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INSIDE
Nurturing
Children .
Torah
Portion
Shabbat
Just Keeps
On Rocklin'
Adat Shalom clergy and friends record the music
Above: Cantor Howard Glantz,
keyboard player Morrine Maltzman
and Rabbis Herbert Yoskowitz and
Daniel Nevins
of Friday night for everyday listening.
Making Music
Right: Rabbi Daniel Nevins and
Cantor Howard Glantz at Nov. 14
studio tour and CD release party at
the Barn in Bingham Farms.
SHELLI LIEBMAN DORFMAN
StaffWriter
IVIr
th a drum-playing rabbi and a guitar-
strumming cantor, it was just a matter of
time before the Adat Shalom Synagogue
clergy pooled their talents, enlisted the
' aid of members and made a recording of their music.
_ Looking to make the melodies of Shabbat heard
throughout the week, Cantor Howard Glantz spear-
headed the creation of Shabbat Rocks, Volume 1:
Kabbalat Shabbat with the help of colleagues Rabbis
Daniel Nevins and Herbert Yoskowitz.
The 26 tunes on the CD range from traditional
melodies to original compositions by Cantor Glantz,
who initiated Shabbat Rocks, a Friday night musical
service that inspired the CD.
"The CD comes out of our Shabbat Rocks serv-
ice," explains the cantor. "It says that Shabbat itself
can really 'rock.'"
But that doesn't necessarily make it rock-and-roll
music, says Rabbi Nevins, drummer for the band.
"Some parts feel folksy, some parts feel like soft rock,
still others probably feel a little like New Age or spiri-
tual," he says.
His colleague, Rabbi Yoskowitz, in addition to
adding light percussion, serves as ruach (spirit) special-
ist, encouraging participation and even moving people
to dancing in the aisles.
The CD was recorded in several settings, from the
Barn recording studio in Bingham Farms to the inclu-
sion of actual pre-Shabbat portions of the Friday
evening program.
Voices on the CD, produced by J.C.
Whitelaw, local musician and music
producer, include both members of the
Adat Shalom family and the clergy's
own families. Even production includ-
ed family connections, with Whitelaw's
father, William, designing the artwork
and layout for the CD insert.
"The Adat Shalom Mixed Choir came into the stu-
dio to do a rendition of Aleinu' a cappella," Cantor
Glantz says. 'And we brought the studio to our
kindergartners and recorded them singing Tim Barn,
Shabbat Shalom,'" he says of a group that includes his
son, Remy, and Rabbi Nevins' daughter, Leora, both
5.
Elissa Berg, director of Beth Achim Religious
School at Adat Shalom, provides harmony vocals on
three of the CD's tracks and Cantor Glantz's son, Rafi,
9, sings solo and duet with his dad in a rendition of
"Hallelu."
Also featured is Adat Shalom Cantor Emeritus
Larry Vieder who chants "Kiddush."
While Shabbat Rocks features traditional Shabbat
prayers and songs such as "Shabbat Shalom,"
"Yismechu HaShamayim" and "Lecha Dodi" and
music by such Jewish composers as Debbie Friedman,
Jeff Klepper and Craig Taubman — it also contains
original music, including an innovative tune called
"Synagogue Blues."
"Synagogue Blues" was created from a spontaneous
inspiration during a Friday evening Adat Shalom
Shabbat Rocks program, Cantor Glantz says. "There
was a moment during one service where no one knew
what pages we were on, so we started singing: 'I got
the what-page-are-we-on-in-the-synagogue-prayer-
book blues' and we ended up recording it."
The goal of the CD, says Cantor Glantz, is to cre-
ate an exciting and fresh way to observe Shabbat that
reflects the joy and deep holiness of the weekly ritual.
His hope is that some of the familiar compositions
can be delivered with a modern flavor, incorporating
contemporary instrumentation and refreshed arrange-
ments.
"I was blessed with great teachers who brought out
an improvisational style within me," he says. When
those improvisations keep coming back to me, I feel I
may have something to put down on paper.
"The `Retzei' [song] is the most recognizable of any
of our Friday night 'regulars' because I wrote it many
years ago for my father, of blessed memory. The
repeating spirited refrain on the words v'taheir libeinu
nearly forces the congregation to participate with
rhythm and joy proclaiming the desire that "(God)
will cleanse our hearts," Canon Glantz says.
Shabbat Rocks was funded by the Lillian Efros
Kaufman Endowment for Special Musical Projects at
Adat Shalom, which also allowed for the purchase and
mailing of the CD to all synagogue member-families
as a Chanukah gift.
"Her fund has allowed us to purchase important
equipment for the Shabbat Rocks programs and pro-
duce this CD in honor of her children and grandchil-
dren," the cantor says.
Proceeds from sales of the CD will go into an
account to fund future musical recordings, featuring
much of the same cast.
Next up for the musical performers is a CD of _
Saturday morning Shabbat music to be followed by
the music of Saturday evening, with Havdalah
Rocks. ❑
Shabbat Rocks, Volume I: Kabbalat Shabbat CD is
available at Adat Shalom Synagogue, Greetings
From in West Bloomfield and Warren Sav-Mor
Prescriptions in Farmington Hills.
The cost of Shabbat Rocks, Volume 1: Kabbalat
Shabbat is $15 or $12 for three or more CDs.
For information on the CD, call Cantor Howard
Glantz, (248) 851-5100.
11/29
2002
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