather he composes "horizontally," conceiving of each voice part as its own melody. And, as Jehoash Hirshberg pointed out in a recent article, Braun never thought about composing while he was composing. Braun wrote, "I gave up on two things: on thinking about music and on thinking what to think and how to think, to compose while thinking. It used to cause me torment and terrible emotional pain. One day I said to myself: the hell with all that, I will write what I hear.... Music is something that either happens or does not."
And for Yehezkel Braun, music
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Shir HaShirim
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certainly did happen. In his 92 years, he produced an enormous
output of works for orchestra, chamber ensembles, solo piano, chorus, and solo voice. In his
vocal works, the music flows from the text, expressing it but never overpowering it. His
adherence to principles of classical form makes his music readily understood and appreciated by
all audiences. And his use of melodies and styles extracted from folklore give much of his music
a sense of groundedness. But above all else, Yehezkel Braun's music reflects the personality of
Yehezkel Braun, noble yet humble, gentle but principled, generous and loving. May his memory--and his music--be a blessing.
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UPCOMING CONCERTS
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T
hursday, April 14, 7:30 pm (organ prelude at 6:30 pm), Emmanuel Church, 15 Newbury St, Boston:
Zamir is delighted to reprise its successful "Divine Majesty: A Glorious Revival of 19th-Century Synagogue Music," at the Central Reform Temple of Boston, featuring works by Lewandowski, Sulzer, Naumbourg, Mendelssohn, and more. The "Divine Majesty" series is made possible by an anonymous underwriter, in memory of Mary Wolfman Epstein and Cantor Barney Mould.
As a special bonus, Zamir accompanist and organist Edwin Swanborn will play and discuss Lewandowski's "Holiday Preludes" utilizing Emmanuel's magnificent organ. Admission is free but
reservations are recommended.
Sunday, May 22, 4:00 pm, Congregation Beth Elohim, 133 Prospect Street, Acton: Zamir will head to the western suburbs for a full-spectrum concert drawn from our far-ranging repertoire, including classical, folk, popular, jazz, and liturgical choral music from eight countries, composed over four centuries. Cantor Sarra Spierer, a Zamir alumna, will join the group as soloist. We'll also be reuniting with the Congregation's Rabbi Lewis Mintz, an old friend of Josh and Zamir. For ticket information, contact
Beth Elohim.
Sunday and Monday, June 5 & 6 , 7:30 pm, Spring Concert, Slosberg Recital Hall, Brandeis University, Waltham:
For our season finale, we offer "The Gentle Spirit of Israel: A Tribute
to Israeli Composer Yehezkel Braun,"
our dear friend who passed away in 2014. The concert is based on a program Zamir performed in March 1982 in the presence of the composer, and in the same venue at Brandeis. Zamir will reprise three works
from that event:
Song of Songs Chapter Three, Songs of the Dove and the Lily,
and Festive Horns. In addition, we will perform the American premiere of Hem Ameru (from Mishnah Pirkey Avot, composed for Zamir's 36th anniversary); Halleluyah (from the Hallel Service); Vayimalet Kayin (originally composed for the popular Yarkon Bridge Trio); and Braun's arrangement of four popular Israeli songs, "Shibbolet Ba-Sadeh," "Uri Tsafon," "Ronu Na," and "Yerushalayim Shel Zahav." For tickets, click
here.
Sunday, July 10, evening, North American Jewish Choral Festival, Kerhonkson, NY:
After a year's hiatus, Zamir will return to NY to perform on the opening night of the 27th annual choral festival. Thanks to Mati Lazar, founder and director of the Zamir Choral Foundation, for inviting us once again to join this special gathering of choral musicians from all over the country. For details, visit the
Zamir Choral Foundation.
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WINTER ROUNDUP
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Singing (and Dancing) at Hebrew SeniorLife
On February 28, Zamir performed our annual concert for the residents at Hebrew SeniorLife in Roslindale. The program included selections from Zamir's repertoire, including popular Israeli and Yiddish tunes, as well as excerpts from our upcoming Yehezkel Braun tribute. Cantor Louise Treitman, Betty Bauman, and Vera Broekhuysen lent their conducting talents to the occasion. The packed assembly hall (and those in their rooms listening to the live broadcast) especially enjoyed the Yiddish version of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." The Chorale walked out into the audience in a musical embrace for our now-traditional final selection, John Rutter's stirring "The Lord Bless You."
Charna Mamlok Westervelt, Zamir alto, wrote this lovely note: "I just wanted to tell you how meaningful yesterday's concert was. After the concert, I had the opportunity to chat with a few of the residents.... One man (the one who popped up and danced during "Alle Brider") said, "You're the best we've had!"
ACDA on Newbury Street
On February 11, Zamir performed as part of "Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs" at this year's American Choral Director's Association Convention at the Church of the Covenant in Boston. Our collaborators were the Essence of Joy Alumni Singers, directed by Dr. Anthony Leach of Pennsylvania State University. Zamir's set included works by Schiller, Rossi, Osborne, and Lewandowski. The combined choruses were joined by the audience in Nick Page's inspiring "We Pray." This was a wonderful opportunity for Zamir to introduce our unique repertoire to conductors of community, church, and school choruses from the entire Eastern region.
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| KEEP IN TOUCH! |
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As always, let us know what you're up to--we love hearing from our friends near and far. Chag Kasher v'Sameah! Happy Passover and we hope to see you soon!
Barbara Gaffin
Deborah Sosin
Managing Director Editor, E-Notes
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