Re[2]: Cantors of Good Voice

[richard_wolpoe <richard_wolpoe...>]

Dear Jewish Music Enthusiasts,
        This thread reminds me of the anecdote re:  the great late Yosselle 
Rosenblatt who was charging twice as as much  as a competing chazan (who 
was not personally pious).  The president of the shul questioned Rosenblatt 
as to why his fee was double. Supposedly he answered without a flinch, that 
he davened 2 "shemone esrais"  (ie the public chazoros Hashats AND the 
silent personal Shemoneh Esrai) and the other chazan only 1.



        No doubt, IMHO, that sincerity is important.  Yet even a Talmid 
Chochom is still very much a student.  We are all in this together to learn 
how to be better at what we do; I.E. we can improve on our knowledge, our 
devotion, our musical knowledge, our vocal techniques, our selections, our 
ability to communicate, etc.  Everyone has room for improvement,and 
everyone can make a contribution! That's why this forum is SO valuable.  
(Mikol Melamdai Hiskalti!)  




______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Re:  Cantors of Good Voice 
Author:  <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org > at tcpgate 
Date:    12/29/97 3:33 PM


B"H Luzern, Switzerland

Now, if a great Cantor can bring God to an atheist, don't you think 
that......????
Enjoy The Music
Simon

Well, as Simon says, ".....???????"; 

Better still, let's use a phrase from Yiddish, "a nechtiger tog" 
a nightly day - ain't no such thing. Communism is rapidly going 
out of fashion. Atheism, too.
Cantorism, soon, maybe?

Monsieur Simon - maybe your old Yiddish friend
worshipped Rosenblatt instead of the Creator.  I remember distinctly 
getting to know 
the present-day cantor at the mammoth Dohanyi Utca Synagogue in Budapest. 
He told
me frankly that he was hired for the position because he had already worked 
in the 
theater as an operatic bass.

Nothing to do with piety, of course. L'hefech - (Hebrew - the opposite), he 
knew nothing about the
service and wasn't embarrassed about that little detail -- in the 
slightest. He simply acted as 
his employers told him. He learned his Hebrew lines; belched them out in 
his
bariest of tones; drank deeply from the goblet on cue (though he didn't 
know or care whether the
wine itself was kosher).

He took the gig, funny hat and all. A true professional. 
Some of us see something wrong with that. Do you?

Happy Hanuka

Alex