Mechon Hadar Guest

Joey Weisenberg's Spontaneous Jewish Choir

Joey's Nigunim now available for purchase and download

For this album, the first recording for Mechon Hadar’s Minyan project, we wanted to capture the sound of spontaneous Jewish singing, pure, simple, and unaccompanied, and to create a recording that would be enjoyable to listen to while also serving as an accessible learning tool for average people who want to sing. Here’s the result - an eclectic mix of singers, both professional and amateur, from varying backgrounds, pouring their hearts into song. Indeed, the focus here is on the sound of collective musical invention, not necessarily perfection. The melodies are set, but the musical arrangements are created in the moment, as a result of a careful process of the singers listening and responding to each other. You’ll hear us taking musical risks, which sometimes result in unscripted moments of serene harmony or mini train-wrecks, but either way, it’s compellingly, undeniably real. We hope that this album can provide an inspirational (and attainable) singing model for communities throughout the country, demonstrating the beauty that’s possible when people come together with their ears open, ready to GO FOR IT AND SING. Thank you for listening, and enjoy! --JW

Purchase your copy of Joey's Nigunim or download individual tracks

You can also download other nigun compositions by Joey here

Click here for the Jewish Daily Forward's interview with Joey

To upload a melody to the database you must first create a user account in our system. Go to the submission registration box in the column to the left.

Once you are logged in:

• Create a new category for your melody, give your category a name that will be easily searchable. You can add a description as well.
• Click on the category you created, and click on "Post New Thread"
• Give your thread the name of your melody. This can be the same name as the category.
• Give your melody a description, if necessary.
• Click "Attach Files" from bottom row of buttons.
• Attach your melody to the post.
• Click "Save."