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 ...

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

. 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 Herstik
at 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