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Baroque Splendor in Portuguese Jewish Amsterdam—350th AnniversaryShir Hanukkat Beit HaKnesset (Song for the Dedication of the Portuguese Synagogue) (1675)
Composed by Members of the Portuguese Community, Text by Rev. Isaac Aboab da Fonseca (1605–1693)
Hizki Hizki, Piyyut for the Inauguration of the Portuguese Synagogue, Rev. Isaac Aboab da Fonseca (1675)
Festival Kedusha for the Inauguration of the Portuguese Synagogue (1675), attr. to Rev. Hazzan Joseph de Farro (c.1608–1689) and Rev. Hazzan Imanuel Abenatar Mello
Liturgical Chamber Music by Abraham de Cáceres (d.1740)
From the 17th century until World War II, the Portuguese Israelite Synagogue of Amsterdam was the nexus of the Western Sephardic diaspora. This program commemorates the 350th anniversary of its inauguration with musical celebrations and baroque spectacle from its opening. An architectural marvel, the Esnoga was the most conspicuous symbol of religious freedom offered to Jews in a Protestant Republic anywhere in Europe. Ian Pomerantz and Lev DePaolo will highlight the August 1675 musical celebrations with the North American premiere of the dedicatory cantata, Shir Hanukat Beth Hamiqdash. Recently discovered in the manuscripts of Cantor Joseph ben Sarfati, with text by the Portuguese-born Rabbi Rev. Isaac Aboab da Fonseca, it is a lasting testimony to tolerance, the Dutch Golden Age, and the resilience of the Portuguese Jewish community.
Lev DePaolo, soprano
Ian Pomerantz, bass-baritone
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 228 S Pitt St, Alexandria, VA 22314-3742, United States,Alexandria, Virginia
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