https://youtu.be/8UbC20lzNoQOn Mo’adim and special Shabbatot the Kaddish prior to Barechu is an opportunity for the Spanish and Portuguese Hazzan to step out of the traditional recitative and select two fixed tempo pieces as the settings for Yitgadal and Yehe Shemeh Rabba, respectively. In earlier times these selections might even have been pieces of his own composition. On ordinary Shabbatot, however, at this juncture we are treated to something of a musical curiosity; a deceptively simple ancient melody which is performed, with only small variations, across the Spanish and Portuguese Sephardi diaspora. In contrast to its more festive counterparts, where fixed rhythms are generally the rule, the metre of this chant is driven entirely by the Shakla veTarya of the Aramaic text. My beloved teacher, Eliezer Abinun (z’l), referred to this piece, probably in jest -but I’m not sure, as the ‘Ambrosian’ Kaddish, a characterisation which may well not be that far off the mark. At its conclusion, this Kaddish segues seamlessly into what appears to be a kindred melody for Barechu, but which is, in fact, of unrelated North African provenance.The present recording is the London variant sung, as it would be in the synagogue, without the usual support of improvised choral harmonies.Please share.