The AKSE High Holiday Choir: A Special Tradition Continues

By Cantor Yehoshua Redfern, Adas Kodesch Shel Emeth 

One of the unique traditions of Adas Kodesch Shel Emeth is its High Holiday choir, which assists the cantor during several parts of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services. This collaboration makes for a greatly enhanced musical and spiritual experience for the congregation. As a professional cantor now for 50 years, I have worked in several synagogues with a choir for the High Holidays. The AKSE choir is definitely the best such choir that I have sung with in my career. 

A choir has been part of AKSE’s High Holiday services since the 1940s. For over 60 years Louis Brown, of blessed memory, was the Lamnatze’ach (choir conductor). He had every tune in his head and was able to sing it in the right pitch for both Tenor and Baritone/Bass sections of the choir. Since his passing in 2020, I have taken over as conductor as well as cantor. 

Of course, choirs have a long and rich history in Jewish worship. In the Bait Hamikdosh (Holy Temple in Jerusalem) there was a Levitical Choir, a minimum of 12 singers and ancient stringed, brass, and percussion instruments. After the destruction of the Holy Temple, the Rabbis banned vocal and instrumental music as a sign of national mourning. In the 12th century, Maimonides again permitted the choir to sing at synagogue services and all religious feasts, though instrumental music continued to be forbidden during Sabbath and Festival services.  

Modern choral singing in the synagogue began with Salomone Rossi of Venice in the late 16th century. His Hashirim Asher Lishlomo, composed in 1622, represented the earliest introduction of polyphonic music for the synagogue and the first printed music that appeared with a Hebrew text. The Austrian cantor and composer Salomon Sulzer was a major contributor of choral music in the 19th century. Franz Liszt was a great supporter of his choral and cantorial work. 

Our assistant choir conductor, Bob Weiner, has noted the reverence for choral tradition: “Some Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur tunes, often called Mi-Sinai tunes, have been preserved through generations. They emerged from communities in Rhineland between the 11th and 15th centuries. These melodies, like Kol Nidre and sections of the Amidah, are treated with reverence, showcasing music’s ability to embody heritage and continuity.” 

Most of the AKSE choir melodies and harmonies are learned and sung by ear. During my 14 years as AKSE cantor, however, I have taught our choir several great two-part pieces of the choral repertoire, with the benefit of sheet music. These include Zacharti Lach and the beautiful Halleluyah 150th Psalm by Louis Lewandowski, a contemporary of Felix Mendelssohn; both are in the classical romantic choral tradition. We also sing S’u Shearim by Samuel Naumbourg, a 19th century French composer; it imitates the choral marches found in grand opera. All three choral pieces are in one of the special sections of the Musaf Amidah for Rosh Hashanah. 

What, then, makes the AKSE High Holiday choir so special? It is partly what they are not. They are not hired professionals, but rather congregants with a passion for music and the liturgy. They are not up in a loft, but rather gathered around a large Shulchan (table) close to the cantor. This arrangement facilitates a blending and interplay between the choir and cantor. And, except for choral set pieces, congregational participation is encouraged. The choir, in a sense, guides the “voice” of the congregation. 

Working with different cantors represents both a challenge and opportunity for the choir. Mark Wagman noted “In my more than 30 years in the AKSE High Holiday Choir, the choir has worked harmoniously with four congregational cantors and four guest cantors. In each case, we have learned from the cantor, and, I think, the cantor has learned from us. Choir members love to sing all their old favorites, but we also love the challenge and feeling of accomplishment in mastering new and often complex pieces brought to us by each new cantor. In the process, we stretch our capabilities beyond what at least some of us thought was possible.” 

Choir members look forward to the joy of learning. David Epstein, who brings his musical expertise from years singing in barbershop quartets to the choir, remarked “I’ve enjoyed learning our old tunes, as well as the new melodies that Cantor Redfern brought to us. Being involved in making the music has made the service and the worship more meaningful for me.”  

Of course, the choir is also a means for gathering and making friendships. Neal Cohn noted that it is all about the “fun and experience of singing with a group of people.” Eric Levin added that “Summer rehearsals have become a wonderful bonding experience.” 

L’shanah Tova Tikatevu. May Hashem grant us a good year and may we be inscribed in the Book of Life for the new year 5786.With G-d’s Help, may the AKSE High Holiday Choir continue for many years to come!