The source of each recording is indicated by the code next to the link:
The source of each recording is indicated by the code next to the link:
[ALC} Revd. Abraham Lopes Cardozo, hazzan of Shearith Israel, New York, from 1945-1995.
[CF] Cohen Family. Recordings made by my children and me at a weekday jam session.
[DH] Hazan Daniel Halfon, my good friend and a leading authority of the cantorial style of the Western Sephardim.
[DJ] Prof. Daniel Jackson, childhood friend and fellow afficionado.
[EA] Revd. Eliezer Abinun, hazzan of Lauderdale Road Synagogue from 1939-1982.
[HB] Revd. Halfon Benarroch has been hazzan of Bevis Marks for at least 30 years. These recordings were made for the community, and are reproduced here with permission.
[JC] Me. My recordings have no pretensions to perfection. I make them at home using my computer's built in mic., and as a matter of principle I don't go back and re-record unless there's an error. It just seems to me more useful to get as much as possible of it online in the limited time I have available.
[LR] Recordings taken live of the choir and congregation at Lauderdale Road Synagogue.
[SC] "A Sephardi Celebration" CD recorded by the S&P Choir around 2001. The recordings posted here are clips of the original tracks, compressed to MP3 format. The originals are longer and of better quality. Important note: These recordings are not in the public domain. I received permission to post them here, but no use may be made of them without permission from the copyright owners.
[SO] In the early noughties the site Sephardim.org provided a wealth of useful information about the S&P, but sadly none at all about the creator of the site. Several pages were dedicated to S&P liturgical music, and I have included some of the recordings here on the assumption that they are in the public domain. The site is now defunct and we have no way of contacting the creator or knowing who he might be.
[SP250] Recordings from the service commemorating the 250th Anniversary of Bevis Marks Synagogue in 1951. (Thanks to Daniel Halfon.)
[WS1-3] Affectionately refered to as "Whitesleeves", because of their plain packaging, three LPs of the S&P choir and hazzanim singing highlights from the repertoire were recorded in the 1950s. I had these converted to MP3 format.
I gratefully acknowledge the following people's share in this project:
Revd. Eliezer Abinun, Senior Hazan at Lauderdale Road in the sixties and seventies, whose elegant renditions of this musical tradition so deeply impressed me in my youth.
Rabbi Dr Abraham Levy OBE, Emeritus Spiritual Head of the S&P Community, who trained me for my Barmitzvah, whose clear renditions of the prayers I still remember fondly, and who in 2008 (along with his wife Estelle) initiated the suggestion that I go to Manchester to help lead the high-holyday services, which indirectly resulted in the creation of this site, and my appointment as Visiting Rabbi of Bevis Marks.
Maurice Martin, choirmaster at Lauderdale Road for over 50 years, who has done so much to preserve the synagogue's musical tradition. Through his masterful musical guidance, together with occasional flicks on the back of my ear, I gained so much as a chorister in the synagogue choir as a youth. More recently I have also gained immensely from his "Masterclasses" for the community's rabbis.
Rev. Halfon Benarroch, hazan of Bevis Marks, whose tape recordings of the entire yearly cycle have been invaluable in reviewing the London S&P musical tradition
Hazan Daniel Halfon, a leading exponent of the S&P minhag, a fine baritone and a good friend, with whom I regularly learn and compare notes (of both kinds) on this subject
This site started thanks to an amazing project of Piyut.org called Shitufiut which enables hazanim to upload and make their recordings available online (some of mine can be found here)
Rabbi Shlomo Ellituv, rabbi of Shaarey Hayim Manchester (and now also my dear consuegro), for inviting me to his synagogue to lead some of the high-holyday services
Rabbi Amir Ellituv, assistant rabbi of Shaarey Hayim, for the idea of making recordings and putting them online
Prof. Daniel Jackson, fellow childhood chorister at Lauderdale Road synagogue, and today an expert S&P hazan, for providing the web hosting (and impetus!) for this expanded site
Note: As I cannot know or control where or how these recordings may be used once they are online, I have reluctantly substituted "Amonai" and Elokeem" for the names of God. I realise this may disturb some listeners, and apologise for the inconvenience. In more conventional teaching situations I would certainly use the actual names of God (as they are used in prayer), since saying God's name when teaching or learning this material does not constitute "taking God's name in vain". I have avoided using the now popular "Hashem" because - apart from its being every bit as meaningless in the context as "Amonai" is - I feel it also wrecks the poetry and meter of many passages.