Welcoming Shabbat with Avinu Shebashamaim by the Moscow Male Jewish a Cappella Choir

Avinu Shebashamaim, the Prayer for the State of Israel, is usually sung in the Shabbat morning service. It is also sung at special days, such as Yom HaAtzmaut, and other days when congregations unite to show support for the State of Israel and the people of Israel.

As we get ready for Shabbat, let's watch Alexander Tsaliuk conduct the Moscow Male a Cappella Choir singing Avinu Shebashamaim at a performance a few days ago to commemorate Yom Hazikaron and Yom HaAtzmaut.The concert was at the Memorial Synagogue on Poklonnaya Gora in Moscow with soloists Cantor Uriel Granat and Vladislav Ayrapetyan.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

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Hava Nagila Around the World: The Russian Guard Chorus Sings in Concert

The Russian Guard Choir, conducted by General Viktor Eliseev, included Hava Nagila in a recent concert performance. Since 1939, this Ensemble has been touring all around the world and opened the Olympic Games of Sochi and Moscow. they are also famous for new versions of pop hits such as Get Lucky or Pharell Williams's Happy.

This is the 112th version of Hava Nagila that we've posted since starting Jewish Humor Central in October 2009.  We're getting ready to celebrate our 4,000th post in less than two weeks. Watch for something special.

Enjoy!

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Welcoming Shabbat with Adon Olam by Russia's Red Army Choir in Tel Aviv

A few years ago we posted a version of Adon Olam that was sung by Russia's Red Army Choir during a concert at the Sultan's Pool in Jerusalem in 2014.

Three years later a more diverse Red Army Choir gave another rousing performance of Adon Olam in Tel Aviv with singers in military dress and a group of folk dancers in traditional costumes.

Here's a video of the 2017 performance that's the 71st version of Adon Olam that we've posted since starting Jewish Humor Central.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

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Hava Nagila Around the World: Michael Yanis on Russian Stage

Hava Nagila continues to spread around the world. In the 11 years that we've been bringing you Jewish Humor Central, we have posted 90 versions of this classic Hebrew/Jewish song.

But there's always room for one more.Last month viewers of Shanson TV in Russia were treated to yet another production of Hava Nagila at the State Kremlin Palace.

It was a performance by Michael Yanis playing his accordion while a stage filled with dancers danced in front of a colorful kaleidoscopic background.

Enjoy! 

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Welcoming Shabbat with Adon Olam by the Moscow Male Jewish Cappella

This Shabbat we're posting our 58th version of Adon Olam since starting Jewish Humor Central in 2009. 

It's a rendition by the Moscow Male Cappella choir, sung at their 30th anniversary concert at the Small Hall of the Moscow State P.I. Tchaikovsky Conservatoire last November.

The artistic leader and conductor is Alexander Tsaliuk. The cantor is Uriel Granat, the cantor of the Voronezh Synagogue and a soloist in the Voronezh State Theatre of Opera and Ballet.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

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Chanukah Around the World: Jewish Day School Students Perform in Rostov, Russia

 

1200 people in Rostov, Russia were treated to a performance of Slava Bogu Charasho (Glory to God) this week by students of the Rostov Jewish Day School at the annual Chanukah concert. 

The Jewish community of Rostov-on-Don in Russia is planning a series of landmark events that will commemorate the 100th yartzeit of the Rebbe Rashab, the 5th Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch. These events are set to be held around 2 Nissan 5780 (March 26-29, 2020), and bring together local Jews with Lubavitcher chassidim and students from around the world. 

Rostov is home to the Ohel resting place of the Rebbe Rashab, Rabbi Sholom DovBer Schneersohn (1860-1920) who has devoted himself to the future of the Jewish nation by involving himself in education on all levels.

Enjoy, and Happy Chanukah!

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Hava Nagila Around the World - Russian Singer Alla Reed Sings in Israel

Since we started Jewish Humor Central back in 2009, we've posted 72 versions of Hava Nagila -- arguably the most played Jewish song ever, as performed in so many countries around the world. Some of these renditions have been in Israel, of course, but somehow each one has a different character.

So today we're continuing this tradition with version number 73, just posted on YouTube by a talented Russian singer who also sings in Hebrew and Yiddish.

Alla Reed is a Russian singer, soloist of the Gradsky Hall theater, 1/4 finalist of the Voice-4 show (Channel One), finalist of the international competition New Wave (Jurmala), winner of the world-famous Montreux Jazz Festival ( Montreux, Switzerland), and a resident of the projects "Jazz in Motion" and "Jazz in the House of Cinema".

Alla also sings in Yiddish and Hebrew as part of the Jewish Jazz format, the combination of ethnic melodies and jazz sound gives the songs a special flavor. In 2007 the disc “Two lands” was released, in which this concept was reflected.

Enjoy!

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Hava Nagila Around the World - Turetsky Choir Sings in Russian Concert Hall

The Turetsky Men's Choir was established at the Moscow Choral Synagogue. The chorus made its debut in 1990 with Jewish liturgical and folk music in the philharmonic halls of Tallinn and Kaliningrad.

Their repertoire has grown since to include opera, spiritual, folk and pop music in ten different languages. It has been a vehicle throughout Russia for renewed interest in Jewish heritage, having resurrected music that had been near extinction since 1917 is and is now a staple throughout Russia's synagogues.

In his blog "Teruah Jewish Music" Jack Zaientz wrote, "I don't know if any of the choir members, including Turetsky, are Jewish or what being Jewish might mean to them ... And I'm not sure how much it matters. Seeing a bunch of seriously good male vocalists singing Jewish music to a huge crowd of Russians, in the face of the centuries of discrimination that Russian Jews have faced, does my heart proud."

Here is the Turetsky Men's Choir in a rousing rendition of Hava Nagila -- the 71st version that we've posted so far on Jewish Humor Central.

Enjoy! 

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Hava Nagila Around the World: Iosif Kobzon Sings in Moscow Concert

Last September, a concert  in Moscow's State Kremlin Palace was dedicated to the 80th anniversary of People's Artist of the USSR Iosif Kobzon. 

Kobzon appeared on the stage for almost 60 of his 80 years, not including his participation in student amateur performances. During these years he sang an incredible number of songs - more than three thousand!

And of course one of them was Hava Nagila, a song that has been performed all around the world in many countries. And since we started Jewish Humor Central in 2009, we have posted 70 of them.

To see them all, scroll down the Keywords list in the left column and click on Hava Nagila.

Iosif (Joseph) Davydovich Kobzon was born to Jewish parents in the mining town of Chasiv Yar, in the Donbass region of Ukraine.

In 1983, Kobzon was expelled from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and reprimanded for "political short sightedness," after he performed Jewish songs during an international friendship concert, which resulted in the Arab delegations leaving in protest. 

However, the following year, (1984) his reputation was restored, as he was honored with the USSR State Prize.

He claimed that his promotion of Jewish culture in the USSR contributed to the establishment of diplomatic ties between USSR and Israel.

Enjoy!

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Comedy Showcase: Yakov Smirnoff at Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal

Yakov Smirnoff was born in Odessa, Ukraine in 1951 and brought his comedy to America when he immigrated with his family in 1977. 

Prior to his latest two-year tour, Yakov had spent 20 seasons entertaining audiences in his own 2,000 seat theater in Branson, Missouri, making them come alive with laughter. 

His comparisons with life in Russia and life in America, along with his philosophy and insights about how “Love and Laughter” go hand in hand are funny, interesting, and entertaining.
Smirnoff spent a portion of his early days in the United States working as a busboy and bartender at Grossingers Hotel in the Catskill Mountains of New York and living in the employee dormitory. He only learned that he was Jewish when he was 15 years old.

Here is a video clip from a Smirnoff performance at the Just For Laughs festival in Montreal in 1993, where he focuses on marriage and fatherhood.

Enjoy!

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Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places: New Year Greetings from Children in the Former Soviet Union

Did you know? The Jewish Agency's activities in the former Soviet Union make a difference in the lives of tens of thousands of students and young Jews through schools, Hebrew classes, summer camps, Israel travel programs and more. 

A few participants in these programs wanted to wish you a happy, healthy sweet new year!

These children are from Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Belarus, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan.

From the children and from the staff of The Jewish Agency for Israel, Shana Tova!

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Hava Nagila Around the World - A Performance by Russian Singer/Actress Larisa Lusta

Since we started Jewish Humor Central in 2009 we have shared more than 60 versions of Hava Nagila from around the world.We haven't run out of versions yet, and when we find an unusual performance we like to share it with you.

Arguably the most overplayed of Jewish songs, Hava Nagila still has the ability to mesmerize an audience, especially when performed in a striking rendition like this one by Larisa Lusta, an actress and singer from St.Petersburg, Russia. She received an award for the best classical vocal (2008), and was the winner of the all-Russian contest 'Romansiada' in Moscow (1999).

Larisa is known as the diva of Russian crossover. She works with very various genres - beginning from classic to modern rock, from Russian romance to French chanson.

Enjoy!

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Welcoming Shabbat with Adon Olam by the Moscow Male Jewish Cappella

The Male Choir of Cantorial Art Academy was established in 1989 with personal support from Mikhail Gorbachev, then president of the USSR, and assistance from the Russian Jewish Community and JOINT, an American Jewish charity. 

In 1998 the choir was renamed the Hassidic Cappella and based at the Moscow Maryina Roshcha Jewish Community. 

Since 2012 until 2014 The Moscow Male Jewish Cappella worked under the support of The Russian Jewish Congress and The State Classical Maimonides Academy. The choir's singers are all professional musicians - students and teachers at Moscow Tchaikovsky State Conservatory and other leading musical institutes in the capital who have performed in the city's most acclaimed choral groups. 

They are united by their commitment to introducing listeners to the beauty of Jewish liturgical and cantorial music -- music that has been forgotten and remains unknown to even the most educated lovers of music. The choir's extensive repertory includes Jewish liturgical music, songs in Yiddish and Hebrew, Russian folk songs, and classics of world music. The choir is one of the few recognized professional Jewish academic musical groups in the world and the only one in Russia. 

Let's join the Moscow Male Jewish Capella in welcoming Shabbat with their rendition of Adon Olam.

Shabbat shalom.

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Shalom Aleichem - A Shabbat Welcome from Russian Band Gruppa Melafefonim

The Group "Melafefonim" is a musical project in Russia in which the musical tradition is organically connected with the classical performing schools.

Founders and members of the band, composed of excellent instrumentalists, well known in the musical scene of Moscow and beyond, consider themselves followers and successors of the outstanding clarinetist Giora Feidman, one of the first who was able to give traditional Jewish musical themes a "Philharmonic" sound.

As we welcome another Shabbat, we like to help usher it in with renditions of traditional songs from the Friday night liturgy. Here is the Gruppa Melafefonim performing Shalom Aleichem.

Enjoy and Shabbat Shalom!

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Hava Nagila Around the World - A Russian Ice Skating Performance

We've been following Hava Nagila, probably the most played Hebrew song, around the world and sharing videos featuring its many interpretations as it travels from city to city and country to country.

So far we've collected and shared more than 50 of these YouTube video clips, and you can see all of them via links from our latest book, Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places, in both Kindle ebook and paperback versions.

Today we encountered another one that was just too good to keep to ourselves. It's a video of a beautiful interpretation by two Russian ice skaters in Moscow in 2010.

Enjoy!

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Sunday Orchestra Performs Mashup of Jewish Popular Melodies

The Sunday Orchestra is an ensemble of professional musicians from different countries, performing hit songs from five continents.

The group consists of string instruments and vocalists. It  has participated in the opening ceremonies of various prestigious festivals and exhibitions, as well as corporate events held by the largest Russian and foreign companies, from Vladivostok to Tel Aviv and from Berlin to Bangkok.

In this video clip, the Sunday Orchestra performs a medley of Hebrew and Jewish music, including Hava Nagila, Bei Mir Bist Du Schein, Siman Tov u'Mazal Tov, David Melech Yisrael, and Hevenu Shalom Aleichem.

Enjoy!

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Hava Nagila Around the World - Russian Red Army Chorus

Hava Nagila continues to spread around the world. In the almost five years that we've been blogging, we have posted 43 versions of this classic Hebrew/Jewish song. 

It has shown up in many countries, including some unexpected ones (Scroll down the left column on this page and click on "Hava Nagila" in the Keywords list and you'll see what we mean.)

Russia shows up a few times in the list of Hava Nagila countries, but within Russia there are many different renditions. Here's a version sung by the Russian Red Army Chorus. Known as the Alexandrov Ensemble, it's an official army choir of the Russian armed forces. Founded during the Soviet era, the ensemble consists of a male choir, an orchestra, and a dance ensemble.

Enjoy!

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