The Mekor Haim Choir, under the artistic direction of Maestro Leonardo Mendonça, will present a concert of Jewish music at the Holocaust Museum of Porto on Friday, December 13, 2024 at 15:00. Featured in this concert are two selections from music of the Bevis Marks Synagogue of London.
‘The Ancient Melodies or The Liturgy of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews’ was published in London in 1857. It is freely available online at: http://www.londonsephardimusic.org/files/Docs/The_Ancient_Melodies.pdf
It contains the synagogue melodies of Rabbi David Aaron de Sola (1796-1860), who was a descendant of Jews expelled from Spain in 1492. His family fled to Amsterdam and de Sola was later invited to London to lead the Bevis Marks Synagogue. They were arranged by Emanuel Abraham Aguillar (1824-1904), a pianist and composer descended from Portuguese refugees who came to England.
The concert will open with Hallel, Number 37 in ‘The Ancient Melodies’. The words are from Psalm 117. The Hallel includes a series of Psalms said on Passover, Shavuot (Pentecost) and Sukkot (Tabernacles). It is also said on the eight days of Hanukah, which begins this year on the night of December 25. It was arranged for four voices, in a triumphant melody of universal praise.
The second song, Kol Berue, is Number 1 in ‘The Ancient Melodies’. It is usually sung in the morning prayers in the Sephardi tradition and on Yom Kippur in the Ashkenazi tradition. It is also set for four voices and describes songs of praise from all creatures in Heaven and on Earth.
Other works presented will include Sabbath songs in the Ashkenazi tradition (Shalom Aleichem), songs in Yiddish (Raisins and Amonds), Ladino (La Rosa Enflorece) and in German (Wiegala). This reflects the rich mix of cultures in our community.
The Mekor Haim Choir presents concerts at the Holocaust Museum of Porto on the last Friday afternoon of every month. All are welcome to attend this concert and join the choir. For information, please contact yonahyaphe@hotmail.com
