A People’s Soundtrack

Description: “The cantorial art form [חזנות] is the Jewish chanting of the prayer modes,” this is how Sydney Dworkin, one of the five Montreal cantors profiled in this documentary, defines his vocation. “[The cantor’s] function is to gather the prayers of all the congregants and to present them to God.” Unfortunately, with declining membership of synagogues and resulting budget cuts, they are among the first to be let go. Two of the cantors are affiliated with Orthodox synagogues, two with Conservative ones. Rona Nadler, the lone woman, works at a Reform synagogue. Some congregations that still employ them expect them to take on unrelated roles, laments one. This comes at the expense of the time needed to master the art. One of the cantors relates how he was performing at a rock concert when he was recruited by a local rabbi. The film explores differences between the Sepharadic and Ashkenazi singing traditions. The individual approach is varied. Some of the cantors are keener to preserve the classical style, others feel that incorporating contemporary music forms will make their art more accessible. All recognise that some form of change and adaptation is required for their vocation to survive.

One of the challenges of cantors is that they face the ark when they perform, with their back to the congregants, thus making eye contact with them impossible. Thus they go out into the community to find audiences. Cantors perform at life cycle events (Brisses, Bar-Mitzvahs, weddings, etc.), community centres and old peoples’ homes. Sometimes they perform at unexpected places, like at a naturalisation ceremony, where one sings the Canadian national anthem. Daniel Benlolo, one of the profiled cantors, works with a disabled choir, performing with them throughout the world. Gideon Zelermyer relates how the late singer Leonard Cohen returned to his synagogue of his youth to work with him on his final Grammy award-winning album You Want It Darker.

Merits: This charming and accomplished PBS-produced documentary packs much into 52m, giving us insight into an unfamiliar world. Few of the people who attend synagogues these days will be privileged to hear liturgical music of the quality it features.

Rating: Suitable for all audiences.

Programming considerations: Consider accompanying the screening with a cantorial performance as was done at the film’s premiere at the MJFF.

Distant Journey

The Viewing Booth