Kol Nidre

This recording presents eight views of Kol Nidre: a traditional arrangement by Samuel David and works by Max Bruch, Nicolas Bacri, John Zorn, Jean-François Zygel, Serge Kaufmann, Graciane Finzi and Itaï Daniel. Soon to be a benchmark album, this ninth CD in the collection Patrimoines Musicaux des Juifs de France features such artists of world renown as Martine Bailly, le quatuor Enesco, Simon Zaoui, and Jean-François Zygel, among others. Kol Nidre: these are the first words of the deeply moving prayer that opens the most solemn day of the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur. The traditional melody of that prayer has always been fascinating, presenting an uncommon specificity in Jewish liturgy: with only a few rare variants, it is identical in all Ashkenazi communities. Its author is unknown, its origin uncertain (even though legend has it that it was one of the ‘Mount Sinai melodies’, i.e. given by God himself to Moses on Mount Sinaï). Its beauty has inspired numerous composers, among them Max Bruch and Arnold Schoenberg. The Kol Nidre was also featured in the first spoken film, “The Jazz Singer” , in 1927.