Piyyut Rising National Premiere

Spanning from Temple times to today, piyyutim utilize complex and beautiful Hebrew poetry to infuse spirit and meaning into the sacred and ordinary moments of human experience. The stirring melodies are rooted in the illustrious and colorful tradition of maqam– a distinct system of musical expression found exclusively in the music of the Arab world, Turkey, Iran, and North Africa. In their debut concert at the Weitzman Museum, Kedmah: The Rising Song Piyyut Ensemble honors and reinvents the living sacred traditions without compromising the nuances that distinguish it from the Ashkenazi and Western soundscape of American Jewish music. Join us for this unforgettable evening of music.

Katz Center audience members may use code PENN1116 at checkout to get the Museum Member admission price of $15 per ticket.

More about the Ensemble
 

Kedmah is an ensemble of musicians and prayer leaders excavating the power and beauty of Mizrahi Jewish expression through ancient poetry and song. Led by Rabbi Yosef Goldman and Yoni Battat, Piyyut Rising honors the artists’ Iraqi, Syrian, and Yemenite ancestry in conversation with their intersecting musical influences. Their interactive performances, workshops, and recordings allow listeners to experience the spiritual and emotional depth of Middle Eastern piyyut (liturgical poetry) and the age-old tradition of Arab melodies that adorn them.

Kedmah is a project of Hadar’s Rising Song Institute, whose mission is to use song to cultivate spiritual community throughout the Jewish world. Yoni and Yosef met through Rising Song and connected over their mixed Mizrahi and Ashkenazi identity. They have now been studying Piyyut repertoire together for several years.

Building on the fragments of the Mizrahi musical traditions that they grew up with, they have made a concerted effort to reclaim ownership of the texts and melodies that brought meaning to the lives of their ancestors. By presenting this music in modern Jewish communities that have been historically dominated by Jews of European descent, Kedmah is expanding the diversity of American Jewish expression and centering the Mizrahi voices that have been historically marginalized in the US.

KEDMAH IS:

Yosef Goldman – voice
Yoni Battat – oud, viola, voice
Joey Weisenberg – fretless bass
April Centrone – percussion 
Yahala Lachmish – special guest vocals