Zamir Choral Foundation

Spend a day in joyful choral song! Join Benjie Ellen Schiller at this year's North American Jewish Choral Festival on Sunday, July 25 - 10 am - 5 pm, at the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades (outdoor venues), Tenafly, NJ Register today at https://zamirchoralfoundation.formstack.com//najcf_2021_ap

This week’s Torah portion centers on the story of Bilaam. Hired by King Balak of Moab to curse the Israelite nation, Bilaam hesitantly accepts the job, with the proviso that he will pronounce only those words that God will place in his mouth. When the moment arrives, Bilaam pronounces the famous text that opens our daily services: How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel. While many composers have been moved by this passage, the setting by Louis Lewandowski remains a classic, passed through the generations for more than a century, and sung here by members of the HaZamir Chamber Choir in performance at the North American Jewish Choral in 2013. Shabbat Shalom! https://youtu.be/zaXDJaH5fes

There are an almost infinite number of melodies used for singing the Shabbat table song, D’ror Yikra because, like Adon Olam, the structure of the verses makes it possible to adapt this poetry to nearly any tune. Still, it’s especially fun to hear new settings by contemporary composers who continue to be inspired by our ancient texts. Enjoy this version by Six13! Shabbat shalom! https://youtu.be/6ynx7a99Rtk

Join us for this year's North American Jewish Choral Festival, Sunday, July 25 from 10 am to 5 pm. Register today at https://zamirchoralfoundation.formstack.com//najcf_2021_ap

Both recent weather patterns and the arrival of the new month of Tammuz confirm that we have arrived in summer - even if the calendar continues to protest. In her wonderful song, Atzuv LaMut B’Emtza HaTammuz (It is sad to die in mid-Tammuz"), Naomi Shemer described this season as one in which the peaches are plentiful, and the fruit laughs in the basket. Although her own passing on the 6th of Tammuz (June 26, 2004) fell a few days short of her prophecy (in that song) that she, too, would die in mid-Tammuz, the heidads (hurrahs) that she predicted continue to fall (and rise!) as we remember her and her wonderful legacy of song. Shabbat Shalom! https://youtu.be/yTJXRyhJ0Qw