On the Doorstep of Purim: The Ha-Kol Choir in Concert

It’s beautiful to rediscover in the singing and harmonious union of voices the nuances of spirituality, interiority, and shared humanity so characteristic of the Jewish world. I’m sure that thoughts of this kind were floating in the minds of the large audience, from Turin and beyond, who packed the hall of the Social Center on Sunday, March 1st, to attend the concert of the prestigious Ha-Kol Choir of Rome. Founded over thirty years ago by an initiative of several singers from the Great Synagogue, it has been acclaimed not only in Italy but in many European countries and in Israel as one of the most versatile ensembles in the Jewish musical repertoire.
Conducted by the young yet very mature Maestro Alberto de Sanctis and supported by the pianistic expertise of the equally young Maestro Francesco Capogreco, the choir offered an increasingly engaged audience a three-part program: a first section marked by solemn and festive accents (the Haleluyah/Psalm 150 by the Florentine Michele Bolaffi, the Mizmor le-David/Psalm 29 by the Vercelli native Ezechiello Levi, the piyut “Sha’ar asher nisgar” by the great Benedetto Marcello, interested in Jewish tradition); a second section with more intimate and nostalgic tones (where, alongside biblical-inspired pieces, “Ki hinne hastav ‘avar,” a poignant hymn to the incipient spring by the Israeli singer-songwriter Dafna Eilat, stood out); a third section focused on the Sephardic repertoire in Ladino, presented in an uncommon choral guise compared to its predominantly solo character. In particular, the collective version of the famous “Cuando el rey Nimrod” stood out for its bold polyphonic and imitative approach, lending the piece a greater communicative energy that compensated for a partial loss of introspection. Confirming the multifaceted openness and capacity of the Ha-Kol Choir, the closing piece took us to the heart of the Ashkenazi tradition, with a significant detail: the arranger of the Hasidic chant “Volt ich gahat koyekh” (If I had the strength) replaced the word shabes (Saturday) with sholem (shalom), almost as if to suggest a fundamental assonance between the concepts of “Shabbat” and “peace.”
The great versatility, the brilliance of the voices, the perfect understanding between the parts, the great flexibility and the variety of accents of this truly extraordinary ensemble won over an enthusiastic and applauding audience.