[https://youtu.be/HA3lWJx8UJE](https://youtu.be/HA3lWJx8UJE)# Hashkibenu - Festive | LondonWhen I joined Congregation Shearith Israel as Assistant Hazzan in 1978, I entertained the hopeful notion that the community might welcome a few melodies from the London Spanish and Portuguese tradition as a way of gently expanding the repertoire.The first candidate that suggested itself was the Livornese melody for Hashkibenu, sung on festive evenings in London. Its spirited setting, in a major key, I thought would offer an arresting counterpoint to the beautiful but somewhat sombre melody sung in New York on ordinary Shabbatot.Buoyed by enthusiasm and, in retrospect, a touching degree of innocence, I presented my proposal to the music committee. They graciously agreed to hear the choir try the piece during a rehearsal.The choir sang it splendidly. Heads nodded. A few smiles appeared. Encouraged by these promising signs, I allowed myself to imagine that I might be witnessing the beginning of a modest but meaningful addition to the Shearith Israel tradition.The committee then withdrew for deliberation.When the conclave dispersed and their negative verdict was delivered, all that was missing was a doleful plume of black smoke rising from the chimneys of Eight West 70th Street. The committee assured me that they liked the melody very much. They simply felt it belonged somewhere else.Notes for NerdsThis composition appears in Federico Consolo’s (1841–1906) compilation 'Sefer Shirei Yisrael' - 'Libro dei Canti d’Israele', one of the earliest published collections devoted to preserving and arranging traditional Italian synagogue music.The piece, as sung in London, includes six solo passages: two for the Hazzan, two sung by a bass, and two for a boy soprano. It was in that capacity as a boy soprano that, at the age of six, I first encountered the quiet terror and exhilaration of solo singing.