Acclaimed Chabad music producer Zalman Goldstein of Monsey NY, shared the following with COLlive.com:
In an exciting find, a reel from my father, Rabbi Yosef Goldstein (“Uncle Yossi”) OBM’s collection was found to contain several fascinating performances of Chabad Niggunim from what seems like the late 1960’s or the early 1970s.
I remember hearing years ago from my father that in the 70’s (not sure of the exact date) a group of students from the Hadar Torah Yeshivah who were also accomplished Julliard graduates and classical musicians, set out to make a symphony of Chabad Niggunim, in Radio City no less, to introduce the ‘wider world’ to the sublime artistic and spiritual qualities of Chabad Niggunim.
I recall hearing later that the Rebbe encouraged the program and even sent a delegation of Bochrim to attend in a show of support(?). Also that there possibly is a letter from the Rebbe about this event somewhere(?).
It seems that my father attended and recorded this event with his trusty reel-to-reel audio recorder (probably the same one he used to record many Farbrengens, thanks to which we have many hundreds of Sichos and Maamorim recorded). I remember then hearing this music playing in our home while growing up and it always excited me.
The majesty and explosive power of the philharmonic orchestra was like nothing I’ve ever heard before. The intricate harmonies and treatments of the Niggunim made a huge impression on me. With time the reel was lost, and with it the music. All that was left was the warm memories which slowly faded with time.
Probably due to my early exposure to the symphonic treatment of Chabad Niggunim I’ve always hankered to hear a full symphony of Chabad Niggunim again and was disappointed that one never materialized. That is, until the year 2002.
It was then that I decided to just do it myself, which gave us the “Chabad Centennial Symphony” under the capable baton of conductor Yisroel Lamm, and vocalist Avraham Fried. Nearly 2,000 people showed up that cold evening in March in the Hammerstein ballroom in Manhattan.
Of course I made sure to capture the event with Emmy-award winning video and audio directors, the same crew who broadcasts the “Live from Lincoln Center” TV programs (the CD and DVD of the event is still available at www.ChabadSymphony.com).
Today I pulled out a reel-to-reel recorder/player (yup, I still have a working one) and transferred the recording to MP3’s (attached below). I did not attempt to do any audio restoration other than divide up the recordings by song, so it can be enjoyed as it was found.
Watching my children listening to the same music I heard so many years ago was particularly enjoyable.
Tracks 1-4 below are from the 613 Symphony.
Tracks 5-8 are of unknown origin. One of my brother’s says that from what he remembers it may have been a group in France that performed some Niggunim symphonically.
Tracks 10-11 I think are from Gershon Wachtel playing on our highly-untuned piano at our home on Empire Blvd in the early 1970’s (he was a regular at our home while he studied at Hadar Torah. His intricate renditions of Niggunim always drew us around him at the piano.)
I would be very grateful if anyone has more information about the 613 Symphony, or the rest of the recordings, and the involvement (if any) of the Rebbe, to please share them with us in the comment section below.
Audio- click to play or right click and save to download:
01. Bnei Heicholo
02. Tzomo L’Cho Nafshi
03. Mitteler Rebbe’s Kapeliah
04. Niggun Hagodol Strashela
05. Mitteler Rebbe’s Kapeliah (ver. 2)
06. Alter Rebbe’s Niggun
07. Niggun
08. Niggun 2
09. Hop Cussak
10. Bnei Heicholo Concerto – Piano
11. L’Chatchila Ariber – Piano
Rabbi Zalman
Wenn is the next “Chabad Centennial Symphony” comimng?
And please be carefull to avoid background-noise at the recording.
To the best of my memory what Rabbi Goldstein describes took place in Queens College which has a large and impressive auditorium. The concert took place very close to Pesach, but I’m not sure of the year.Some Hadar Hatorah alumni would surely know…
I remember going to a practice session in Carnegie Hall with Bentzion Shafran a”h.Musicians were from Met Opera Someone from HH wrote beautiful notes. It was in the 70’s.Maybe Kastel of Tzach remembers his name.
E.Geisinsky
To # 2 & 10
Thank you very much…
Included in all other comments, much appreciated
Its interesting that since this was made, tens of recording were, and still are,being made, of niggunim by different artists. Most, if not all, fall short of letting the niggunim speak for themselves. You HEAR the niggun-slow, rich, deep sound.without ’embellishment’, at least in the#5-#8.
Thank you very much for sharing.
Incredibly precious! Can we download these tracks?
Wow! That’s so beautiful!
Thank you
Can you tell us more? Where was it, how many people were there? Etc. also, what was the conductors name?
Is it true that the Rebbe encouraged it and sent Bochrim to go?
Ty.
The conductor was the composer of the symphony a student of Hadar Hatorah as well and he wore a Kapoteh on the podium instead of a penguin suit Hadar Hatoroh blew shofar and made a farbrengen on stage with their mashpia
hello from your Rebbe
RS
heart warming
truly sincere!
Yes I remember it was in the early Lameds
Eli Lipsker was also involved with some of the arranging at the symphony hall. Hadar Hatorah put on a play about a farbrengen at intermission
nigun ga’aguim sefer hanigunim #138 and nigun chasidei hatzemach tzedek #43
Wow, these are brilliant!! Thank you Zalmy!
The Bnei Heicholo Piano Concerto is cute. Hard to imagine how he kept all the separate directions playing while playing so quickly. People really had talent and sweated at it back then.
A lesson for today’s musicians…
The heartbeats on track #2 at 2:31, 3:19, and 6:51 are eerie and fit perfectly.
who wrote these orchestrations? they are way above anything I’ve ever heard in Jewish music. It’s as if Mona, Eli Yoffee, Michael Issacson got warped into one person.
THIS come close to showing the power of a niggun.
I think David Louis (who now lives in Israel) was involved.
Listen all the way through. They are just BRILLIANT!
Especially track 3.
Definitely on the manic side (5:52)
STUNNING WORKS.
thanks for thinking of us and sharing.
Who arranged them?
Thanks for sharing, theses are classics!!
I remember hearing something about students playing nigunim professionally but that they were lost and no one had it.
Amazing how you find these gems
niggun hishtatchus from admur hatzemach tzedek
BH
So were they lost? Or found?
Listening to track 3 now from the beginning. Very gutsy! Manic! Love it