Musical group Incantare brings historical Jewish music to Hendricks performance
Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.
In Latin, incantare means “to sing.” In Italian, it means “to enchant.” The musical group Incantare chose its name because its purpose is to bring recognition to underrepresented groups.
“Our group strives to bring to the forefront lesser known composers often from either marginalized communities or people who have been affected by external circumstances,” said founding member Liza Malamut, who’s also a professor at Indiana University. “EXILE is one example of that where we’re exploring works from specifically the Jewish community.”
Students, faculty and children enjoyed the solemn, melodic sound of musical group Incantare echoing throughout Hendricks Chapel this past Sunday. As a part of its four-day residency, Incantare performed EXILE, a concert that focuses on music from or influenced by the Jewish community from the late 16th century and early 17th century.
The residency is the first iteration this semester of the chapel’s “Music and Message” series, part of a collection of concerts funded by alumna Ester Malmgren. The residency features a periodic guest performance every Sunday at Hendricks Chapel that promotes diversity. Incantare performed with the Hendricks Chapel Choir on Sunday night.
“We try to encourage the guests to think of a way they could collaborate with our students. And this, this group was really open to that,” said Professor Anne Laver, who organized the event. “They’ve done it before, and so they suggested that this piece would be a good thing to do together.
As part of Incantare’s residency, the group spread its message and engaged with students through coaching sessions, masterclasses and speeches. Malamut said she loves working with students.
“I love seeing people’s eyes light up when they hear something that’s interesting,” Malamut said. “It’s really great to connect in that way.”
She said the group tries to integrate that feeling into its performances. Incantare has performed at places as varied as senior citizens’ homes and college campuses, but the group always tries to connect with the community.
Malamut said she felt her time as a college student was an opportunity to explore new things. She said the program falls in line with that environment and college campuses are a good target audience for the performance.
Laver said both choirs prepared the piece individually and came together Thursday night to sing the piece together. She described the sound as “magical” and said that the students rose to the occasion.
Laver described the mission of the group as “educational”, and it shines a light on an aspect of music history that has been overlooked. She added that the chapel’s mission is to be the spiritual heart of campus, so she felt that Incantare aligned perfectly with that goal.
“Music is one of the places where people connect to their spirituality,” Laver said. “You’re allowing yourself to be quiet and listen.”
But Malamut said that Incantare’s mission is more than just performing music. The group works on many programs that focus on different marginalized groups. EXILE is one of several programs the group puts on, including Tales From Prussia, which focuses on compositions from 16th and 17th century Ducal Prussia.
Malamut said the idea for the EXILE program came from a book that she and her mentor, Rebecca Cypess, were editing with Lynette Bowring in 2018. The book featured so much music that they felt they had to make a program out of it.
The program brought a “positive energy” in the room and was a beautiful experience, Incantare member Naomi Gregory said. She described the students as enthusiastic and very invested in the work, which the group enjoyed.
“Part of it is that when you’re able to sing alongside a professional singer, it makes you better, you know?” Laver said. “You try to imitate what they’re doing.”
As a part of its residency, the group also coached students of a Baroque ensemble class on technique and how to best use their instruments. Gregory said the students were responsive and said the group made an impact with its sessions.
Besides its influence in the classroom, the group’s performance of music that focuses on the Jewish community had a profound impact on both students and performers.
“(The music) flowed like paint against a canvas,” said Julianne Stein, a vocal performance major. “Everything was masterfully done.”
Stein added how she liked that Hendricks Chapel was taking steps to bring more focus to people that aren’t represented in the general music canon. She added that the music made her decide to listen to older music more often.
“We want people to kind of see themselves a little bit, whether the story is about people that they can relate to, from their own cultural background or their national heritage,” Gregory said. “I just want people to relate to the music of the past in a way that’s personal.”
Several members of the group come from Jewish backgrounds and felt a personal connection to the concert. Malamut said singing in Hebrew reminds her of her childhood. Since her heritage has remained an important part of her life, the experience of singing and studying Hebrew with this group has been nostalgic, she said. Fellow performer Ben David Aronson echoed her sentiments.
“It puts me in touch with my heritage and in a way by extension, my story,” Aronson said. “It’s always nourishing for me to know a little bit more about where I came from.”
Aronson said that part of the group’s mission is to make the listener feel the way that its members do when they are playing music.
“I love the experience of playing it, hearing it, having a conversation with everybody else who’s playing with me,” Aronson said. “Especially when it’s music that I didn’t know before.”
