Jewish Song and Prayer of Aleppo

Thursday, OCTOBER 21 @ 6:30PM
At the Center for Jewish History
15 West 16th Street, NYC.

$10 at the door/ $5 for ASF members Reservations requested: 212.294.8350 x0 or email info@americansephardifederation.org


The liturgy of the Syrian Jewish community synthesizes the Maqam music of their Arab neighbors with their own Hebrew poetry and prayers. Mark Kligman, PhD, Professor of Jewish Musicology, will trace the development of this music which he explores in his book Maqam and Liturgy: Ritual, Music and Aesthetics of Syrian Jews in Brooklyn. Isaac J. Cabasso, Cantor of Congregation Beth Torah, a Syrian synagogue in Brooklyn, NY, will lend his 50 years of experience in Syrian Hazzanut to the conversation, and perform excerpts of the prayers in various maqams. Musical accompaniment on the oud will be performed by Victor Esses, Cantor of Sephardic Synagogue, Brooklyn, NY. Joseph Mosseri, Cantor and founder of the Hazzanut Forum, will discuss the resurgence of Maqam music among the community’s younger generation.

This program is presented in association with the American Society for Jewish Music