Events of the upcoming Abu Gosh Vocal Music Festival - June 2019

The Crypt (photo: Berthold Werner)

The Abu Gosh Vocal Music Festival takes place twice a year in and around Abu Gosh, a town located 16 kilometres west of Jerusalem on the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway. The 55th Abu Gosh Festival will take place from June 7th to 9th 2019, with a line-up of 13 concerts suited to a variety of musical tastes. Events take place in two churches - the spacious Kiryat Ye’arim Church, sitting high up on a hill, and the Crypt below the 12th century Benedictine Crusader church, set in a magical, exotic garden in the lower quarter of Abu Gosh. The Abu Gosh Festival has existed in its present format since 1992. People come from far and wide to attend concerts, sit in on the more informal outdoor musical events, picnic in the open, buy trinkets at the stalls set up near the Kiryat Ye’arim Church and relax in the surroundings of the Judean Hills. The festival features many Israeli artists and groups, also hosting overseas choirs. As of 1995, Hannah Tzur has served as musical director. A contralto who has soloed with major Israeli orchestras and conductors, Ms. Tzur has been directing the Ramat Gan Chamber Choir for 20 years.

The Kiryat Yearim Church will host a number of classical events; “Puccini’s Requiem” (Concert No.3) conducted by Hannah Tzur herself, Telemann’s opera “Orpheus” (Concert No.4) conducted by Yair Polishook, Bach’s St. John Passion (Concert No.9) under the baton of Michael Shani and  versatile soprano Keren Hadar will perform with the Tremolo Ensemble directed by marimba player Tomer Yariv (Concert No.1). Overseas guest artists appearing at the Kiryat Yearim Church are the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir under Kaspars Putninš (Concerts 2, 5 and 8) and Concert No.7, which will feature the Bach Freiburg Choir (conductor: Hans Reich), to be joined by the (Israeli) Maayan Choir.(conductor: Anat Morahg) in a program of Rossini, Brahms, Villa-Lobos and Gabrieli.

Take a wander down to the Romanesque Crusader Church. Below it, the Crypt, which was built in a former reservoir of the second century, is massive and austere; in some places its walls are more than 3½ meters thick. At its centre flows a spring. In the church’s exotic, tranquil garden, a local man will be there to serve you coffee with cardamom and rich, sweet pastries. Some of the more intimate and different-style concerts take place here. In “Pulsating Poetry and Prayer” (Concert No.10), the Sirenot Ensemble will present a variety of Jewish vocal music,  soprano Tal Ganor will sing works of Bach, Handel, Vivaldi and more in “Sound the Trumpet” (Concert 11), soprano Revital Raviv and friends will take listeners on a musical tour of the British Isles (Concert No.12) and soprano Sivan Rotem, Yair Kless (violin) and Jonathan Zak (piano) will present works “From Italy to Argentina” (Concert No.13).

http://www.agfestival.co.il/

For ticket reservations:

Internet: http://www.bimot.co.il

Bimot : 02-6237000 or *6226

Bravo: *3221, 0722753221

During  the festival, tickets  will be available at the churches (cash only.)