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| Cantor Seplowin singing, Salve Regina chorus accompanying George Washington's letter put to music |
Just about everyone in Newport knows about George Washington's 1790 letter to the Jewish congregation at Touro Synagogue. The letter is read each August, reenacted in colonial costume in the sanctuary.
But now, there is a new twist. A lucky group of concertgoers got to hear the letter as music. In the opulent venue of the Ochre Court mansion, now owned by Salve Regina University, the spring choral program featured an original composition that included Washington's letter. The event was held on Sunday April 29, 2018, produced for the first time in Newport. Cantor Jonathan Comisar, a pianist and composer from New York, created the piece, which he calls a cantata, inspired by the Washington letter. It weaves hymn-like music with colonial fife and drum sounds, and incorporates portions of the wording of the letter. The lyrics were sung beautifully by Cantor Judith Seplowin from Temple Beth El in Providence, Rhode Island and by a 13 year old boy soloist, Jonathan Kenny. The piece is 12 minutes long. It is called "To Bigotry No Sanction".
The title refers to the most famous words in Washington's letter, "to bigotry gives no sanction, to persecution no assistance. " George Washington included that line in the words he sent to the Jewish congregation at the Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island. He had visited them to acknowledge the importance of the Jews' participation in the newly formed country. In his travels around the colonies, he sought support from every state to ratify the first set of constitutional amendments, one of which clarified religious freedom.
Jonathan Comisar's work was originally commissioned in 2017 by a synagogue in suburban Philadelphia to celebrate its 170th birthday. That synagogue is Keneseth Israel, in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. (Fun fact for me is that I grew up in that synagogue and was confirmed there). The Dorothy and Jay Isenberg fund sponsored the Newport, Rhode Island performance. Comisar is working on a documentary film of the production. Stay tuned and read your mail for updates.
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| Dr. Donald St. Jean of Salve Regina introducing the Program. Cantor Seplowin and amazing boy soloist, Jonathan Kenny, looking on. |
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| Cantors Judith Seplowin and Jonathan Comisar |