Psalms in space and time

Dear audience,


After the Louis Lewandowski Festival has always focused thematically on specific composers of synagogal music or on a specific geographical or cultural area since its foundation, this year we are turning to a group of prayers from the Tenach, the Jewish Bible, the world of Psalms (Hebrew: T’hilim).


The Psalms are among the oldest and most lively texts in Jewish tradition. They have been spoken, sung and reinterpreted again and again for over two thousand years. They express all the feelings of human existence: Joy and thanksgiving, lament and hope, doubt and trust. They are a mirror of both personal feelings and the collective memory of the Jewish people.


Psalms have been sung or set to music in many different forms over generations – from the time of the temple, whose music we do not know, to traditional cantillation in synagogue services, to compositions that have accompanied us over the last five centuries of synagogue music.


These multi-layered encounters between text and music from different eras will be heard in the festival’s concerts. We will experience the world of the Psalms not only as religious poetry, but also as a source of artistic inspiration. From different musical perspectives, a space is created in which old words resound anew and unfold their timeless power.


You can look forward to guest choirs from America and Israel!