The world of cantorship never ceases to renew and surprise: The premiere concert of the Jerusalem concert series "A Decade of Harp" at the Tel Aviv Opera House was another sign that cantoring is alive and well, and that it too can be renewed with a unique, innovative and fascinating concept.
The concert, which took place on Sunday, was attended by cantors Yitzhak Meir Helfgot, Colin Schacht, Elazar Brook, Avrimy Kirshenbaum, and the winner of the 2013 ACUM Prize - singer Yonatan Razel. The concert was accompanied by the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra - Israel Broadcasting Authority, conducted by Maestro Eli Yaffe, and produced by Yoel Berkowitz.
The many cantor enthusiasts who attended the hall, which seats over 1,600, enjoyed the innovations in both the artistic concept and the visual. First, the successful combination of multimedia adapted to the performed sections, which provided a fascinating visual connection, and added meaning to the textual content, the work of Itzik Daniel.
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In addition, from an artistic perspective, the arrangements of Maestro Eli Yaffe were classic, fresh and, above all, surprising. Eli YaffeA new calm and depth to works that are often played loudly. As an example, one could note the ending of the famous passage "Hear and rejoice, Zion," performed by Yitzhak Meir Helfgot, which, according to Eli's arrangement, ended in a quiet and noble pianissimo, unlike the usual ending.
Host Avshalom Kor provided beautiful moments of Hebrew and fresh guidance, in the connections between performance and performance.
And an interesting novelty for the eyes was seeing the star of the evening, Maestro Eli Yaffe - for the first time conducting the orchestra without his famous conductor's tailcoat. Eli, whose hallmark in his performances around the world is the tassels fluttering in front inside the special tailcoat, appeared this time in a short, festive suit, without the musical attire.
For the final segment of the concert, all the participants took the stage together, standing side by side - from the great cantor Yitzhak Meir Helfgot, to the future generation of cantors, Elazar Brock and Avrimir Kirshenbaum.
This wonderful spectacle of generations of cantors served as a kind of strong statement that the centuries-old cantorship continues to exist in its glory, and that a new and talented generation is already filling its playing, and knows how to combine old and new instruments for the enjoyment of the audience.
