Coro Ha-Kol, Rome

The Coro Ha-Kol (“The Voice”) was founded in December 1993 on the initiative of singers at the Great Synagogue of Rome, alongside other lovers of Jewish music. They recognised the need to rediscover and publicise the beauty of Jewish music to audiences both within and beyond the synagogue.

At the same time they wished to preserve and conserve the musical and liturgical heritage of the Community of Rome, one of the oldest in Europe, which has had an uninterrupted presence in the city of Rome for more than two thousand years. Over the years, the choir’s repertoire has been gradually enriched by the works of composers who lived between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries, as well as by music of the Sephardi (Spanish-Portuguese) and Ashkenazi (East European) traditions.

Recently, the choir has also performed contemporary music, and this has included not only liturgical music but also music inspired by Jewish life. The choir is formed of amateur singers (Soprano,Contralto, Tenor and Bass) and is directed by Maestro Andrea Orlando.

Important performances:

• 1999: A concert held in October in the Aula Nervi of the Vatican under the auspices of the Interfaith Assembly, and entitled ‘The collaboration of many religions at the cusp of the third millennium’, and a subsequent ceremony held in St Peter’s Square in the presence of Pope John-Paul II and broadcast worldwide by RAI 2.
• 2002/2003: Concerts held in December 2002 at the Music Conservatory of Tel Aviv and the YMCA Concert Hall of Jerusalem under the auspices of the International Festival of Liturgical Music 2003.
• 2004: Participation at the ‘Two Worlds Festival’ of Spoleto on the 13th July in a concert entitled ‘Mystical Time’.
• 2007: Participation at the International Holy Music Festival for prayer Castel di Lama, Ascoli Piceno.
• 2008: A concert at the Great Synagogue of Rome with Emil Zrihan, cantor of the Ashkelon Synagogue of Tel Aviv; Participation at Tehillim, ‘Homage to Steve Reich’, Auditorium Parco della Musica; A Latin concert as part of the festival entitled ‘Peace, Shalom, Salam – three religions together’ (April).
• 2011: A concert at the Tempio Valdese (Rome) entitled ‘One voice – Jews and Blacks remember the Holocaust’, together with the gospel choir The Session Voices on the occasion of the Day of Remembrance (27th January); A concert at the Auditorium Parco della Musica (Sala Petrassi) organised by Keren Kayemet le Israel (the Jewish National Fund) for the reforestation of Mount Carmel in Israel following a devastating fire (May).
• In addition, between September 2002 and January 2006, the Coro Ha-Kol appeared several times on the RAI programme “Uno mattina”, commemorating important events such as the first anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center, the sixtieth anniversary of the deporation of the Jews from the Ghetto of Rome, the Jewish Passover, the celebrations of the centenary of the construction of the Synagogue of Rome and the European Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust.