Jewish Renaissance and Baroque

Louis Lewandowski Festival 2016

The Louis Lewandowski Festival: a cultural highlight in Berlin

Over the past five years, the Louis Lewandowski Festival has become a permanent fixture in Berlin’s cultural landscape.
Over a thousand choral singers, soloists and cantors from four continents have taken part in this special event.
The festival, named after the German-Jewish composer Louis Lewandowski, who had a decisive influence on synagogal music, will take place this year from December 15 to 18, 2016 at various venues in Berlin.
This year’s festival has a special theme that highlights the Jewish Renaissance and Baroque in synagogal music.

Jewish Renaissance and Baroque: a look at history

In 1622, the Jewish-Italian composer Salamone Rossi published a collection of sacred Hebrew choral works.
These works, known as the “Song of Solomon”, were the first of their kind to be intended for use in the synagogue, despite their stylistic proximity to the madrigal and motet.
Rossi paved the way for other composers such as Carlo Grossi, Lodovico Saladin, Giuseppe Vita Clave and Christiano Giuseppe Lidarti, who all contributed to the development of synagogal music.
This year’s festival is dedicated to these pioneers and their important role in the history of Jewish music.

International choirs and ensembles

This year’s Louis Lewandowski Festival presents choirs and ensembles from South Africa, Germany, Great Britain and Switzerland under the motto “Jewish Renaissance and Baroque in Synagogal Music”.
The festival is hosted by the Synagogal Ensemble Berlin, the only ensemble in the world that performs Louis Lewandowski’s liturgy on all Jewish holidays as well as on Friday evenings and Shabbat mornings.
In addition to the works of this year’s main themes, all choirs will again present compositions by Lewandowski in various concerts in two synagogues as well as in new and established cultural institutions in Berlin and Potsdam.

Kick-off and opening concerts

Two pre-opening concerts will get visitors in the mood for the festival this year.
On December 14, the Leipzig Synagogal Choir will perform in Potsdam’s Old Town Hall.
This renowned choir has been preserving the heritage of Jewish liturgical music in East Germany for decades and will receive the Distinguished Service Award from the Obermayer German Jewish History Awards in January 2017.
At the same time, the Wuhletalkirche in Marzahn-Hellersdorf will host the Cantors’ Concert, where Berlin cantors will welcome colleagues and friends from all over the world.

Traditional kick-off in the Pestalozzistrasse synagogue

The public opening of the festival traditionally takes place on
December 15 at the Pestalozzistraße Synagogue in Berlin-Charlottenburg.
The Governing Mayor of Berlin, Michael Müller, and the Chairman of the Jewish Community of Berlin, Gideon Joffe, will welcome the participants together with Rabbi Jonah Sievers and Festival Director Nils Busch-Petersen.
The opening concert will be performed by the ensemble Profeti della Quinta from Basel, which specializes in the repertoire of the
16th and early
17th century repertoire.
The ensemble, which won the York Early Music Young Artists Competition in 2011, has since made a name for itself internationally and will delight the audience in Berlin with its performance.

The artists 2016

Regina Yantian – Artistic Director

In the 14th year of the Louis Lewandowski Festival, for the first time only music by Oriental Jews will be heard, whose melodies, keys and choice of instruments are very much influenced by the musical culture of their Arab countries of origin in the Middle East and North Africa.
Seit Generationen kommen Kinder mit ihren Eltern in die Synagoge Pestalozzistraße. Die Gottesdienste sind hier durch das Zusammenspiel von Kantor, Chor sowie Orgel und vor allem von der Musik Louis Lewandowskis geprägt.

Youth Choir Synagogue Pestalozzistrasse

For generations, children have been coming to the Pestalozzistrasse synagogue with their parents. The services here are characterized by the interplay of the cantor, choir and organ and, above all, by the music of Louis Lewandowski.
Der Leipziger Synagogalchor widmet sich intensiv und engagiert der Pflege jüdischer Musik. Die 35 Sängerinnen und Sänger – sämtlich Nichtjuden – bringen seit der Chorgründung 1962 jene Musik auf die Konzertpodien der Welt, die ihre Vorfahren beinahe vollständig vernichtet hätten.

Leipzig Synagogue Choir

In the 19th and early 20th century, the Ashkenazi region experienced an unparalleled musical boom, which was primarily triggered by organ building in the liberal synagogues of Central Europe.

Ensemble Profeti della Quinta

The repertoire of the 16th and early 17th century repertoire, the Profeti della Quinta ensemble has set itself the goal of creating lively and expressive performances for today's audiences.
The Lewandowski Chorale ist ein in Johannesburg ansässiger Chor. Das Ensemble widmet sich der Wiederbelebung der klassischen jüdisch-liturgischen Musik sowohl innerhalb der südafrikanischen jüdischen Gemeinde als auch in der Gemeinschaft als Ganzes.

The Lewandowski Chorale

The majority of South African synagogues are orthodox. They do not allow women to sing. This means that although the melodies of Lewandowski and his contemporaries are still widely sung in these synagogues, the original texture and harmonies have often been lost.
BELSIZE YOUTH CHOIR

Belsize Youth Choir

The "Belsize Youth Choir" was founded in 1950 by Hanni & Paul Lichtenstern and has since been led by music director Sue Mariner. Since Sue Mariner's retirement, Alyson Denza has been the driving force behind the choir.

Impressions 2016

Greetings 2016

I am delighted that the Louis Lewandowski Festival has become an integral part of our city's cultural calendar.

Michael Müller
Greetings from the Governing Mayor of Berlin

I would like to extend a warm welcome to all musicians and guests to the 6th Louis Lewandowski Festival. Berlin is not exactly short of top-class music festivals.

Nils Busch-Petersen
Berlin Brandenburg Trade Association

Since 2011, well over a thousand choristers, soloists and cantors from four continents have performed at the Louis Lewandowski Festival, named after the German-Jewish composer Louis Lewandowski, whose work has had a significant influence on synagogal music to this day.

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