Search - Jewish Traditional :: Legendary Cantors

Historic recordings, great voices

Alejandra Vernon | Long Beach, California | 10/15/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The earliest recording on this CD is from 1907, with Gershon Sirota (1874-1943) singing "Veshomru" with a power that age cannot diminish; the quality of the sound, as with the other tracks on this CD, is amazingly clear, with digital recordings from the original 78 rpm discs. The two most recent recordings are from 1947, with Leibele Waldeman ("Shuvi Nafshi") and Richard Tucker ("Sholom Secunda" - "Yiru Eneinu"). Tucker of course was also a big star at the Metropolitan Opera, and was one of the most famous tenors of his generation, but never abandoned Chazanut, and made many recordings of cantorial works.



Some highlights for me are the great Joseph Rosenblatt (1882-1933) exquisitely singing "Yaaleh V'Yoveh", recorded in 1925 with orchestra, Manfred Lewandowsky (1895-1970) with "Haneovim" from 1928, and Shalom Katz (b. 1910) with "Sasa Grossman" - "El Moleh Rachamim" who does some incredible pianissimos, as do many of the other cantors on this disc.

There is however, not a single track that does not have immense beauty, as these fabulous voices rise up like a plaintive call to God from the soul.



The booklet insert is excellent, with detailed liner notes on the history of cantorial singing, a synopses of the prayers sung, and biographies of the cantors, some of them including a small photograph. As mentioned previously, the sound is remarkable for its age, and total playing time is 72'28.

This is a fabulous CD for anyone who loves to listen to the masters of Chazanut, or would like to explore the musical heritage of the Jewish faith.

"

Exquisite

Melvin R. Katskee | Omaha, NE USA | 12/04/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Each featured Cantor was a master. There is here Jewish prayer as it was meant to be rendered in the Ashkenazic tradition. The sound quality is excellent, and the booklet is quite informative. This recording is a bargain beyond measure. Anyone with a love of this music of the classic Eastern European synagogue would find this a delight."

Astonishing Voices

Dr. Christopher Coleman | HONG KONG | 11/18/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am not Jewish, nor do I come from that heritage, nor am I even religious. But this CD has some of the most remarkable, moving singing I have ever heard. I'm surprised that the other reviewers haven't mentioned my favorite, but to each his own. Berele Chagy, singing Mi Sheoso Nisim, is quite simply remarkable for the beauty of his voice, in particular his heavenly falsetto, and his virtuostic melismatic singing. Even if you don't buy the disc--and why not--at least download that one track!"