CORO HA-KOL
Italian Jewish Choir

The Coro Ha-Kol (meaning “The Voice”) was founded in December 1993 on the initiative of singers at the Great Synagogue of Rome, alongside other lovers of Jewish music. They recognised the need to rediscover and publicise the beauty of Jewish music to audiences both within and beyond the synagogue.

At the same time they wished to preserve and conserve the musical and liturgical heritage of the Community of Rome, one of the oldest in Europe, which has had an uninterrupted presence in the city of Rome for more than two thousand years. Over the years, the choir’s repertoire has been gradually enriched by the works of composers who lived between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries, as well as by music of the Sephardi (Spanish-Portuguese) and Ashkenazi (East European) traditions.

Recently, the choir has also performed contemporary music, and this has included not only liturgical music but also music inspired by Jewish life. The choir is formed of amateur singers (Soprano,Contralto, Tenor and Bass) and is directed by Maestro Alberto De Sanctis.

In addition to performing in its entirety, the choir has also recently formed a Chamber Choir which performs the music of Salamone Rossi.The choir has performed at many events, including public concerts, alongside members of other faiths, believing in the free interchange of different cultures. Among these we remember in particular:

• A concert held in October 1999 in the Aula Nervi of the Vatican under the auspices of the Interfaith Assembly, and entitled ‘The collaboration of many religions at the cusp of the third millennium’, and a subsequent ceremony held in St Peter’s Square in the presence of Pope John-Paul II and broadcast worldwide by RAI 2.
• Concerts held in December 2002 at the Music Conservatory of Tel Aviv and the YMCA Concert Hall of Jerusalem under the auspices of the International Festival of Liturgical Music 2003.
• Participation at the ‘Two Worlds Festival’ of Spoleto on the 13th July 2004 in a concert entitled ‘Mystical Time’.
• Participation at the International Holy Music Festival for prayer 2007 [Castel di Lama (Ascoli Piceno).
• A concert at the Great Synagogue of Rome with Emil Zrihan, cantor of the Ashkelon Synagogue of Tel Aviv (2008).
• Participation at Tehillim, ‘Homage to Steve Reich’ (Auditorium Parco della Musica 2008).
• A Latin concert as part of the festival entitled ‘Peace, Shalom, Salam - three religions together’ (April 2008)-A concert at the Tempio Valdese (Rome) entitled ‘One voice - Jews and Blacks remember the Holocaust’, together with the gospel choir The Session Voices on the occasion of the Day of Remembrance (27th January 2011)
• A concert at the Auditorium Parco della Musica (Sala Petrassi) organised by Keren Kayemet le Israel (the Jewish National Fund) for the reforestation of Mount Carmel in Israel following a devastating fire (May 2011).
• Partecitpation In 2013 at the International Jewish Choral Festival in London (UK).
• Organization of the European Jewish Choir Festival in Rome from 28th May to 1stJjune 2014.

In addition, between September 2002 and January 2006, the Coro Ha-Kol appeared several times on the RAI programme “Uno mattina”, commemorating important events such as the first anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center, the sixtieth anniversary of the deporation of the Jews from the Ghetto of Rome, the Jewish Passover, the celebrations of the centenary of the construction of the Synagogue of Rome and the European Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust.

In the course of its existence, the Associazione Coro Ha-Kol has released three CDs, respectively ‘Canti Liturgici Ebraici’ [Jewish Liturgy] (2001) , ‘Canti di Scola Tempio’ (2006) and ‘Chatan ve Kallah - il matrimonio ebraico a Roma [The Jewish Wedding in Rome] in February 2010.