Louis Lewandowski Festival
 Louis Lewandowski Festival (2018) |
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| General information | |
| place | Berlin and Potsdam , Germany |
| genre | Synagogal Choral Music (Jewish Liturgy) |
| Period | since 2011 |
| Website | www.louis-lewandowski-festival.de |
The Louis Lewandowski Festival has been a music festival for Jewish liturgy and synagogal choral music in Berlin that has been held annually since 2011 and is dedicated to the reformer of synagogue music Louis Lewandowski (1821–1894). For five days, choirs from all over the world give guest performances in Berlin and Potsdam at various locations, including synagogues, churches and industrial halls, and bring works of synagogue music to the fore. In addition to the concerts, there are workshops and lectures on various topics related to synagogue music.
It is thanks to Lewandowski that the traditional Jewish prayer service was given its new, then modern form, which was characterized by the interplay between cantor, choir and organ. In his compositions he combined traditional synagogue singing with modern European musical developments. His compositions reflected the newly awakened self-confidence of German Jews in the 19th century and contributed to the spread and growing popularity of Jewish liturgical music worldwide - even beyond the boundaries of religious currents.
history
The festival was started in 2011 by Nils Busch-Petersen , the managing director of the Handelsverband Berlin-Brandenburg e. V. (HBB), launched.
Since the festival was founded, the musical focus has been on Lewandowski's Jewish liturgy. Synagogal music is an alternating song between cantor and choir , accompanied by solemn organ sounds. The main sponsor and sponsor of the Louis Lewandowski Festival are the Handelsverband Berlin-Brandenburg e. V. and its members. Since its inception, the festival has taken place in various synagogues and churches in Berlin and Potsdam. So far, more than 1500 choir singers, soloists and cantors from all over the world have performed at the event.
Venues
Every year choirs from all over the world perform at the festival. You will be guest at various locations in Berlin (Hospital Church in Wuhlegarten, Reinbeckhallen) and Potsdam ( St. Nikolaikirche ). At the concert in the renovated old industrial plant of the AEG transformer factory "Reinbeckhallen", the audience is invited to sing with the choirs. This location was not chosen by chance. AEG founder Emil Rathenau and his son Walter are two of the most important Jewish personalities in German history. At the “Grand Final Concert” in the Rykestrasse Synagogue , the largest synagogue in Germany, all the choirs perform together as a musical highlight.
Themes, choirs and ensembles of the festival
Festival 2011
The first festival in 2011 was dedicated exclusively to the festival's namesake, Louis Lewandowski, and his works under the motto “Love makes the song immortal”.
Choirs: Johannesburg Jewish Male Choir (South Africa), Ensemble Vocal Hébraica de Strasbourg (France), Synagogal Ensemble Berlin (Germany), Zamir Chorale Boston (USA), Synagogue Choir Zurich (Switzerland)
Festival 2012
In 2012, in addition to Lewandowski, the festival was also dedicated to Salomon Sulzer and Samuel Naumbourg , the two other great reformers of synagogue music. Therefore the motto that year was “The magical triumvirate”.
Choirs: Le Chant Sacré (France), Ramatayim Men's Choir (Israel), Toronto Jewish Male Choir (Canada), L'Ensemble Choral Copernic (France), The Warsaw Singers (Poland), Yakar Choir (Israel), Synagogal Ensemble Berlin (Germany)
Festival 2013
The third Louis Lewandowski Festival, under the motto “The Torn Firmament”, was dedicated to the memory of those composers who were victims of National Socialism , whether they were persecuted, driven into exile or murdered. These composers are linked to Lewandowski's legacy in two very different ways. Some of them followed him in his choral music style, others found new forms of expression for synagogal music.
Choirs: Leipziger Synagogalchor (Germany), The Upper Gallilee Choir (Israel), Breslauer Synagogalchor (Poland), The Zimratya Cantors Choir (Israel), Synagogenchor Basel (Switzerland), The Professional Choir of Belsize Square Synagogue (Great Britain), Synagogal Ensemble Berlin (Germany)
Festival 2014
Under the motto “Stars and Stripes”, the fourth festival was dedicated to the work of those Jewish composers who emigrated or were expelled to the United States .
Choirs: Ensemble Vocal Hébraica de Strasbourg (France), Amakim Choir, Zamir Chorale of Boston (USA), The Voices of Israel Ensemble, London Jewish Male Choir (Great Britain), Coro Ha-Kol (Italy), Synagogal Ensemble Berlin (Germany)
Festival 2015
The motto of the 2015 festival was “The Eastern Firmament”, because in the second half of the 19th century the music of Sulzer and Lewandowski reached many cantors in Eastern Europe. As a result, Eastern European Jewish culture increasingly opened up to “modern” music from the West. The result was a new style in which the choir sang in a Western style while the cantor performed free and flowery recitatives .
Choirs: The Moscow Male Jewish Capella (Russia), Jugendchor Synagoge Pestalozzistraße (Germany), Jerusalem Cantors' Choir (Israel), London Cantorial Singers (Great Britain), Vocaliza Women's Choir of Tel Aviv (Israel), Synagogal Ensemble Berlin (Germany)
Festival 2016
The motto of the 2016 festival was “Jewish Renaissance and Baroque in Synagogal Music”. In 1622, the Italian-Jewish composer Salamone Rossi published a collection of sacred choral music in Hebrew . These "Songs of Solomon" were the first of their kind, which date from the Renaissance and the early Baroque , but should be heard in the synagogue.
Choirs: The Lewandowski Chorale (South Africa), Jugendchor Synagoge Pestalozzistraße (Germany), Ensemble Profeti Della Quinta (Israel), Leipziger Synagogalchor (Germany), Synagogal Ensemble Berlin (Germany), Belsize Youth Choir (Israel)
Festival 2017
“Icke and the rest of the world” was the motto of the 2017 festival. In terms of art, the festival is returning to its origins in the seventh year: like the first festival, it was exclusively dedicated to Lewandowski's works.
Choirs: Tivon Israel Chamber Choir (Israel), Jerusalem A-Capella Singers (Israel), Synagogal Ensemble Berlin (Germany), Zemel Choir (Great Britain)
Festival 2018
The eighth Louis Lewandowski Festival 2018 was dedicated to two historic anniversaries, which in all their diversity are closely linked: the 80th anniversary of the pogrom in November 1938 and the 70th birthday of the State of Israel . The festival also broke new ground. For the first time, in addition to choirs, an orchestra and a saxophone quartet were guests.
Choirs and ensembles: Chernivtsi Symphony Orchestra (Ukraine), Cecilia Ensemble, The Moscow Male Jewish Capella (Russia), Saxofonquadrat (Germany), Ensemble Barocameri (Israel), Adi Classical Young Choir (Israel), Synagogal Ensemble Berlin (Germany)
Patrons
The event's patrons are the Governing Mayor of Berlin , Michael Müller ( SPD ) and the chairman of the Jewish Community of Berlin , Gideon Joffe .