NEWS
Kol Kinor Choir End of Term Report 2024/2025
We performed 3 times this year - the October 7th 2024 concert (see below) and more recently our pre- Purim concert on 12th March 2025 and with the Kol Rina choir of Jerusalem on 26th May 2025.
The Birmingham Jewish Recorder (https://recorder.org) and their contributors have kindly allowed me to reproduce their reports on the 2 concerts. I've also included links to our pieces and the joint pieces on my You Tube channel; many thanks to Alex for his videography. Of course we also need to thank Jake for his guidance and patience with us as well as well as Brian S for the accompaniment.
Jerusalem comes to Birmingham for Yom Yerushalayim
by Ruth Jacobs
The Representative Council together with West Midlands Friends of Israel were delighted to present a concert featuring Birmingham’s Kol Kinor Choir and Jerusalem’s Kol Rina Choir to mark the 58th Anniversary of the Reunification of Jerusalem- Yom Yerushalayim, on May 26th 2025 at the Joseph Cohen Hall.
Kol Rina Choir is an Israeli (mainly Anglos) mixed voice choir established in 2019 and dedicated to the promotion of synagogue music in the English Choral tradition of the late Victorian period through to the mid 20th century. The choir regularly performs this music at concerts and synagogues throughout Israel and sang at the Annual Convention of the European Cantors Association in 2022. It was not able to perform there in 2023 and 2024 because of the Gaza war. The Choir come to Birmingham as part of a UK tour during which performances were given in London and Liverpool.
Kol Kinor is a mixed voice choir formed in September 1990. Its repertoire covers the rich and diverse range of Jewish Music from liturgical and folk traditions sung in Yiddish, Hebrew, English and Ladino. Kol Kinor has performed across the UK in churches, cathedrals, synagogues and music festivals and has toured the USA.
The event, attended by 80 people, opened with a welcome from Ruth Jacobs followed by a prayer for the IDF and the State of Israel recited by one of Jerusalem choristers and a prayer for the Hostages. The programme in two halves comprised each choir singing separately and concluding with four songs sung together. Kol Rina opened the concert with music for different prayers: Lewandowski’s Ladoshem Haaretz (Psalm 24), Alman’s Rosh Chodesh prayer Yechadeshehu with alto and tenor soloists, Japhet’s Shir Hama’alot Psalm 128 and Hast’s Aromimcha Psalm 30 with a soprano soloist from Liverpool who traveled to Birmingham specially to sing with the choir. Kol Kinor then sang a Chassidic Nigun, Uri Tzafon — which had a beautiful meandering theme, Di Rossi’s Lecha Dodi and Na’ara by Aldema. The first half of the programme ended with Kol Rina performing an unaccompanied Lecha Dodi by Mombach, Lulei — Psalm 124 by Alman who set this psalm to music to mark the Six Day War and Yigdal by Saqui which included a tenor solo beautifully sung by Itamar who, in his day job, performs with the Israel Opera Company.
After a short interval, Kol Kinor took the stage and sang three well known and beautifully sung favourites- Oseh Shalom, Artza Alinu and Roshinkes Mit Mandlen — the choir’s confident and controlled performance of all three songs was memorable. Kol Rina then performed the Lord is My Shepherd, the well known Crimond version which started in English and then taking us by surprise, moved into Hebrew, Psalm 93 Hashem Malach by Mendelsohn / Salaman, Adon Olam and Halleluyah Psalm 150.
Perhaps for both Choirs the singing together provided them with the opportunity to show their skills — they had only had a very brief rehearsal as a combined choir because the coach coming from Liverpool arrived very late. Each choir had chosen two songs from its own repertoire so that they could sing them together — Tov Lehodot Psalm 92 by Lewandowski, Ashore Psalm 145 by Cohen, Hine MaTov by Naplan and fittingly, Yerushalayim Shel Zahav by Naomi Shemer also composed after the Six Day War. Rhythm, melody, musicality and enthusiasm prevailed and the choirs obvious pleasure in singing together was matched by the enjoyment they created for the audience. One or two of the Israeli choristers spoke about how life had been for them since October 7th until now, with children and grandchildren serving in the IDF, supporting friends and families who were waiting for hostages to be returned or had been killed and bring to live life under the threat of missiles and fear. Their words gave us a little insight into their lives which was acknowledged in the vote of grateful and appreciative thanks to both choirs. Concluding with Hatikvah which was sung by everyone present, the celebration of Yom Yerushalayim through music provided a welcome respite to the difficult times in which we are all living.
Thanks to Kol Kinor for making the arrangements with Kol Rina, the ladies who provided the refreshments and as always CST for the security provision.
Pre-Purim Concert
by Val Brown
On Sunday afternoon 12th March we were entertained by the Kol Kinor Choir. They put on a lovely pre-Purim concert and have such wonderful voices it was a delight to hear them. After the concert Gill and Laurie Taylor together with their lovely Grandson Alex made an afternoon tea with amongst other things were homemade old-fashioned yeast hamantashen.
First concert
Our latest concert was on October 7th 2024 performed at the end of an emotional evening to a very large and appreciative audience.
Please see the link below for the YouTube videos.
Ani Ma amin https://youtu.be/k1XqZyYI6tk
Artza Alinu https://youtu.be/pHgLQDRjNSo
Eli Eli https://youtu.be/hdklrwxm7c8
La Yissa Goy https://youtu.be/yLLMElZpFRM
Ya’aseh Shalom https://youtu.be/ybFx9NnvJmo
Hineh Ma tov – see the link below for a HD version.
Kol Kinor end of term report 2023 2024
We started the year looking forward to taking part in a multi faith concert but after events on October 7th we found ourselves changing tack and performing two closed performances at Silverstone Court pre- Chanukah and the Unitarian Chapel in Hollywood for our Summer concert.
The first concert on the 3rd of December 2024 at Silverstone Court gave us the chance to sing through our extensive Chanukah repertoire including the rousing Hava Narima and my personal favourite Mi Zeh Hidlik. We performed to a full room of residents and friends and were very well received. Of course, the afternoon would not have been complete without partaking in latkes, donuts and drinks.
Our final concert of the year was on the 7th of July at the Unitarian Chapel at Kingswood Meeting House, Packhorse Lane, Hollywood. The choir have performed there before in 2009 and 2017. There is a personal connection between our choir manager, Gill Taylor and secretary, Laurence Taylor, and the Chapel as their previous residence in Moseley had been the home of the Lloyd family during the Second World War and was destroyed in an air raid in December 1940. A year earlier the Lloyd family had taken in a little Kindertransport girl called Suzanne Marburg who was killed during the raid together with the Lloyds. They are all buried in the churchyard at Packhorse Lane. For more information see the final video below.
The full concert was again very well received, and we performed some old favourites and some newer pieces. Rather than listing the extensive repertoire perhaps it would be better to look at the You Tube links below to give you a flavour of the concert
Song of Joy https://youtu.be/IQpXroVYP6M
Hineh Ma Tov https://youtu.be/X9VnfJ7oJHQ
Baruch Ate https://youtu.be/I8YTHWcnIao
Sachki Sachki https://youtu.be/o6CBLtrVw70
Tavo Lefanecha https://youtu.be/NiI24g7lLjU
Hallelu Halleli Nafshi https://youtu.be/3OTvzEea7Tg
Lecha Dodi https://youtu.be/NiI24g7lLjU
More info on Suzanne Marburg and thanks by Gill https://youtu.be/HZZgnsqatTU
Thanks to Alex Taylor for shooting the videos for this concert. Thanks as ever to Jake Fifer, our musical Director, for patiently leading us over the year and to our accompanist Brian Stearn for all his help.
If you would like to join us or follow the choir, please contact us via our website on https://kolkinorchoir.co.uk.
Daniel Rowe
LATEST CONCERT REVIEW
The Dream Passes By The Window – A Concert For Ukraine
Nearly 200 people packed into the Birmingham Progressive Synagogue on Sunday November 27th to hear three talented musical ensembles. The Kol Kinor Choir began the concert. Laurie Taylor, one of their longest serving members introduced them and their conductor and Director of Music - Jake Fifer. Accompanied by Brian Stearn on the keyboards, they sang beautifully with a full range of voices from soprano to bass. They included some lovely arrangements of traditional prayers sung in Hebrew with great precision and emotional sensitivity. Having worked together for many years, they looked and sounded like a confident professional choir.
They were followed by the Knowle Male Voice Choir who were introduced by Denis Barnfield in a cheerful manner as "a bunch of reprobates". Again, expertly conducted by Jake Fifer, who must take a lot of credit for producing two choirs of this standard, they were able to produce that full bodied rich swell of sound that we associate with similar choirs from Wales. Some favourites from Les Miserables were sung with gusto and greeted with pleasure. Perhaps more surprising and impressive was their ability to bring tears to the eyes with a quiet harmonious rendition of Ose Shalom.
The third group, The Kataklezmics, provided contrast to the evening in jaunty hats, and carrying their instruments on stage, they looked like the sort of travelling band that would have played at weddings and festivals in Eastern Europe. Klezmer music, Joyce Rothschild told us, has its roots there. Their standard of playing was excellent and the instruments - accordion, flute, cello, clarinet, violins and viola complemented each other. The repertoire chosen was mostly upbeat and even humorous pieces that invited dance, though for health and safety reasons (and age!) we restricted ourselves to clapping and cheering. Instrumental solos were virtuoso and there was some fine singing in one number.
The evening was punctuated by video footage of on the ground work being conducted in Ukraine. Nick Wormald who instigated this work, gave a short speech explaining what had already been achieved and what our concert proceeds would be used for in funding future projects. He was warmly applauded for the courage and energy he has put into initialising and sustaining this work.
The concert raised over £2,700 which will be shared between this charity and World Jewish Relief Ukraine Appeal.
At the end of the evening, Jake promised us a surprise number. Olga Popova from Ukraine took the stage, and accompanied by the two choirs, sang the solo part of the Ukrainian lullaby (Oy Khodit Son – The Dream Passes By The Window) in a delicate and clear soprano voice. The effect in the beautiful synagogue setting was ethereal and spell-binding. It was a reminder of the bravery of those still in Ukraine, the talents of the refugees and the generosity of those offering help to them. Thanks to Jake Fifer, Elly Stanton and Joyce Rothschild for organising this concert and all those who helped, as well as to the excellent musicians who performed so well for us all.
Mark Pearson
Kol Kinor Joint Concert November 27th at BPS
Just to compliment Mark’s excellent report of the concert here’s some more details of the pieces we performed at the concert. This was under the direction of our Musical Director and Conductor, Jake Fifer, together with our piano accompanist Brian Stearn. The repertoire consisted of songs which reflect hope, peace, and dreams.
First section:
1.Lo Yissa Goy- a folk song in Hebrew.
The words are “Lo yissa goy el goy cherev, lo yilmdu od milchama” – which are taken from the second chapter of the prophet Isiah and are well-known in translation as “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore”.
2.Oseh Shalom, sung in Hebrew.
The text and tune are traditional and well known – “Oseh shalom bimromav, hu yaaseh shalom aleinu v’al kol Yisrael, v’imru amen” - “may he who establishes peace in the heavens, may he grant peace to us and to all Israel, and let us say Amen”.
3.Even when God is Silent, is sung in English.
The words were found scratched on a basement wall in Cologne, Germany. They were written by someone hiding from the Gestapo during the Nazi Holocaust. The song is a powerful and moving testament to faith. “I believe in the sun, even when it is not shining. I believe in love, even when feeling it not. I believe in G-d, even when G-d is silent”.
4.Al Kol Ele – for all these things, sung in Hebrew.
It is a modern Israeli folk song by Naomi Shemer, one of the most famous of contemporary Israeli composers and lyricists. “Every bee that brings the honey, needs a sting to be complete. And we all must learn to taste the bitter with the sweet. For all these things, Lord, let your mercy be complete. Let our dearest wish be granted, bring us peace, oh bring us peace”.
Second session:
1.Sachki, Sachki - sung in Hebrew,
Written by the famous Russian born Israeli poet Saul Tchernikovsky (1875 and 1943). “Laugh, laugh at all my dreams, What I dream shall yet come true, laugh at my belief in man, at my belief in you. Rejoice, rejoice now in the dreams, I the dreamer am he who speaks, Rejoice for I’ll have faith in mankind, for in mankind I believe”.
- Roshinkes mit Mandeln- raisins and almonds, sung in Yiddish.
It was composed by Abraham Goldfaden (1840 and 1906) and arranged for choir by John Clements. The mother rocks her son to sleep telling him “When you become rich my child, a merchant trading in raisins and almonds, remind yourself of this lullaby. Now sleep my little one, sleep". The soloists were Sara Phillips and Laurie Taylor.
Joint Songs
1.Hineh Ma Tov – sung in Hebrew
The music is written by the contemporary American composer Allan Naplan and the words are “Hinneh mah tov umah na'im, Shevet achim gam yachad” meaning “Behold how good and how pleasing, for brothers (people) to sit together in unity”
- Let There Be Peace on Earth - sung in English
Written by Jackson/Miller and arranged for choir by Jack Haigh which includes the sentiment “Let me walk with my brother in perfect harmony”.
- Oy Khodt Son Kolo Vikon – sung in Ukrainian
This version was arranged for choir by Sarah Martinez of a Ukrainian folk song and lullaby first published in 1837. “The dream passes by the window, And sleep by the fence. The Dream asks Sleep, where should we rest tonight?”
Daniel Rowe with thanks to Laurie Taylor for the use of his concert notes
