Legendary Cantors

Jewish Traditional (Composer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Composer: Jewish Traditional
• Audio CD (October 10, 2000)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Nimbus Records
• ASIN: B00004XPKK
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,138 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #14 in Music > Folk > Jewish & Yiddish Music
  • #15 in Music > World Music > Middle East > Israel
  • #63 in Music > World Music > Europe > Eastern Europe

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars historic recordings, great voices, October 15, 2004

By 

Alejandra Vernon "artist & illustrator" (Long Beach, California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Legendary Cantors (Audio CD)

The earliest recording on this CD is from 1907, with Gershon Sirota (1874-1943) singing "Veshomru" with a power that age cannot diminish; the quality of the sound, as with the other tracks on this CD, is amazingly clear, with digital recordings from the original 78 rpm discs. The two most recent recordings are from 1947, with Leibele Waldeman ("Shuvi Nafshi") and Richard Tucker ("Sholom Secunda" - "Yiru Eneinu"). Tucker of course was also a big star at the Metropolitan Opera, and was one of the most famous tenors of his generation, but never abandoned Chazanut, and made many recordings of cantorial works.

Some highlights for me are the great Joseph Rosenblatt (1882-1933) exquisitely singing "Yaaleh V'Yoveh", recorded in 1925 with orchestra, Manfred Lewandowsky (1895-1970) with "Haneovim" from 1928, and Shalom Katz (b. 1910) with "Sasa Grossman" - "El Moleh Rachamim" who does some incredible pianissimos, as do many of the other cantors on this disc.
There is however, not a single track that does not have immense beauty, as these fabulous voices rise up like a plaintive call to God from the soul.

The booklet insert is excellent, with detailed liner notes on the history of cantorial singing, a synopses of the prayers sung, and biographies of the cantors, some of them including a small photograph. As mentioned previously, the sound is remarkable for its age, and total playing time is 72'28.
This is a fabulous CD for anyone who loves to listen to the masters of Chazanut, or would like to explore the musical heritage of the Jewish faith.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Astonishing Voices, November 18, 2007

By 

Dr. Christopher Coleman (HONG KONG) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Legendary Cantors (Audio CD)

I am not Jewish, nor do I come from that heritage, nor am I even religious. But this CD has some of the most remarkable, moving singing I have ever heard. I'm surprised that the other reviewers haven't mentioned my favorite, but to each his own. Berele Chagy, singing Mi Sheoso Nisim, is quite simply remarkable for the beauty of his voice, in particular his heavenly falsetto, and his virtuostic melismatic singing. Even if you don't buy the disc--and why not--at least download that one track!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exquisite, December 4, 2007

By 

Melvin R. Katskee (Omaha, NE USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Legendary Cantors (Audio CD)

Each featured Cantor was a master. There is here Jewish prayer as it was meant to be rendered in the Ashkenazic tradition. The sound quality is excellent, and the booklet is quite informative. This recording is a bargain beyond measure. Anyone with a love of this music of the classic Eastern European synagogue would find this a delight.