TEMPLE HIGHLIGHTS | RABBI'S MONTHLY COLUMN

The Temple Emanu-El Choir: Our Ambassadors of Music

From the study of Cantor Cohn

Editor’s note: From time to time throughout the year, in addition to Rabbi David Stern’s columns, other members of our clergy will be contributing columns in this space.

This summer, thirty singers from the Temple Emanu-El Choir (and their guests), along with director Ralph Stannard, devoted a week’s time on tour to San Francisco, in association with the annual convention of the American Conference of Cantors (ACC) and the Guild of Temple Musicians (GTM). The ACC is the professional organization of the Reform cantorate, while its affiliate, the GTM, includes composers, choir directors, organists, soloists, and other musical artists.

The Choir’s expedition was conceived in dialogue between the cantors of Dallas’s Emanu-El (yours truly) and Congregation Emanu-El of San Francisco (Cantor Roslyn Barak, ACC chairperson of this year’s convention). With an historical significance and stature in Northern California not dissimilar to our own (San Francisco’s Emanu-El was established in 1850 and now numbers approximately 2,400 member units), Cantor Barak’s congregation was to host the premiere event of the conclave, a fully-orchestrated presentation of Ernest Bloch’s Avodath Hakodesh (Sacred Service), the acclaimed masterpiece originally commissioned by Congregation Emanu-El.

Wouldn’t it be exciting if our choir could anchor the large vocal ensemble for the concert that included Bloch’s magnum opus? Could we also offer the annual performance of new or as-yet-unpublished works for cantor and choir that is a featured segment of the convention? In so doing, could we present a musical tribute to Simon Sargon, Temple’s music director from 1974 to 2001, on the occasion of his seventieth birthday year?
“Yes, yes, and yes” were the answers, and with an additional invitation from Cantor Barak to participate in the Shabbat evening service of Congregation Emanu-El, and with partial support generously provided by Temple’s Music Committee, our excursion to San Francisco took shape.

The purposes and benefits of this kind of endeavor are many, both for our choir members and for the Reform movement to which Temple belongs.

From the choir’s perspective, this was a tremendous opportunity for learning and musical growth. The score of the Sacred Service is a brilliant interpretation of excerpts from the liturgy for Shabbat morning, in which Bloch offers an inspired and detailed exposition of our familiar texts, with passages ranging from the most intimate to the most glorious. Immersion in this music has increased the aesthetic range and spiritual understanding of our singers.

The eleven selections we prepared for the Composers’ Workshop (sung to a packed house!) provided us with new repertoire for services at home, exposed us to the musical styles of eight contemporary composers (seven of whom were there in person), gave us the opportunity of collaborating with noteworthy cantors from around the country, and renewed our acquaintance with four beautiful examples of Simon Sargon’s lustrous catalogue of Jewish music. It was especially meaningful to be in such close relationship with the composers, as we breathed life into their creations.

By participating in Shabbat services in San Francisco, we were able to experience another congregation’s worship milieu, while singing a repertoire that blended outstanding elements of our own “standards” and theirs.

From the perspective of the Reform movement, the Temple Emanu-El Choir of Dallas was able to contribute in significant measure to the enrichment of the major yearly forum of Reform synagogue music, while also demonstrating the viability of a vigorous choral music program in today’s synagogue. Temple was truly well represented by the outstanding artistry of our Choir, and the broadening of our singers’ experience will resonate in their future contributions to the spiritual life of Temple.

Like all such travel, the Choir tour also augmented community spirit and camaraderie in what is already one of Temple’s most active participatory programs. Singers with experience singing music in parts are enthusiastically invited to be in touch with Ralph Stannard at rstannard@tedallas.org or 214.706.0000, to inquire about possible membership in the Choir. Special thanks are due to Ralph and to our Music Assistant, Veronica Smoot, for the splendid preparation and administration of this summer’s tour.