https://youtu.be/Km9-RhblKEMHodu LaShem Kiru BishmoThe Spanish and Portuguese community of London is, by reputation, fiercely protective of its customs and traditions, but only up to a point. Undermining the fidelity to its musical inheritance has been the lay leadership’s perennial preoccupation with minimizing the amount of time a worshiper should have to spend in the synagogue. Its often unbounded enthusiasm for this unhappy pursuit has sadly resulted in the probably unintentional, but nevertheless, destructive over-pruning of some of the tradition's most magnificent liturgical flora. A case in point is the elimination of the melody for ‘Hodu Lashem Kiru Bishmo’ which marks the opening of the morning Zemirot, and whose liturgical origins may be traced to the Levitical choir in the Temple.In both Amsterdam and New York, on Shabbatot and Mo’adim, these verses from the Book of Chronicles are sung by the congregation to an ancient and uplifting melody. For more than 200 years this was also the case in London, as is attested by its inclusion in the Aguilar and de Sola anthology of Sephardi melodies published in 1857. However, by the beginning of the 20th century, the ax had already fallen. Its telling omission from the collection of London congregational melodies, published in the community’s ‘Daily and Occasional' prayer book, silently declaring that the piece was no longer sung, merely read.Those of you familiar with the Amsterdam or New York tradition will, of course, recognize the piece immediately. For members of the London community, it should recall a (still?) currently used setting for the Hallel.Please like and share