Cantor Guy Bonné
Composing, arranging, and singing Jewish liturgy and great American poetry for your edification and enjoyment
It seems I was forever a student; I still am.
Born and raised in Haifa, Israel, I began taking piano lessons the week of my 7th birthday. My love of the piano and classical music has expanded and matured ever since.
After serving in the Israeli Defense Force as a paramedic, I earned my Bachelor of Music and Arts degree in opera from the Samuel Rubin Academy of Music at Tel Aviv University.
I then continued my studies at the Vienna Conservatory in Vienna, Austria, followed by a master's degree in sacred music from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York. I was ordained as Cantor in 2005 and became a member of the American Conference of Cantors.
My tenure as Cantor at Temple Tikvah is endlessly rewarding. It affords me the flexibility to study and learn, as well as to create music – opportunities that every cantor looks for. For that, I am forever grateful.
600 Chariots is a labor of love which resulted in original Hebrew compositions for the liturgy of the Friday Evening Service at Temple Tikvah.
Many musicians throughout the years have employed great orchestras to give full voice to their musical vision. Lacking those resources, I turned to technology to fill the seats of my orchestra.
I hope that my translations of the Jewish liturgy from Hebrew to English are helpful. I tried to be as faithful as possible to the original Hebrew. The rich text in our prayer book, already woven with endless musical variants, suggested the simple melodies you hear in 600 Chariots. My inspiration in composing, arranging, and singing these liturgical Jewish songs is the genre of classical music and it has metamorphosed into a combination of classical music and pop. I found the journey to this orchestration deeply engaging. My hope is that you too will be inspired by these complex musical arrangements. During the many months in which the 600 Chariots project was in production, every single note, nuance, structure, and color was carefully and lovingly considered.
My new “album in the making” celebrates great American poets. The first composition, Edgar Allan Poe’s A Dream Within a Dream, gripped me the first time I read it many years ago. Working on A Dream Within a Dream deepened my affection to this wonderful poem and allowed a liberating sense of closure; the acceptance and the sincere appreciation of the question marks life brings.
This song brings classic poetry to life in a breathtaking, orchestral composition sure to move listeners.
I intend to keep this website growing.
I'll be submitting new compositions on a regular basis.
Stay tuned for the symphonic choral versions of
Adon Olam and Vayhee Erev
For now,
turn up the volume on your speakers,
and thank you for listening.
My utmost gratitude to Jay Beber for sparking the idea for this project, supporting me in its completion and his breathtaking artwork.
My Thanks to Jeremy Gerard at Gurari Studios, NYC, for his recording, editing, mixing and Videotaping skills.
This project was sponsored in part by the Alice Millheiser Sacks Memorial Fund.
