Live performance of the "Kol Nidre" sung „a capella“ by Dorothea Fayne (Mezzo-Soprano) at the Heilandskirche in Berlin.

The Kol Nidre is a Jewish prayer that is sung three times on the eve of the holiest day of the year, according to Jewish tradition - Yom Kippur. Talmudic sources explain that this prayer is the moment, when an individual asks for Divine forgiveness for being unable to fulfil the oaths that were made that year to the Lord himself. In Jewish tradition this is viewed as being even more serious than the oaths that have been left unfulfilled between people.

The Kol Nidre prayer is recited by the Chazzan of the synagogue or by one of the two men, who are standing beside him. It serves as a formal declaration that the holiday -Yom Kippur- has officially begun and that all Jews should be allowed to join in the services no matter how grave may have been any of their transgressions.

Here is an English translation of the Hebrew text:

“All vows, prohibitions, oaths, consecrations, konam-vows (korban HEBREW; sacrifice or offering ENGLISH), konas-vows (the HEBREW substitute for G-d’s name), or equivalent terms, that we may vow, swear, consecrate, or prohibit upon ourselves from Yom Kippur that passed until this Yom Kippur, and from this Yom Kippur until the Yom Kippur in the world to come (or the next Yom Kippur), which is upon us for good. Regarding them all, we repudiate them. They all shall be undone, abandoned, cancelled, null, and void, not in force and not in effect. Our vows are no longer (valid) vows; our prohibitions are no longer (valid) prohibitions; and our oaths are no longer (valid) oaths...” (3x)

Certainly, books could be written about the text of the Kol Nidre. It seems that the Kol Nidre prayer is an acknowledgement of the fact that in Judaism it is viewed that each person is held accountable for their actions (or for their passivity and inaction) during their lifetime. Through Prayer, Charity and true Repentance forgiveness from G-d can be achieved by all people. This is probably one of the main messages behind the chanting of the Kol Nidre prayer.

This performance is dedicated to Jaqueline Du Pre – one of the greatest cellists ever to have lived.