The Power of Piyyutim
Join us online on Sunday July 28th, 2024 from 12:30pm BST to learn more about this beautiful liturgical poetry from across the Jewish world.
Sessions Include: -
• Welcome
• Piyyutim in the Spanish and Portuguese Tradition with Hazzan Daniel Halfon
• Piyyut: A Tradition of Creativity with Ephraim Kahn
• How did Piyyutim sound in the time of their creation? with Chazan Jalda Rebling
• Innovating in Tradition: Ancient Piyyutim for Modern Times with Moriah Ferrús
• Closing Remarks
See below for the timetable and more information on each session and its teacher(s).
Join EAJL on Sunday July 28th, 2024 from 12:30 to 19:00 BST. All times UK, adjust to your time zone.
Supported by...
Timetable and Session Information
Welcome - 12:30 to 13:00
Session 1 - 13:00 - Piyyutim in the Spanish and Portuguese Tradition with Hazzan Daniel Halfon
The session will include a brief examination of what a Piyyut actually is, and what its role is in the Spanish and Portuguese tradition. Examples will be given of how Piyyutim are sung today within the S & P Minhag. Where appropriate, illustrations will be presented of how these current versions may have evolved from their original settings, and how they differ from their treatments in other Sephardi rites.
About the teacher: Hazzan Daniel Halfon was born in London in 1955, and grew up in that city’s ancient Spanish and Portuguese community under the tutelage of Rabbi Dr Abraham Levy. He is the Emeritus Hazzan of the Yad Harav Nissim synagogue in Jerusalem and a leading authority of the cantorial style of the western Sephardim. A classically trained baritone, Daniel has conducted services in all of the major synagogues of the Spanish and Portuguese tradition. Halfon teaches classes and workshops in both practical and theoretical aspects of the Spanish and Portuguese liturgical tradition. He also advises faculty and students on research regarding the cantillation arts in general, and the Spanish and Portuguese liturgical tradition in particular.
Session 2 - 14:30 - Piyyut (Hebrew Liturgical Poetry): A Tradition of Creativity with Ephraim Kahn
Welcome to our workshop where tradition meets creativity! Explore the world of Piyyut, from its ancient roots to modern expression. Discover the Diwan Ashira Project and join in as we learn two new piyyutim on heroines of the bible. Whether you're a seasoned musician or simply curious, this workshop invites you to celebrate the timeless beauty of Piyyut and perpetuate its legacy.
About the teacher: Ephraim Kahn has been passionately teaching Hebrew Liturgical Poetry for several years. He co-founded an amateur Piyyut choir in Paris, where he lives. In 2023, he launched the Diwan Ashira Project - a collection of original Piyyutim about women of the Bible. He served as a research assistant in the Philosophy of Talmudic Law (ULB) and a Jewish Education Advisor (EUJS). He is currently working for the IEMJ (European Institute for Jewish Music).
Session 3 - 16:00 - How did Piyyutim sound in the time of their creation? with Chazan Jada Rebling
We don't know how the piyyutim sounded in the time of their paytanim. Unlike the music of our Christian neighbours, we don't have any musical recordings. However, we know that in the middle ages the Trouvères of Occitania just found (trouver-to find) their melodies. "Why not find melodies? Contrafacture is a very old tool for all musicians and poets. You find or create a melody to beautiful poetry. Come and let's experience the creative possibilities the Trouvère found.
About the teacher: Chazan Jalda Rebling grew up with the Yiddish songs of her mother, a Shoah survivor. She is an alumna of the famous acting school “Ernst Busch” in Berlin and as an actor worked for many theatres and in TIV and film productions. Since 1978 she has dedicated her life to Jewish music. In the mid 90’s she joined, and was actively involved in, the first egalitarian Synagogue in Berlin, Oranienburger Strasse. She started her studies in Chazanut in the ALEPH cantorial program and immediately began teaching in Germany, and later in Europe and the US. She gained her S'micha as Hazzan in 2007 from ALEPH. In 2010 she met Chazan Jacky Chernett at the Conservative Yeshiva and developed a very fruitful friendship. Since then, she has been a teacher for EAJL and helped to develop several EAJL programmes, leading to her current role as Director of Studies. She is a mum of three and a proud grandma.
Session 4 - 17:30 - Innovating in Tradition: Ancient Piyyutim for Modern Times with Moriah Ferrús
Join Moriah to take a journey across the Mediterranean Sea to rediscover some of the piyyutim from the Catalan tradition. From Mallorca to Algeria, and from Barcelona to Thessaloniki.
About the teacher: Moriah Ferrús has a Bachelor Degree in Hebrew Philology and PhD Candidate in History of Art and Musicology with the research project "The Liturgical and Musical Legacy of the Scuola (synagogue) Catalana of Rome 1532-1908". She is the Founder and President of the Nova Escola Catalana, Association for the Preservation of Catalan Jewish Legacy and Former Director of Education and Liturgy of Atid Jewish Community of Catalonia.
