blues and a tree

Blessed are You, Lord God, King of the Universe, who creates the fruit of the vine. Blessed are you, Lord God, King of the Universe, who sanctified us with His commandments and desired us, and who granted us with love and desire His holy Sabbath. For this is the foremost day among all of those we call holy, in memory of the exodus from Egypt. For You chose us and sanctified us above all the other nations, and granted us through love and desire Your holy Sabbath. Blessed are You , Lord God, King of the Universe, who sanctifies the Sabbath. Amen.

Weill was one of several leading Jewish composers (others included Milhaud, Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Leonard Bernstein) who were commissioned in the late 1940s to contribute compositions to an anthology entitled Synagogue Music by Contemporary Composers, edited by Cantor David Putterman of New York’s Park Avenue Synagogue and published in 1951. This piece was Weill’s contribution. The treatment here is very bluesy, and makes effective use of the interplay between synagogue cantor and accompanying choir. Weill’s 1946 version of the piece is dedicated to his father Albert, who was a cantor in Dessau, Germany.

Kiddush -Performed by the Zemel Choir with Tenor Soloist Robert Brody, Conducted by Benjamin Wolf

The UK's Leading Mixed Voice Jewish Choir
    
The Zemel Choir, under the musical direction of Benjamin Wolf, is proud of its international reputation as one of the world’s finest mixed voice Jewish choirs. Established in 1955 by Dudley Cohen, Zemel's wide ranging repertoire embraces all the traditional Jewish cultures, Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Yiddish and Israeli. The Zemel choir regularly perform in major venues throughout the U.K. and overseas, and besides singing well known favourites, are particularly proud to present new music, often specially commissioned, from contemporary composers.

Kiddush -Performed by the Zemel Choir with Tenor Soloist Robert Brody, Conducted by Benjamin Wolf

zemelchoir

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