![CanorNaftaliHerstik](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/CanorNaftaliHerstik.jpg)
Naftali Herstik ( he, נפתלי הרשטיק) (born 1947) is a well known ''
chazzan'' (cantor) and teacher.
[ ] He was born in
Salgótarján,
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
and came with his family to
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
at the age of three. He is descended from a long line of
cantors and
Rabbi
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
s, and was recognized as a cantorial prodigy from his early childhood, singing as a teen in concerts with Cantor
Moshe Koussevitzky
Moshe Koussevitzky ( he, משה קוסביצקי, pl, Mosze Kusewicki; June 9, 1899 in Smarhoń, Russian Empire – August 23, 1966 in New York City) was a cantor and vocalist. A relative of noted conductor Sergei Koussevitzky, he made many rec ...
.
Education
Herstik's first teacher was his father,
Moshe Menachem Herstik. Subsequently, he studied with Cantors
Leib Glantz
Leib Glantz ( yi, לייב גלאנץ; June 1, 1898 – January 27, 1964) was a Ukrainian-born lyrical tenor cantor (chazzan), composer, musicologist of Jewish music, writer, educator, and Zionist leader.
He was born in 1898 in Kyiv, Ukraine, then ...
and
Shlomo Ravitz. He later graduated from the
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...
in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
.
Professional accomplishments
Cantor Herstik served as the Cantor of the
Finchley Synagogue in London while simultaneously studying at the
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...
. In 1981, he was appointed the
Chief Cantor of the
Jerusalem Great Synagogue
The Great Synagogue of Jerusalem, ( he, בֵּית הַכְּנֶסֶת הַגָּדוֹל בּיְרוּשָׁלַיִם), is located at 56 King George Street, Jerusalem. Rabbi Zalman Druck was the spiritual leader from the synagogue's establi ...
, a position he held up to December 31, 2008. He has performed with the
London Festival Orchestra
The London Festival Orchestra (LFO) was established in the 1950s as the 'house orchestra' for Decca Records. In 1980 it was incorporated as an independent performing orchestra under Ross Pople. At least in the world of pop music, the orchestra is b ...
, the
London Mozart Players
London Mozart Players (LMP) are a British chamber orchestra founded in 1949. LMP are the longest-established chamber orchestra in the United Kingdom. Since 1989, the orchestra has been Resident Orchestra at Fairfield Halls, Croydon.
History
B ...
, the
Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, The
Israel Philharmonic
The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (abbreviation IPO; Hebrew: התזמורת הפילהרמונית הישראלית, ''ha-Tizmoret ha-Filharmonit ha-Yisra'elit'') is an Israeli symphony orchestra based in Tel Aviv. Its principal concert venue ...
as well as many choirs, including the one at the Jerusalem Great Synagogue. In February, 2010, Cantor Herstik led a Shabbat service at the
Yeshurun Synagogue,
Edgware
Edgware () is a suburban town in northern Greater London, mostly in the London Borough of Barnet but with small parts falling in the London Borough of Harrow and in the London Borough of Brent. Edgware is centred north-northwest of Charing Cros ...
, London.
Style
Cantor Herstik's style of Cantorial music bears a Western European influence, often employing the compositions of
Louis Lewandowski
Louis Lewandowski (April 3, 1821 – February 4, 1894) was a Polish-Jewish and German-Jewish composer of synagogal music.
He contributed greatly to the liturgy of the Synagogue Service. His most famous works were composed during his tenure as ...
,
Moshe Kraus
Moses ( el, Μωϋσῆς),from Latin and Greek Moishe ( yi, משה),from Yiddish Moshe ( he, מֹשֶׁה),from Modern Hebrew or Movses (Armenian: Մովսես) from Armenian is a male given name, after the biblical figure Moses.
According to ...
,
Salomon Sulzer
Salomon Sulzer ( he, סלומון זולצר, March 30, 1804, Hohenems, Vorarlberg – January 17, 1890, Vienna) was an Austrian '' hazzan'' (cantor) and composer.
Biography
His family, which prior to 1813 bore the name of ''Levi'', removed to ...
and
Samuel Alman, and he has participated in concerts in Europe and Israel dedicated to their compositions. Herstik is also known for his interpretations of the works of Cantor
Yossele Rosenblatt
Josef "Yossele" Rosenblatt (May 9, 1882 – June 19, 1933) was a Ukrainian-born chazzan (cantor) and composer. He was regarded as the greatest cantor of his time.
Biography
Rosenblatt was born on May 9, 1882, in Bila Tserkva, Russian Empire. T ...
. In addition, he has written a number of compositions.
Tel Aviv Cantorial Institute
In 1984, he was approached, together with Cantor Moshe Stern,
Elli Jaffe
In Norse mythology (a subset of Germanic mythology), Elli (Old Norse: , "old age"Orchard (1997:38).) is a personification of old age who, in the ''Prose Edda'' book ''Gylfaginning'', defeats Thor in a wrestling match.Graeme Davis (2013). ''Tho ...
and Dr.
Tzvi Talmon, to start a school that teaches and preserves the tradition of the Cantorial arts. The school operated out of
Heichal Shlomo for three years, before moving to
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
in 1987. In 1991, the school came under the auspices of the municipality of Tel Aviv, and Cantor Herstik was appointed the Artistic director, and subsequently the general director. Many of today's prominent cantors studied at the TACI, including
Yitzchak Meir Helfgot
Cantor Yitzchak Meir Helfgot ( he, יצחק מאיר הלפגוט, yi, יצחק מאיר העלפגאט) is an Israeli-born Hasidic Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish Hazzan, cantor, known for his vocal dexterity and range. Like some operatic teno ...
,
Moshe Haschel,
Azi Schwartz
Azi Schwartz (Hebrew language, Hebrew: עזי שוורץ) is a Hazzan, ''chazzan'' (cantor), vocal performer, and recording artist. Born in Israel, he lives in New York City, where he serves as the Senior Cantor of Park Avenue Synagogue.
Educat ...
, and
Gideon Zelermyer. Cantor Herstik's own sons are affiliated with the school; his son, Cantor
Shraga Herstik, is on the faculty, and his son Cantor
Netanel Hershtik, the Cantor of the
Hampton Synagogue, is a graduate. Cantor Hershtik has often appeared with a choir comprising students of the institute.
Discography
* Prayers from Jerusalem
* Jerusalem Great Synagogue Choir
* Sound of Prayer (1997)
* Jerusalem of Prayer (1997)
* The Best of Naftali Herstik (1994)
* The Danzig Tradition
* The Koenigsberg Tradition
* One Family (2003)
* Shirei Yosef-Songs of Yossele (2003)
References
External links
Cantor Naftali Herstikat the
Milken Archive The Milken Archive of Jewish Music is a collection of material about the history of Jewish Music in the United States. It contains roughly 700 recorded musical works, 800 hours of oral histories, 50,000 photographs and historical documents, an ext ...
Tel Aviv Cantorial Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hershtik, Naftali
Living people
Alumni of the Royal College of Music
Israeli hazzans
Israeli expatriates in England
20th-century Israeli male singers
Israeli people of Hungarian-Jewish descent
21st-century Israeli male singers
People from Salgótarján
1947 births