https://youtu.be/s4fFglOb6_A# Hashem Malakh Ge'ut Labesh - Mendelssohn | London We know little about how Charles Kensington Salaman happened upon the idea that the 32nd movement of Mendelssohn's oratorio Elijah would be a good fit as a setting for Psalm 93, Hashem Malakh. But fit it does, and admirably so.Although included in the United Synagogue's Blue Book, the piece is rarely sung in any of its constituent synagogues. By contrast, it is sung throughout the year during Friday night services in the London Spanish and Portuguese community, save between the fasts of Tammuz and Ab. Interestingly, up until the 1980s this transcription was also sung in the Esnoga in Amsterdam on Shabbat Hagadol, Shabbat Nachamu and other special Shabbatot, representing a rare example of a London melody that had travelled eastwards to the Netherlands.The oratorio ‘Elijah’ comprises a total of 42 movements. 40 of them are built around verses from the Tanakh, while just two of them are based on texts from the New Testament. And yes, you guessed it, in an irony that is nothing short of delicious, it was Mendelssohn’s setting for one of those two passages from the book of Matthew that found its way into the Kabbalat Shabbat service. The background photograph in this video recalls an image that my memory has treasured for over half a century. Its vantage point marks the very spot where I would stand after services on Ereb Shabbat marvelling at the building I loved so much. For me then - as a young man - the synagogue appeared ethereal, its lights shining from within, silhouetted majestically against the evening sky.That prospect was for me, all those years ago, the most beautiful sight in London. It remains so today. H/T Salomon Vaz DiasThis video is one of 17 on my Kabalat Shabbat playlist which you can find here.https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvd3h2QBHjxSB7LQD8G3OxD39jNdX3p9I&si=wg_3M1Kg2RD8SOKs