https://youtu.be/CTYRN4NsHO4# The Maghrebi Origins of a New York MelodyAmong the many curiosities in the musical canon of Congregation Shearith Israel, the Spanish and Portuguese Sephardi Synagogue in New York, are the Berachot preceding the Keriyat Shema of Arbit on Shabbatot and Mo’adim. They are read in part in an undertone, before concluding with an interchange between the Hazzan and choir. The melody bears no relationship to the chant for the Emet Ve’emunah formula which follows the reading of the Shema, nor indeed anything else in the repertoire. It does, though, share an affinity with a widely sung North African chant, exhibiting several quite discernable, albeit modified, correlations in its tonal progressions.However, unlike the New York derivative, the Maghrebi version - presented here - has the entire text sung in full. An intriguing possibility as to what might account for the New York “silent treatment” may be the differences in the formula's punctuation between the two rites. 

‌The North African custom follows the phrasing laid down by the Ari Z"l, while the Spanish and Portuguese tradition adheres to what is believed to be the original syntax. 
‌It is clear that re-engineering the musical phrases to conform to the structure of New York’s more ancient grammatical format would have proved unwieldy, not to say unworkable. A painless solution, therefore, was to have these portions rendered silently.Please like and share, and if you haven’t already, please subscribe to my YouTube channel.For an mp3 of this recording please visit my website, where there are over 160 selections available for free downloading