The Nigun: Marc Chagall, Aaron Copland, and James Rolfe From Medieval Hasidic Judaism to the Present
- Performances
SOUNDSTREAMS TD ENCOUNTERS:
The Nigun: Marc Chagall, Aaron Copland, and James Rolfe
From Medieval Hasidic Judaism to the Present
Co-presented with Koffler Arts
Date: Tuesday, November 26th | 7:30pm
Location: Holy Blossom Temple, Mishkan Room (1950 Bathurst St, York, ON)
Featuring the Gryphon Trio (piano trio), Aviva Chernick (vocals), James Rolfe (composer)
Join Soundstreams in an exploration of the connections between art, music, and Jewish heritage through the vibrant cultural landscape of Vitebsk, Belarus—home to a celebrated art school founded there in 1918 by Marc Chagall and others including Wassily Kandinsky. While the school didn’t last, the legacy of Vitebsk lives on through music. Both Aaron Copland’s Vitebsk: A Study on a Jewish Theme, written 1928, and James Rolfe’s Metzarim, written 2024, were inspired by the form of the Hasidic nigun—originally a wordless melody and improvised prayer. Copland was inspired by one such melody he encountered listening to the incidental music which accompanied S. An-Sky’s play The Dybbuk, performed by the Yiddish Theatre in New York City in 1925. This Soundstreams TD Encounters will delve into the rich heritage of the nigun form and how it continues to inspire artists today.
Featuring the renowned Gryphon Trio, Annalee Patipatanakoon (violin), Roman Borys (cello), Jamie Parker (piano), performing Aaron Copland’s Vitebsk, alongside an excerpt from Canadian Jewish composer James Rolfe’s newest work Metzarim (Narrows), also featuring Aviva Chernick (vocals), the inaugural artist-in-residence at Beth Tzedec Synagogue. Following musical performances, composer James Rolfe will join our performers for a panel discussion and audience Q&A.
Soundstreams’ TD Encounters event series are free and hosted in venues across the city. Always offering something different, they are equal parts performance, artist discussion, and Q&A, and give audiences the opportunity to engage with artists and their work in an intimate and accessible setting. Seats are free but space is limited. We ask you to reserve your seat here.
his Soundstreams TD Encounters event is a companion event to Soundstreams’ mainstage concert Invocations. Find out more and reserve your ticket here.
