Florence repertoires
The repertoire of the Florence Tempio Maggiore as we hear it today owes much to rabbi Fernando Belgrado, whose influence is still strong in the local chazanut. He was born in Firenze in 1913. His exceptional baritone voice made hime a chazan in Firenze since the early 1930s; he rose to the role of assistant rabbi to rabbi Nathan Cassuto before the persecutions, the war, and the tragic death of Cassuto. Belgrado was Acting Chief Rabbi in Firenze after the war, then formally became Chief Rabbi in 1963 and until 1978. He recorded for Leo Levi in 1954, but continued to make recordings for his many students during all his life. Much of this material is now in the Thesaurus. He died in Firenze on 11/04/1998.