An Evening of New Melodies in Prayer

Looking for a way to add meaning to your prayer life? Interested in experiencing how other communities of Jews sing prayers in the siddur? Join Basmat Hazan Arnoff, Yair Harel and the members of Tefillalt, Israeli scholars and musicians from www.piyut.org.il, as they introduce new melodies to some familiar prayers. No musical background required, all are welcome! Sponsored by Kol Zimrah, Mechon Hadar and Shaare Zedek.

Date: Monday night, February 12, 2007
Time: 7pm – 9pm
Location: Shaare Zedek, 212 W. 93rd St., between Broadway and Amsterdam
Cost: $5

Click here to hear these melodies online!
Download the lyrics and notes

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Basmat Hazan Arnoff (Jerusalem) is a teacher of Jewish text, a theater director, and a writer. She has taught theater and Jewish texts at Makor, the Skirball Center for Adult Jewish Learning, the Brandeis-Bardin Institute, the JCC in Manhattan, and more. Her play L'Shem Ichud won Best Ensemble and Best Actress awards at the Akko Theater Festival (2006) and her novel Mayyim Hafoochim was published by Kibbutz HaMeuhad Press this past summer. Basmat is part of the leadership team of Invitation to Piyut. She is married to Stephen and they have two girls.

Yair Harel (Jerusalem) is an expert on traditional Jewish repertoires, specializing in classical and modern Middle Eastern and North African music. He studied zarb (Persian drum) with Roger Yshay and the Persian master Daghmeshid Chemirani in Paris as well as Persian classical music with Peretz Eliyhau, Andalusian music from Morocco with Rabbi Meir Attyah, and improvisation with Israel Prize recipient Andre Hajdu in Israel. He has participated in several multimedia productions based on encounters between traditional and contemporary music, including the Oman Chai ensemble that created the performance "Writing from Within" for the Israel Festival (2004). Yair is one of the founding members of the Singing Communities Project and is the manager and chief editor of Invitation to Piyut. He is married to Meirav and they have two boys.

The Tefillalt Ensemble:
Established in 1998, the members of the Tefillalt ensemble – Yair Harel, Nori Jacoby and Yonatan Niv - gathered during their study with Israeli composer/educator Prof. Andre Hajdu in Jerusalem. They are also original members of the Jerusalem ensemble of contemporary music Haoman Eighteen, an Israeli counterpart to the Radical Jewish Music projects of New York city. This group collectively produced in 2004 (on behalf of the Israel Festival) the now internationally acclaimed show Kulmus ha-nefesh (Writing from within) based on ancient Habad Nigunim.

What is Piyut?
A piyut (plural piyutim) is a liturgical poem. The term is derived from the Greek word meaning poetry. The term refers to all sacred poetry written in Hebrew. Piyutim were first written in Israel from as early as the first centuries. The piyut began as sacred poetry adorning the prayers of the individual and the community, as well as religious rituals. The piyut is sung by the cantor and the congregation as part of the prayers. Over the years the piyut, a living creative work that is constantly renewed, widened its scope and reached out beyond the range of prayers. The piyutim are usually sung in a communal framework.