Jewish Music from the Era of the Holocaust | Music Documentary

Lebensmelodien, or ‘Melodies of Life’, is a concert series of works written by Jewish composers between 1933 and 1945. The musical pieces are connected by stories of the most inhuman of lived realities; of deadly fear, of destruction – but also of survival. Sung by people who joined together and passed on to provide hope, the Lebensmelodien concert series aims to reintroduce the works – many of which were at risk of fading into obscurity – to the modern public. Not only that: The melodies serve as witness to the mass murder of the European Jews, keeping the memory alive.

Artistic director of the two-year project is Nur Ben Shalom, who researched around the globe in his search for the composers and pieces. He not only performs the music, he also tells the stories of its Jewish creators.

This documentation contains excerpts of one of the concerts – on January 27, 2021, in Berlin’s Synagogue Pestalozzistraße – performed by the Nimrod Ensemble, in which Nur Ben Shalom plays clarinet. The Lebensmelodien are sung by Isidoro Abramowicz, cantor of the synagogue.

The musicians are also accompanied in a rehearsal for a concert at Berlin’s Apostel-Paulus-Kirche. The Apostel Paulus church is a project partner. The Lebensmelodien concert opened the ‘1,700 years of Jewish life in Germany’ anniversary festivities.

Music selections:
(00:00) Hazzan Israel Eliyahu Marokko: Chad Gadya
(04:40) Mario Melli: Preludio
(12:20) Ida Pinkert: Four Songs

Performing musicians:
Isidoro Abramowicz (vocals)

Nimrod Ensemble:
Christophe Horak (violin)
Oscar Bohórquez (violin)
Francesca Zappa (viola)
Claudio Bohórquez (cello)
Nur Ben Shalom (clarinet)

Arrangements:
Michael Cohen Weissert

Filming:
Matthias Kindler

Project website: www.lebensmelodien.com

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