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Spotlight Series: Alberto Mizrahi

This inaugural video in the Milken Archive's new Spotlight Series highlights the world-renowned cantor and tenor Alberto Mizrahi, an exponent of the Ashkenazi cantorial tradition. With video footage from live performances, recording sessions, and rehearsals, this short documentary offers a view to the many decisions that feed into a successful musical interpretation, as well as the significance of cantorial art now and in the future. Featured excerpts include Israel Schorr's Sheyyibane beit hammikdash, Joshua Lind's Ya'ale and  Raḥem no,and Jacob Rappaport's Atta noten yad. Watch the Mizrahi video. Explore the cantor’s art with new recordings in the Milken Archive’s new Volume 14: Golden Voices in the Golden Land.

Jewels of Elul: Benzion Miller's Un'tanne tokef

The Milken Archive continues its partnership with Craig N Co's Jewels of Elul by offering one free download for each week of Elul. Last week's musical gem offered an imaginative take on the most well-known piece from the High Holy Days, the Kol nidre. For our final offering we find ourselves on more traditional ground with Cantor Benzion Miller's rendition of Un'tanne tokef, performed in the style of the great Moshe Koussevitsky—originally an improvisation that Koussevitzky replicated in more or less the same way each year on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. In this piyyut, which introduces the kedusha portion of the mussaf service, worshippers are reminded that the Great Shofar of judgment will sound, instilling fear and trembling in the angels as they announce: "Behold, today is Judgment Day!" Miller's voice soars beautifully above the drone-like tones of the London Synagogue Singers in this somber, moving mainstay of the High Holy Day liturgy. Download the track.

CD Sampler: Free High Holy Days Music

For the second year in a row, Craig N Co is offering a companion piece to their Jewels of Elul with a sampling of music to be available for free download from Amazon for a select time leading up to the High Holy Days. The release contains 24 songs for the High Holy Days from such artists as The Afro- Semetic Experience, Soulfarm, Neshama Carlebach, Naomi Less and Yael Meyer. It will also include an excerpt from the 1968 recording of Charles Davidson's s'liḥot service, The Hush of Midnight—part of the Milken Archive's “Archival Recordings” series. Characterized by the composer as "a rock-cantorial prayer experience," this s'liḥot service combines traditional liturgical music with rock and folk rock musical idioms of the 1960s, and augments the traditional text with poetry by Ruth Brin. The sampler is available for download. Hear a sampling from the Davidson selection. (Image available from: http://calamel.jp/go/item/43836064)