Thursday, 20 August 2009 7.30pm - “Symphony for the Soul”Concert at Central Synagogue featuring Chazzanim Yitzchak Meir Helfgot, Shimon Farkas, Dov Farkas and Yehuda Niasoff with baritone Bob Borowsky and popular singer Jimmy Barnes. Sydney International Orchestra - conducted by Mordechai Sobol.
This splendid concert allowed almost 2000 Sydney-siders to re-live a glorious golden age of cantorial and klezmer singing.
After the overture (Engel’s wedding march) we heard the ever popular ‘Oseh shalom bimromav’ by the three cantors. We then heard a brief pre-recorded video introduction with the night’s conductor Dr Mordechai Sobol giving the history of some famous cantors of the 20th century. Yoselle Rosenblatt and Moshe Koussevitsky were featured in two brackets which were cleverly crafted by Ofir, the son of Maestro Sobol, who also conducted one of the items in the second half. V’lirushalayim Ircha and Lefichach were just two of numerous such cantorial ‘pearls’. Chazzan Helfgot’s singing was imperceptibly spliced into (and back out of) historical clips of the great singers as the orchestra continue to play the accompaniment. The blending/mixing of the sounds was ingenious as it was tasteful.
We were reminded that the great opera tenor Enrico Caruso lauded his friend Rosenblatt, saying that attending his Saturday synagogue services in New York was the equivalent of a singing lesson for him.
Bob Borowsky introduced his aria 'Di provenza il mar il suol' in its context in the story of Verdi’s La Traviata. His smooth ‘velvet’ operatic baritone was a nice contrast with the surfeit of tenors on the night. Those wishing to hear a soprano voice will be disappointed in an orthodox shule (unless it were a boy soprano). For others wanting more opera, the final encore was Chazzan Helfgot doing 'Nessun dorma' in the style of Pavarotti (and holding the last notes even longer!). This aria from Puccini’s Turandot was sung for the World Cup in Rome in 1990. These items were the high points for me, being an ‘opera nut’ before becoming a chazzanut nut.
Cantor Helfgot began singing ‘A Yiddishe Momme’ and was then joined for the second verse by Jimmy Barnes to a great applause. He sang with charm and emotion, including several lines in Yiddish.
The second half began with ‘What a wonderful world’, also sung by Jimmy Barnes. He spoke about his own Mogen Dovid which was passed to him from his mother and grandmother and was the only symbol of Judaism remaining in his life until quite recent times.
Two tributes to Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach started with his version of 'Lecha dodi, likrat kala'. Including Central Synagogue’s Chazzan Sheini Yehuda Niasoff there were now four superb cantors on stage at the one time! Han’shama Lach was followed by a lively orchestral medley of Jewish themes.
In a speech after the intermission we heard about the musical tradition at Central Synagogue along with details of the tragic fire and new modern synagogue, now 11 years old. Credit and thanks were given to Rabbis Levy Wolff, Mendel Kastel, Chazzanim Shimon Farkas and Yitzchak Meir Helfgot, Dr Sobol, Harry Trigaboff, Frank Lowy, Paul Keen, other board members, supporters and the many others involved in this huge undertaking.
Judging by the ovation a marvellous time was had by all and the audience of nearly 2000 indeed got their money’s worth! It was a rare treat to hear one of the world’s best cantors again in Sydney, along with local chazzanut talents and one of the most celebrated experts on Jewish music conducting a symphony orchestra in the country’s largest synagogue.
Comments by Andrew Byrne ..
Additional personal comments by way of 'post-script':
The essential cantorial talent to focus and project the voice was not on show due to the use of amplification. For those of us lucky enough to be in shule the follow Shabbos Ch Helfgot took to the Bimah as Ch Farkas was away for a family celebration. The visiting chazzan was so generous with his singing at Kabbalat Shabbat that he sang beyond the timed lights-out session! Fortunately there was a goy in shule who offered to turn them back on.
Just momentarily, at the highest, loudest and most sustained, the chazzan can sound like a chain saw in action … only then to melt again into mellifluous melody, unlike his two-stroke competitor. I just say this to emphasis the power and projection of chazzan’s highest notes which are indeed phenomenal by any measure. I believe that he sang notes higher than a C natural but I could be mistaken (Pavarotti was famous for his sustained high C’s).
I had a ‘date’ to attend with a cultured continental lady who is a Shoah survivor. However, she had a cataract operation the day before so I took my own family G-dmother, another woman of the world, if a slightly different world. Following my own bent she is a genteel gentile who dabbles Yiddish for part of each week. Like most everyone else, she was highly impressed by the entire evening, from the Australian National Anthem (everyone knew the words!) at the start to the Israeli one to finish the evening.
The concert finished with a native floral presentation and ‘Happy Birthday’ (strangely sung in English) for Mr Borowsky who turned 80 recently. He is one of the stalwarts of the Central choir, still singing year round after a lifetime of opera singing.
