A classically trained baritone, Halfon was born in England and grew up in London's ancient Spanish and Portuguese community under the tutelage of Rabbi Dr Abraham Levy z"l.
He studied Hazzanut with four of the outstanding cantors of the Western Sephardi tradition: Eliezer Abinun z"l, Abraham Beniso z"l, Abraham Lopes Cardozo z"l and Halfon Benarroch z"l. As a young man he received the call from Congregation Shearith Israel in New York to serve as Hazzan, and over the past 30 years he has been invited to sing in Sephardi synagogues across the world.
In 2006 he was appointed by the President of the State of Israel as Hazzan of the Presidential Synagogue. Daniel studied vocal production with Neil Semer and Kenneth Newbern in New York, and in Jerusalem with Jay Shir.
This spirited melody for Yigdal, which bears a striking, but probably wholly coincidental, resemblance to the Scottish folk song Coming Through The Rye, is a comparative late comer to the London repertoire. In all likelihood it was brought to Bevis Marks from the Netherlands by Hazzan Joseph Gomes de Mesquita (1878-1958). Although much loved, it is sung only occasionally on Shabbatot and Mo’adim. In the Portuguese community of Amsterdam, by contrast, this tune is the standard Erev Shabbat melody. In addition it provides an endearing setting for the table song Yah Ribon.
Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!
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