Chazan Aryeh Leib Hurwitz Sings Famous and Entertaining “Cantor Audition”, or In Yiddish “Chazonim Oif Probeh”

“Cantors Audition”, or in yiddish “Chazonim Oif Probeh”, the entertaining and witty rendition in English was sung by Lubavitch Chazzonim Aryeh Leib Hurwitz and Zevy Steiger.

“Easily my favorite song to perform. I once heard Dudu Fisher sing it and I was hooked,” Aryeh Leib explained. “It’s about an audition of three cantors each to their own style. An old school chazan. An Opera singer. And a Jazz singer. You can already imagine who gets hired.”

The interesting fact of this whole story is that the song was written in 1935. Was the decline of the cantorial age already underway back then? In the middle of the golden age of cantorial music? Something to think about.

“Either way, Sholom Secunda, the composer, has his way of bringing songs to life, and translated in English it’s quite the journey… and no, there’s nothing like the original yiddish, maybe I’ll post the original Yiddish one day.”

“I’ve performed this number over 50 times, but none as exciting as this past performance in Miami Beach, together with my good buddy from way back when, a pro chazan in his own right, Zevy Steiger. It hits different when it’s sung in a duet format. Narrator and Auditioner.”

If you’re sitting in shul this Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur and can’t help but wonder if this is what it looks like for your chazan to get the job, you’re probably right!