"Todah v'Zimrah"
Jan. 21st, 2012 09:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rhuLast night at our shul we had the first meeting of an experimental minyan. The gist of it was that we were going to have a kabbalat shabbat service using choral settings of Carlebach and Lewandowski melodies, but with the entire community functioning as the chorus. (I.e., this was participatory, not performer-audience.) Our leaders (both shul members) were Josh Jacobson, founder and artistic director of the Zamir Chorale of Boston, and Daniel Jackson.
Turnout was amazing; I estimate that we had about 150 people, roughly evenly divided between men and women. It was standing-room-only on both sides of the mechizta (which ran down the middle of the room, with seats arranged in a series of "V"s, with their apexes at the mechitza). I can't estimate what the numeric breakdown was, but there were three overlapping cohorts there: Shaarei members and other regulars, Zamir singers (present and former), and interested people from the wider Newton community. Some had come to rehearsals, but many had not.
First, Rabbi Samuels offered brief words of greeting and context. Then Daniel and Josh spoke; I think that was too much speaking at the start, but oh well.
Then we sang. Oh, how we sang. I usually don't enjoy Carlebach tunes, but these were sung accurately, which makes a big difference. (Yes, my friends, that IS a flatted second, and it DOES matter.) And when we made the shift into Lewandowski, the experience was even more sublime. To sing "Tzaddik Katamar" as LL wrote it --- in the larger context of his setting of Ps. 92, but also with the correct melody, harmonies, etc. --- is glorious.
Part of what I think Josh was trying to recapture was the experience that we used to have at the Zamir shabbatons, where we all knew these great liturgical settings from having performed them, and when we got together to pray we simply sang what we knew. Those were some of the most spiritual experiences of my life, and I'm sure Josh was inspired in part by them.
I was practically the only mourner there. (I thought I heard one other saying kaddish with me, but he was much softer and I couldn't be sure.) One unexpected aspect of this was the experience of my voice saying "ve-imru amen" and hearing 150 people who were focused, paying attention, and intense, responding as one: "YEHEI SHEMEI RABBAH MEVARACH...." It blew me away, and a moment later, when I said "l'eilah min kawl ... shirata ... da'amiran b'alma. God's praise exceeds even all songs proclaimed in this world," it meant so much more than usual.
Tani, sitting next to me, was able to follow along in the music, which was nice, and he said afterwards that it was a very special experience. (Heather and Alissa were exhausted and stayed home, alas.)
Of course, I have a few complaints. We were promised enough time to contemplate the meaning of the words of our prayers, but I was barely up to "Retzei" in my Amidah when the group started singing "Vayechulu." There were places where the choral parts were not liturgically complete, and a few errors in the transliteration in the music, and so one had to be on one's toes. It was hard at times to remember to stay in "praying" mode rather than "performing" mode; someone pointed out afterwards that some of the visitors were standing whenever their part was singing, instead of sitting/standing at the liturgically appropriate points.
But overall, I found the evening a great success. I expect that as we continue to do this monthly, the group will reduce to a more manageable number, and that the "rough edges" will wear off. We'll find the right balance, striving for both musical accuracy and liturgical kavannah. And even if we don't succeed in the long run, this can only have a beneficial influence on the regular Friday night service.
Turnout was amazing; I estimate that we had about 150 people, roughly evenly divided between men and women. It was standing-room-only on both sides of the mechizta (which ran down the middle of the room, with seats arranged in a series of "V"s, with their apexes at the mechitza). I can't estimate what the numeric breakdown was, but there were three overlapping cohorts there: Shaarei members and other regulars, Zamir singers (present and former), and interested people from the wider Newton community. Some had come to rehearsals, but many had not.
First, Rabbi Samuels offered brief words of greeting and context. Then Daniel and Josh spoke; I think that was too much speaking at the start, but oh well.
Then we sang. Oh, how we sang. I usually don't enjoy Carlebach tunes, but these were sung accurately, which makes a big difference. (Yes, my friends, that IS a flatted second, and it DOES matter.) And when we made the shift into Lewandowski, the experience was even more sublime. To sing "Tzaddik Katamar" as LL wrote it --- in the larger context of his setting of Ps. 92, but also with the correct melody, harmonies, etc. --- is glorious.
Part of what I think Josh was trying to recapture was the experience that we used to have at the Zamir shabbatons, where we all knew these great liturgical settings from having performed them, and when we got together to pray we simply sang what we knew. Those were some of the most spiritual experiences of my life, and I'm sure Josh was inspired in part by them.
I was practically the only mourner there. (I thought I heard one other saying kaddish with me, but he was much softer and I couldn't be sure.) One unexpected aspect of this was the experience of my voice saying "ve-imru amen" and hearing 150 people who were focused, paying attention, and intense, responding as one: "YEHEI SHEMEI RABBAH MEVARACH...." It blew me away, and a moment later, when I said "l'eilah min kawl ... shirata ... da'amiran b'alma. God's praise exceeds even all songs proclaimed in this world," it meant so much more than usual.
Tani, sitting next to me, was able to follow along in the music, which was nice, and he said afterwards that it was a very special experience. (Heather and Alissa were exhausted and stayed home, alas.)
Of course, I have a few complaints. We were promised enough time to contemplate the meaning of the words of our prayers, but I was barely up to "Retzei" in my Amidah when the group started singing "Vayechulu." There were places where the choral parts were not liturgically complete, and a few errors in the transliteration in the music, and so one had to be on one's toes. It was hard at times to remember to stay in "praying" mode rather than "performing" mode; someone pointed out afterwards that some of the visitors were standing whenever their part was singing, instead of sitting/standing at the liturgically appropriate points.
But overall, I found the evening a great success. I expect that as we continue to do this monthly, the group will reduce to a more manageable number, and that the "rough edges" will wear off. We'll find the right balance, striving for both musical accuracy and liturgical kavannah. And even if we don't succeed in the long run, this can only have a beneficial influence on the regular Friday night service.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2012-01-22 04:52 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-01-22 02:10 pm (UTC)I hope Tani talks it up at school as well to like-minded kids and grownups.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-01-22 02:57 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-01-24 09:18 pm (UTC)