The festival venues boast some of the best acoustics in Israel, as well as enchanting surroundings.
By JONATHAN GOLDSTEINabu gosh 224.88(photo credit: Rafi Daloya)
Abu Ghosh is gearing up for its biannual Vocal Music Festival taking place October 18-21. Every Succot (and Shavuot), music lovers turn Abu Ghosh into a pilgrimage spot to enjoy choirs, orchestras, operas, ensembles and soloists in a picturesque, mountain village with some of Israel's best humous a few meters away.
This will be the 34th Vocal Music Festival in Abu Ghosh since producer Gershon Cohen initiated it after a 24-year hiatus for what was thought to be a one-time production. The first festival in 1992 proved so successful that there have been two festivals each year since. He has teamed up with music director Hanna Tzur, the founder and conductor of the Ramat Gan Chamber Choir, to provide 18 concerts in 4 days including works by Bach, Beethoven and Verdi among many others, performed by over 700 Israeli musicians. Tzur will also be conducting her choir in concert number 10 on Tuesday morning.
The festival venues boast some of the best acoustics in Israel, as well as enchanting surroundings. In the heart of the village, the Benedictine Monastery is one of the best-preserved Crusader churches in the country where performances will be held in the crypt as well as within its verdant gardens. Facing Jerusalem, the mountaintop Church of Notre Dame de l'Arche d'Alliance (Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant) is the site of biblical Kiryat Ye'arim, one of the homes of the Ark of the Covenant where festival-goers can hear performances in the chapel.
Special guests this year include Michael Chance, the internationally acclaimed countertenor who has performed with the most celebrated conductors and orchestras the world over. The world-renowned lutist David Miller, who will have his own highly anticipated recitals, will accompany Chance. Another guest artist is the composer, guitarist and well-known Israeli singer Shlomo Idov.
As a prelude to the festival, there will be a choir competition on Friday that will include eight contestants. They will battle in pursuit of the honor of winning and a cash award to be announced on the festival's opening day.
Israel is preparing to celebrate the final harvest holiday of the secular year as Abu Ghosh is soaking up the last days of summer in celebratory style. Cohen remarks that a beautiful relationship exists between the village and the festival: the air is filled with music and the restaurants with patrons. To illustrate the symbiotic relationship, Cohen jokes, "this is what we have - humous with…Mozart or Bach, whatever you like."
Tickets may be ordered at (03) 604-5000 or (02) 623-7000. More information can be found at agfestival.co.il.
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