Memorial Concert
Thursday 6th July 8pm

South London Liberal Synagogue
1 Prentis Road, Streatham, London SW16 1QB

Faithsounds III
In memory of Miriam Hyman

Faithsounds III

Pamela Solomon, member of the group Rivers of Babylon, has very kindly prepared a report on Faithsounds III

The Streatham Festival, a relatively new local community venture and the brainchild of Rabbi James Baaden of the South London Liberal Synagogue, is held annually and is a wonderful vehicle for bringing together different faiths and rejoicing in their very distinct ways of commemorating their religions.

Though this year’s Festival was the anniversary of a very sad time for the Hyman family, they were utterly committed to the project and felt that Faithsounds III was a joyous inter-faith celebration that should go ahead. On a warm summer’s day, the performers gave their all in memory of a young, jovial, vivacious and beautiful person in the form of Miriam Hyman. The proceeds of this year’s concert were dedicated to the Miriam Hyman Memorial Fund which has been established in her memory by her family. The Fund is concentrating the money it raises on ophthalmic and eye-health projects through ORBIS UK.

The evening began with two choirs, the Streatham Choral Society and Opus 16, singing Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms. This was followed by the heavenly sounds of the Ruach Ministries Praise Worship Team from the Independent Evangelical Church in Brixton. The gospel sounds of this choir were a joy to hear, and we were all urged to participate in the performance. They ended their presentation with the song AMEN, inviting to the stage anyone who wished to join in with the singing.

The second half of the event was opened with music by the Rivers of Babylon. The group performs religious and secular music in the Iraqi-Jewish tradition – with a hint of Indian spice. Rivers of Babylon was particularly relevant to the event as, like Miriam’s mother, some of the members were born in India (Bombay and Calcutta) into the Baghdadian Jewish community. Rivers of Babylon performed hymns for Sabbaths, Festivals and life cycle events sung in Hebrew, in the Babylonian (Iraqi) pronunciation, and Aramaic. The audience was invited to sing along and, indeed, was taught the responses for the song "Al Tira ‘Abdi Ya’aqob" (Fear not, my servant, Jacob). As is typical in the Middle East, women (and men) ululate at various events and, after a quick demonstration by the leader, Dr Sara Manasseh, the audience was adept in their participation by ululating with gusto! The group’s programme paid tribute to its Indian heritage by including songs of the Bene Israel Jews, sung in Marathi, the language of the state of Maharashtra, of which Bombay is its capital. Though the songs are sung unaccompanied by instruments on Sabbaths and Festivals, at the concert they were accompanied by oboe, cor anglais, mandolin, flute, keyboard and percussion. An encore was provided in the form of a Bollywood song, "Mera Joota Hai Japani, Phir Bhee Dil Hai Hindustani" (My shoes are Japanese, still my heart belongs to India) from Shree 420, a well-known film of the 1950s.

Rivers of Babylon was followed by a very moving recitation of a passage from the Qur’an in the dulcet tones of Dawud Noibi, OBE.

Rabbi James Baaden, our congenial host, ended the proceedings with a Memorial Prayer (El Malei Rachamim).


Click here for the full programme
Tickets were £7 (£5 concessions)
Refreshments were included on the door from 6pm
For more information:
Telephone +44 (0)20 8769 4787
email rabbi@southlondon.org


£642 was raised for the MHMF