The Esnoga, the beautiful Portuguese synagogue in Amsterdam, was inaugurated in 1675 and inspired the creation of great works of art and music. Abraham Caceres served as the composer-in-residence at the beginning of the 18th century and wrote many works we still have preserved, including a cantata for two voices titled "L'El Eilim." We will discuss the context of these synagogue performances, hear the cantata sung with historic Spanish-Portuguese Hebrew pronunciation, and analyze Caceres' music both as Jewish music and its space in the Dutch Baroque tradition.
Kevin Lubin (he/they) is a composer, instrumentalist, and silly goose from New York and now living in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They have a degree in harpsichord performance and composition from Adelphi University, where their klezmer opera Four Jewish Women Playing Mah Jongg was premiered. Other compositional highlights include composing only the most serious pieces of music for toy piano, kazoo, and squeaky pig toys. Kevin is also the harpsichordist and viola da gamba player of baroque ensemble "Four and Twenty Strings." In this role, they have curated riveting and educational concerts including those highlighting Jewish composers of the 17th century. On a typical day, Kevin can be found brewing multiple cups of coffee, singing in Yiddish, and scheduling more rehearsals than they have time for.