Hishqi Hizqi

The descendants of Marranos from the Iberian Peninsula who settled in Amsterdam from the end of the 16th century onwards created during the 17th and 18th centuries one of the most flourishing Jewish communities in Europe. The foremost musical manifestations of this community took place during the celebrations of Shabbat nahamu Simhat torah and Shabbat bereshit. Shabbat nahamu commemorating the inauguration of the "great synagogue" in 1675 became the principal local feast and is still commemorated today. This celebration and the Simhat torah festivities in honour of the "Bridegroom of the Torah" and of "The bridegroom of Genesis" occasioned numerous musical compostions.