Hishki Hizki
חשקי חזקי
This poem, written in the style of some of the great Jewish piyutim from centuries earlier, was written in honour of the inauguration of the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue ("Esnoga") in Amsterdam by Chief Rabbi Isaac Aboab da Fonseca, in 1675. It was set to music by the congregation's Hazan (Cantor) Abraham Casseres (de Casseres, Caceres), an accomplished Baroque composer, in the early 18th century.
It was sung by the hazanim in the Esnoga every Shabbat Nachamu (the anniversary of its opening) up until WW2 or thereabouts. The custom was discontinued, probably due to its musical complexity.
Of Casseras' beautiful musical setting it has been said: "His music expresses tenderness rather than strong emotion. Even in his Hishki Hizki, which is modeled on the Protestant chorale, he chooses a gracious melodic line." (1)
Admittedly this piece is not a regular "table song", since it cannot be sung as a melody alone, needing either an instrumental accompaniment, or voices singing the other parts.
In the first recording I sing the melody and accompany myself on a digital harpsichord:
The second recording was made at a Hanukah concert at Bevis Marks Synagogue, London in 2012, during my two-year tenure there as Visiting Rabbi. I sing the melody part, and Eliot Alderman and Aaron Isaacs sing the other two voices in this a capella performance.
The magnificent "Esnoga" in Amsterdam, for whose inauguration "Hishki" was written.
