The
Boston Zamir Chorale was founded in 1969 by Joshua Jacobson with a
group of college-age peers from the New Hampshire Zionist summer camp
Yavneh. The idea for the Chorale came from the camp's choral director
Stanley Sperber, himself the founder of a Jewish choral group in New
York, also called Zamir. "A
number of us had been singing in a choir during the summer there and
enjoyed that experience and wanted to make it happen during the rest
of the year," remembers Jacobson. The Chorale has grown to 50
members since then, with Jacobson continually at its helm during its
30 years of operation.
Zamir
is committed to the highest quality performance of the Jewish choral
repetoire, which spans thousands of years, four continents and a variety
of styles. Zamir's programs reflect its commitment to both
the musical and Jewish communities with projects ranging from free
concerts for Boston school children and elderly groups to appearances
at area synagogues and colleges to major performances of significant
choral-orchestral repertoire in major concert halls.
Perhaps
the most remarkable thing about the Chorale is its the cultural legacy.
The group is named after the first Jewish choral group Ha-Zomir,
which was founded in Lodz, Poland in 1899 ('zomir' is the Yiddish
pronunciation of the Hebrew word 'zamir,' which means 'nightingale').
Comparing the Boston Zamir Chorale to the Lodz Ha-Zomir chorus,
Jacobson observes, "What's remarkable is how similar the missions
of the two groups are without us necessarily consciously modeling
ourselves after them. The Lodz Jews were trying to figure out how
they could be culturally identifying Jews and yet be modern citizens
of Poland. We also want to express ourselves as Jews, and yet feel
ourselves to be 21st Century Americans. Zamir forms a bridge between
these two cultures. We take the Jewish material and express it through
the medium of music, which is more international."
The Chorale
sings every conceivable kind of Jewish music, in arrangements by Joseph
Rumshinsky, the conductor of the Lodz Ha-Zomir chorus; by the great 19th
century Vienna and Berlin cantors; and many done by Jacobson himself. Its
repertoire is mostly Jewish. One exception, which is arguably not an excerption,
is Handel's "Israel in Egypt," which the Chorale will sing for
the first time this June. Says Jacobson, "One must say it's a Jewish
text, yet the composer was not Jewish, and most of his audience in 18th
century England was generally not Jewish. So sometimes we have to stretch
the definition to consider music like that Jewish music." During a
recent tour in Eastern Europe last summer, non-Jewish songs from all the
countries the Chorale visited were added. "In addition," says
Jacobson, "during that tour, we realized we were representing not only
Jewish culture, but that we were representing the United States of America,
so we added a couple of American pieces to our repertoire."
The Chorale occasionally
sings a capella, but usually performs with accompaniment typically
consisting of a pianist, a percussionist and a clarinetist. Occasionally
it performs with a full symphony orchestra, or with a guest cantor or guest
artists like the Klezmer Conservatory Band, or the Jewish rock group Safam
(whose members came out of the Zamir Chorale).
Concerning the
concert programs that he painstakingly puts together, and which often include
explanatory narration, Jacobson explains, "Our concerts are more than
just concerts. I like the term you see sometimes -- 'edutainment,' because
that is what we do. Every concert is a voyage into Jewish music and Jewish
culture. We take people back through history and around the world, using
Jewish music as the vehicle."
Regarding his own musical arrangements, Jacobson explains "with some
we try to aim for a historically correct performance, for example with a
motet by Salamone Rossi, the 17th Century Jewish composer, we will try to
perform it as closely as possible to the way it would have sounded in Rossi's
choir. If I do an arrangement of an Israeli or Yiddish song, what I am trying
to do is capture the spirit of that song and bring out its essence--that
may be the excitement of it, the sadness of it, or the essential rhythms--in
a way that is appropriate for choral singing." The Chorale has also
done gospel and rock interpretations of traditional Jewish music, arrangements
which Jacobson calls "pure entertainment" and cannily explains,
"Look, when I construct a concert, I realize that most of the people
who come don't come with lofty ideals, but to be entertained. Once I have
their attention, once they trust me, then I can introduce some more sophisticated
repertoire and take them other places. So a typical Zamir concert is going
to be a real melange, including different levels of appeal."
Jacobson describes
the original Lodz Ha-Zomir as a "Jewish Community chorus." According
to Jacobson, the Boston Zamir Chorale is a Jewish community chorus in the
same sense. That is, not only by having members from all sectors of the
Jewish community (and even outside of it) but also, Jacobson explains, by
musically representing the Jewish community (more about the Lodz
Ha-Zomir). "Zamir's mission is to let not only Jews but also the
outside world know what a rich musical heritage we have. I get calls very
often from conductors of high school and community and even Church choirs
looking for high quality Jewish music." An important part of Jacobson's
work is transmitting the chorale's repertoire to teachers and conductors
at workshops and choral conferences. In addition to its CDs and concert
tapes, the Chorale also publishes sheet music, articles, and an extensive
website. Using an example of a Jewish teenager in a high school choir who
is embarrassed about his tradition because the only Jewish music his choir
sings is "Dreydel, Dreydel, Dreydel," Jacobson explains that he
hopes to be able to offer that teenager and his peers music that contains
the heights of Jewish culture.
For
more information about The Zamir Chorale of Boston and a list of their
recordings, visit their web site: http://www.zamir.org
