A Faith In Song

Coming together for a single concert here is something of a supergroup of Jewish cantors. Alberto Mizrahi of Chicago, Benzion Miller of Brooklyn, and Naftali Herstik of Jerusalem are joined by London's Ne'imah Singers in the grand old Portuguese Synagogue of Amsterdam, which lets the listener partake in some exquisite acoustics as well. As with any good bout of cantorial music, the sound is incredible, with the power of the voices singly awe-inspiring, but together rivaling the better-known Three Tenors or similar. With the force of the Netherlands Theater Orchestra behind them, they can nearly overpower the recording equipment. The songs range around the sphere of Jewish influence, from proper synagogue cantorials to Yiddish folk to Sephardic ballads, to an occasional show tune. The musical quality remains high, and perhaps most importantly shows off the many sides of the repertoire of a good cantor, from the religious to the secular (a bit) and the spectrum between these ends. For someone interested in one of the more traditional and dignified forms of Jewish music, this album might not be a bad choice.