If you come to Warsaw and ask for the Blue Tower Plaza, any city dweller will point out the striking building, its façade reflecting the sky and the passing clouds. It's located in the heart of the city, surrounded by hustle and bustle – the busiest metro stations and numerous tram and bus stops are in the immediate vicinity. Here you can hear the roar of engines, the honking of car horns, the babble of voices, and advertising announcements. Stop for a moment. 80 years ago, the Great Synagogue on ul. Tłomackie stood on this very spot – once the most magnificent synagogue in this region of Europe. Although other sounds fill this square today, an extraordinary project allows us to relive the music that once resounded here.

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Warsaw artists – the vocal ensemble Match Match, conductor Lilianna Krych, tenor Wojciech Parchem, and organist Jakub Stefek – have compiled the compositions of David Eisenstadt, the most important musician and choirmaster of the Great Synagogue on ul. Tłomackie, from archives in New York, Paris, Berlin, and Jerusalem. Between 1921 and 1942, he created liturgical works that were widely distributed far beyond Warsaw and later recognized as outstanding examples of this musical tradition. Some of these pieces – reconstructed based on handwritten manuscripts – are now being performed again for the first time in many decades.

 

The Great Synagogue on Tłomackie Street was not only a place of worship but also an important cultural center. In addition to its excellent choir, some of Europe's most renowned cantors performed here. Concerts and celebratory events attracted numerous visitors, and pre-war guidebooks recommended the synagogue as an essential highlight of any tour of Warsaw.

 

David Eisenstadt and his family were murdered in 1942, and the Great Synagogue was blown up on May 16, 1943—a symbolic act marking the final suppression of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and the annihilation of the Jewish quarter. Standing in front of the Blue Tower Plaza today, it's hard to imagine that any of it has survived. And yet, the eclectic music of the liturgical poem "Lecha Dodi" resounds once again, the virtuoso recitatives of the cantors return, as do the lively melodies of Hasidic songs...

 

It is with great joy and deep respect that we witness how the music of David Eisenstadt is once again heard not only in Warsaw but also in other European cities.

 

The program is presented by:

 

Jakub Stefek – Harmonium
Wojciech Parchem – Tenor
Lilianna Krych – Conductor
Match Match Ensemble – vocal ensemble:

Sopran
Aleksandra Drogosz-Szymańska
Konstancja Molewska
Maria Zlotek
Adrianna Żołnierczuk-Malec

 

Alt
Małgorzata Bartkowska
Ewa Kijewska
Marta Schnura

 

Tenor
Marcin Kucinski
Andrzej Klepacki
Paweł Kowalewski
Jakub Prasał

 

Bass

Tymoteusz Cyrkun
Michal Kijewski
Michal Malec