Cantillation / Nusach

Chanting the Hebrew Bible: The Complete Guide to the Art of Cantillation

by Joshua R. Jacobson. A thorough handbook devoted to learning Torah chant to “leyenen” Torah. See the JMWC Review. “Joshua Jacobson’s masterpiece — the comprehensive 1000-page guide to cantillation — is now available in this condensed, 300-page, user-friendly paperback edition. It is an ideal instructional guide for adult and young-adult students of Torah, for b’nai mitzvah students; and for cantors, rabbis, and Jewish educators of all denominations.” For information on this student verison of CHB available from Jewish Ppublication Society.

Chazzanut Online

A very comprehensive website about chazzanut, from Irwin Oppenheim in the Netherlands. This site has many features, including biographical materials on major cantors, notated nusach, a discography, a list of online archives and directories, but also a very important historic collection of scanned documents and manuscripts of famous cantors. Articles can be in German, Dutch or English. Yossele Rosenblatt’s Recitatives, Sam Englander Piano Arrangements, Isaac Heymann’sPsalms, and more.
http://www.chazzanut.com

Leynen in the Fast Lane

by Hazzan Jack Kessler. A book-and-cd package designed as an easy-access method to fluid Torah chant. The method begins with the trop sung as a niggun to become grounded in the melody before engaging the ‘nuts and bolts’ of trop signs, and continues with many practice examples from Torah.

Nusach CDs: Nusach Ha-Tefilla is the collection of traditional nusach for the entire Jewish liturgical year by Hazzan Jack Kessler. The recordings combine the basic melodic material, sung in a straight-ahead, non-florid way in the appropriate mood for each service, with a wide range of havurah-style melodies for group participation. The series may be purchased in holiday blocks. Hazzan Kessler may be reached at goldenmedina@comcast.net or 215-849-9227.

Multi-media Seder Hazanoet

A Dutch website with excerpts of cantorial singing in the Dutch tradition, the Western Sefardic Music Tradition. According to Barry Mehler, the musical director of Santo Serviço (Portuguese Synagogue Choir), the melody of Mizmor leDavid was composed on commission for the Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam just after the turn of the (20th) century by Victor Schlesinger.
http://home.zonnet.nl/sondervanfrank/index.htm

Nusach Radio

Nusach can be heard at 11am and 10pm eastern time. It is a show “dedicated to the art of the chazzanut both classical and modern.” Host is Winston Weilheimer.Nusach Radio features three channels on live365.com. Included is a radio show for children. They feature 24 hour Internet radio programming in religious music, including a show of classical cantorial music on Thursdays and Sundays.
http://sites.netscape.net/nusachmaven

Rabbi Jeffrey Summit’s “Singing God’s Words” at Jewish Music Forum

On Monday, February 13, 2017 at 7pm, Rabbi Jeffrey A. Summit, Ph.D. will speak about his new book, Singing God’s Words: The Performance of Biblical Chant in Contemporary Judaism (Oxford University Press, 2016).

This book is the first in-depth study of the meaning and experience of chanting Torah among contemporary American Jews, describing how this ritual is shaped by such forces as digital technology, feminism and contemporary views of spirituality.

Rabbi Summit will be joined by discussants Dr. Mark Slobin, Winslow-Kaplan Professor of Music Emeritus at Weleyan University and Cantor Richard Cohn, Director, Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.

Center for Jewish History | 15 West 16th Street | New York, NY 10011

This program is co-sponsored by the American Jewish Historical Society.


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Stephanie Shore’s Torah Cycle

American. Cantor. songwriter. Born into a musical family with mother Rita Shore and father Ira Shore. BA Florida International University. Recorded CDs “My Soul” and “Quiet Time”. Has a Purim Spiel website where various spiels can be viewed, listened to or purchased. Served as a cantor for Hillel in Miami, Florida. Currently cantor at Congregation B’nai Israel in Boca Raton, Florida. Member of the Guild of Temple Musicians, the Cantor’s Association of Florida and the Women’s Cantors Network. Her website has a unique cantorial teaching area with Torah portions(broken down into a triennial cycle) and various prayers and blessings. Learners can listen to these various items online. Her website features a biography, a list of recordings and a link to the Congregation B’nai Israel website.…
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Virtual Cantor

The complete cycle of nusach for worship are here, online, and for free. Broken down into individual pieces, there are 725 different tracks to cover not only Shabbat, but the entire weekday, festival and high holiday services. If you are a person who needs to learn the nusach to lead a service, this is THE place. It’s a completely easy way to find the exact passage in the siddur and follow along. Highly Recommended.
http://www.virtualcantor.com/