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Cantors Assembly • June 1982 • Sivan 5742 • Vol XII • No 1 •

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JOURNAL OF SYNAGOGUE MUSIC

The Evolution of the Aleynu:
1171 to the Present

A Century of Idelsohn:

(On the hundredth anniversary of hi

s birth)

A Talk With Lazar Weiner

Lazar Weiner: Rebel With a Cause

Departments:

Music Section:

Poet'n Zingen, Poets Sing.

A portfolio of four songs by Yiddish poets
arranged by Lazar Weiner

Gail Posner Karp 3

Baruch Cohort 24

Kenneth Cohen 29

Samuel Rosenbaom 46

May Ko Mashmalon, A vraham Reisen
Di Nacht, Peretz Hirshbein
Mayn Shvester'l. Mani-Leib
Yankele, Mordechai Gebirrig

i/iew of New Music

Psalm 139, Warren Benson

Blessed is The Match, Lawrence Avery

Hebrew Songs for The Beginning Beginners, Ruth Norman

Jewish Easy Piano Pieces, Minuetra Kessler

Avadim Hayinu, Steven Richards

In Days of A we, Maurice Goldman

Yism'chu, Mordechai Cohen

You Shall Love The Lord Your God, Michael Horvit
Kaddish, Marvin David Levy

journal of synagogue music, Volume XII,Number 1
June 1982 / Sivan 5742

: Abraham Lubin

editor: Samuel Rosenbaum

ard: Ben Belfer, Hans Cohn, Baruch Cohon, Jerome
Kopmar, Saul Meisels, Solomon Mendelson, Philip Moddel, Chaim
Najman, Morton Shames, Moses J. Silverman, Pinchas Spiro.

business boabd: Andrew Beck, Levi Halperin, Robert Kieval, Martin
Leubitz, Morris Levinson, Yehuda Mandel, Arthur Sachs.

officebs of the cantors assembly: Abraham Shapiro, President;
Ivan Perlman, Vice President; Saul Hammerman, Treasurer; Harry
Weinberg, Secretary; Samuel Rosenbaum, Executive Vice President.

journal of synagogue music is a semi-annual publication. The sub-
scription fee is $12.50 per year. All articles, communications and
subscriptions should be addressed to Journal of Synagogue Music,
Cantors Assembly, 150 Fifth Avenue, New York 10011.

Copyright © 1982, Cantors Assembly

THE EVOLUTION OF THE ALEYNU — 1171 TO PRESENT

Gail POSNER KARP

(Gail Karp is presently serving as Cantor-Educator of Congregation B'nai
Jeshurun in Lincoln, Nebraska. She received her cantorial investiture from the
Hebrew Union College-J IR in 1978 and has a Master of Music Degree from the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This article was adapted from her Master's
Thesis entitled "The Aleynu: A Missinai Melody as sung by the Jews of
Bloisin 1171 C.E.)

The historical impact of an event cannot easily be judged. Its
account may survive in chronicles and books, but somewhere during
the processes of transmission, translation, documentation, and inter-
pretation, the full implications and meanings of a specific occurrence
can become blurred, disfigured or lost. The goal of this article is to
show the reader that the impact of history is also kept alive through
music. Religious music, particularly that of the J ews, contains that
rich historical tradition.

In this article I hope to show that the Aleynu theme has survived
despite all its liturgical and musical variations because of the pro-
found influence under which it came into being, namely religious
persecution. I do not wish to give the impression that 'traditional"
J ewish music has endured only because of its painful reminders of
destruction, violence and desolation. Realistically, much of J ewish
life has unfortunately existed under those conditions. Rather, I wish
to point out that it was a sense of J ewish pride and conviction that
also revealed itself through the vehicle of music during the last four
thousand years of J ewish history.

Very little is actually known about communal medieval J ewry,
In fact, 'There is a strong possibility that important historical facts
which could perhaps reverse our impression of European Jewish
History in the Dark Ages, have been lost.'" However, it is known
that sometime during the Middle Ages the economic atmosphere of
Europe began to change. J ewish merchants flourished while Europe
began to experience a recession. The individuals that were hardest
hit financially by this change of events were the nobility. Therefore
it is not surprising that the major outbreaks of anti-Semitism origi-
nated within the ranks of the titled, landed, gentry as opposed to
the masses. As time went on, conditions deteriorated further and

1 Cecil Roth, Gleanings, Essays in Jewish History, Letters and Art, (N.Y.:
Bloch Pub. Co., 1967). p. 18.

2 R. W. Southern, The Making of the Middle Ages, (New Haven, Corm.:
Yale University Press, 1953), p. 68.

'the twelfth century witnessed an appalling development in exit-
breaks of hysterical violence against the J ewish community."2

In despair, J ews began to return ever more strongly to the re-
ligion of their ancestors. They sought refuge in the worship service
from daily harassments. Consequently, Jewish religious creativity
flourished from the end of the eleventh century until the beginning of
the thirteenth century.3 This should not seem unusual, for in Louis
Finkelstein's study of the origin of the synagogue (American Acad-
emy of Jewish Research 1928-1930), he states that our earliest prayer
gatherings were initiated as a regular institution to escape royal
persecution, later being retained as a mode of worship established
as an historical tradition.

In turning to the worship service itself, we begin to see ways
in which the prayers were enriched. Several influences on worship
were present during this time.

The ascetic and mystical ardor of the eleventh and twelfth
centuries stirred large numbers of people to crave for a spiritual per-
fection which the average institutional ism did not satisfy. The ap-
pearance of new social problems in the growing towns of Northern
Italy, Southern France ... was another cause of the growth of
popular mystical movements.4

The ardent fervor exhibited by medieval Jews during that
time has been exhibited very rarely throughout history (two well-
known examples being the Holocaust and Masada). In this account
by Ephraim Ben Jacob, (a German Talmudist and poet), we see
that the events leading up to the first recorded account of the chant-
ing of the Aleynu display this special kind of emotional feeling:

... as the flames mounted high the martyrs (thirty-
four men and seventeen women) began to sing in unison
a melody that began softly but ended in a full voice.
The Christian people came and asked us: What kind
of song is this, for we have never heard such a sweet
melody?' We know it well (continued the letter
writer), for it was the song Alenu.5

3 Robert Chazan, "The Blois Incident of 1171: A Study in J ewish Inter-
communal Organization," The American Academy of J ewish Research 36
(1968), p. 13.

4 Frederick Artz, The Mind of the Middle Ages, (New York: Alfred A.
Knopf, 1966), p. 24.

5 Alfred Sendrey, The Music of the) ews in the Diaspora, (Cranbury, N.J .:
Thomas Yoseloff Ltd., 1970), p. 184.

While details of the Blois massacre vary according to each
account of the tragedy, there can be no doubt of the religious zeal
displayed by its victims, as they chanted the Aleynu.

Let us first examine the Aleynu prayer itself. The origin of the
text dates no earlier than the third century. The authorship is
ascribed to Rab of Babylonia and was primarily recited by neophytes
and proselytes as part of the conversion ceremony to renounce any
previous beliefs. Later, it was introduced into the High Holy Day
service, and following the Blois massacre of 1171, it was considered
such an important prayer that it was introduced into the daily ser-
vice. Its text is considered to be dogmatic and hymnic and it was
originally chanted in free rhythm. Because we have no notated
versions of the Aleynu chant prior to 1765, we can only guess how
the melody was sung during the early post-Biblical times. Therefore
I have chosen a simple setting of the prayer by Idelsohn, which I
believe best represents the version which was sung in Blois. This
choice was based on descriptions of music in early J ewish worship by
Eric Werner and Peter Gradenwitz. The latter states:

. . . the vocal music that dominated the liturgy was
rhythmically free and followed the irregular rhythms of
the words, setting the text to music by the use of care-
fully chosen motifs.6
Eric Werner further substantiates this theory by comparing J ewish
liturgy written during the first four centuries of Christianity to the
Christian liturgy of the Roman Church (i.e. parts of the Ordinarium
Missae, such the the Gloria, Credo, and particularly the Sanctus),
which will be mentioned later:

This category (chanted prayer) comprises most of the
dogmatic hymnic prayers, provided they are chanted
plainly. Some of the very oldest texts belong to this
group and much sweat and blood went into their redac-
tion and acceptance. They are all chanted in free
rhythm and boastful artistry was allowed to compro-
mise the dogmatic preciseness of these texts . . . They
are without meter or rhyme and represent the basis
and mainspring of the daily worship.7

See Illustration No. 1, Page 10.

*Peter Gradenwitz, The Music of Israel (N .Y.: W. W Norton and Co.,
1949). p. 66.

'Eric Werner, The Sacred Bridge, (N.Y.: Columbia University Press,
1959), p. 182.

This particular setting of the Aleynu has been forced into a common
meter to allow for better coordination between Cantor and ac-
companist.

Let us progress from this simple, relatively unadorned version
of the melody to the next phase of J ewish worship music, the Can-
torial Fantasia. The oldest extant version of the Aleynu is that of
Aharon Beer (1738-1821). Cantor Beer is said to have notated this
version of the Aleynu circa 1765 C.E. and it is the oldest known
notation of this theme which exists. Although the text does not
accompany the music, it is obvious that there has been an effort on
the part of Cantor Beer to put the text into a framework which
clearly reflects the musical style of later eighteenth century European
music. (Illustration on next page.)

See Illustration No. 2, Page 11.

Hanoch Avenary of Tel-Aviv describes a Cantorial Fantasia as
a considerable inflation of a well-known traditional melody according
to certain rules. According to Avenary, a Cantorial Fantasia is only
found within the class of Missinai melodies and it consists of se-
quences of themes always appearing in the same order: they are
true melodies, and not modi or motive-mosaics where the arrange-
ment of themes or motives would be left to the choice of the per-
former. Profilic motives and melismatic structure prevail throughout. 8

I do not believe that the Cantorial Fantasia was in practice at
the time of the Blois massacre. Research conducted in the area of
musical style and form from the elventh to the fourteenth centuries,
compounded with the fact that the prayer was chanted in unison by
a large group at the time of the genocide, seems to indicated against
an intricate and extended rendition. 9

This melody must have made quite an impression on the neigh-
boring Christian communities, for it was adapted into both the con-
temporary secular and non-secular cultures. One can only guess that

9B. Szablocsi's article, "A Jewish Music Document of the Middle Ages:
The Most Ancient Noted Biblical Melody" found in Semitic Studies in Memory
of Imannuel Low, edited by Alexander Schreiber, (Budapest: Alexander Kohut
Memorial Foundation, 1947). He states that characteristics of the Old Hebrew
liturgical melodies are "a psalmodical recitative of a few tones with

frequent symmetrical cadences and with a pure declamatoric rhythm
Also, Idelsohn speaks of the musical elements of the Missinai tunes as being
similiar to the forms which were current in the period of the Minnesong, from
the eleventh to the fourteenth centuries, (J ewish Music, pp. 147-80.)

the reason for this must have been the profound impact which the
Blois massacre had upon the people at the time.

Helen Wagenaar-Nolthenius provides us with one example of the
theme's infiltration into the secular society. In her research she con-
cludes that the folk ballad "Der Planctus J udei", from the Nicholas-
Fleury play FiliusGetron (found in the famous drama manuscript
Orleans #201) is a direct adaptation of the Aleynu theme. She states:
Reports on J ewish music in the Middle Ages are rare
and seldom is the music itself passed unto us. An oral
tradition is what the school of synagogue singing ad-
hered to and it never was published. On the contrary:
occasionally thej ews must have imitated the Christian
singing simply not to give offense, for that could be-
come so deadly. Even on the Loire where there were
largej ewish communities, the Christians seldom heard
anything of the J ewish cult singing. The composer of
our J ewish lament had, however, a notion of J ewish
music. (If he belonged to the Christian community of
1171). Did he hear in the year 1171 a 'song so beauti-
ful that we had never heard it before?' Or had he
worked into his lament Aleynu elements?

See Illustration No. 3, Page 12.

Below is a comparative chart of various settings of the Credo,
Sanctus and Agnus Dei. This chart (laid out by Eric Werner in The
Sacred Bridge), serves to prove the undeniable relationship between
the ecclesiastical melody Sanctus IX and the Aleynu This notation
of the Sanctus of the Roman Church (taken from the ninth mass
of the Virgin) is found in the Liber Usualis (Tournay and Rome-
Edition No. 780 of 1931) and has been known in this form since the
Tridentine revision in the sixteenth century.10

See Illustration No. 4, Page 13.

Now let us examine the changes in the actual text of the prayer
which were made between the year 1171 and the present day. Since
the thirteenth century (when the Aleynu was introduced into the
closing section of the three daily prayer services) several philosophical
and theological shifts have occurred within Judaism. These philo-
sophical and theological shifts have caused many changes in the

10 Eric Werner, A Voice Still Heard ., (University Park, Penn.: Penn

State U. Press, 1976). p. 43.

liturgy between various movements, particularly between the Ortho-
dox and the Reform.

See Illustration No. 5, Page 14.

See Illustration No. 6, Page 15.

The Orthodox version has remained unchanged since the Middle
Ages and is the same text as is found in Table 1. The Reform version
has undergone extensive revision. The early Reformers felt that the
original text was too particularistic, and strove to achieve a more
universal application of its usage. This spirit of Reform, along with
the creative freedom of the composer of J ewish music for the Reform
and Conservative synagogue, has resulted in several different and
interesting musical interpretations of the prayer itself. These changes
in interpretation are evident in the three settings by twentieth
century composers which follow.

See Illustrations No. 7A, 7B and 7C, Pages 16, 17 and 18.

The vocal line of this version bears a close resemble to the
Idelsohn version of the tune, however upon closer examination one
notices that the accompaniment is not all consistent with the strong,
out-going nature of the tune itself. Several Jewish musicologists,
in an attempt to integrate the Missinai melodies into the Nusach,
have classified the traditional Aleynu as belonging to the Adonai
Malach mode. If this is the case, then the use of minor thirds and
triads (which are not found in this mode) would completely change
the nature of the piece. Samuel Adler's setting of the High Holiday
tune with its subtle "minor" hints in the third stave represents to
me not only the determined, majestic nature of the tune but also a
strong relationship with the centuries of human suffering which have
occurred since its inception.

See Illustrations No. 8A and 8B, Pages 19 and 20.

Frederick Piket approaches the music in almost an opposite
manner. Retaining the traditional melody in an extended fashion
in the organ, he expresses his artistic creativity in the vocal line.
In this manner, his weaving in and out between major and minor,
tours the circle of fifths in a round-about way.

Finally, we turn to a setting by Eric Werner. Having come the
full circle, we find ourselves examining a melody not unlike the
Idelsohn notation. Written in the vernacular, this setting differs from

a chorded version of the older melody only in its sense of dynamics
and drama. Its link with history (all the while utilizing the Reform
version of the text) is readily apparent, yet it has achieved ready
acceptance into the repertoire of today's synagogue.

See Illustrations No. 9A, 9B and 9C, Pages 21, 22 and 23.

In which of these three directions will the mainstream of J ewish
music flow? Will we impose the new upon the old (like Piket), the
old upon the new (as did Adler), or blend both distinct elements
together, losing the identity of neither?

I n my introduction I stated that the raison d'etre of the con-
tinuing existence of the Missinai tunes is their subconscious and
historical association with religious persecution in Europe was rela-
tively unknown and the Fantasia flourished. Today we are facing
two differing sentiments regarding the future of J udaism, one of
renewed Anti-Semitism toward the State of Israel, prompting a
return to the traditi on (ergo the N usach) and that of the eternal
optimist, with views of assimilation, prompting creative compositions
which stray from the tradition. Only time will reveal which musical
tradition will prevail.

IT? SOlenu

Traditional

m i L , m mi mi ^i ^ 'iii iii

I ft » 7 J l r v±j J~1 NJ u r t m j

ILLUSTRATION No. 1

(Reprinted from the Jewish Song Book, 3rd ed., Cincinnati: Publicatioi
for Judaism, 1961, p. 244.)

Olenu leshabbeach

mm t-v^w teUL '^yt &m

^fr lPiiPil^^^ ^^ riig^i

ILLUSTRATION No. 2

(TVin«n.,r„<. nf HcKrow Oriontnl MolnHin -Vnl R M V ■ Ktav Pnhliskin

IIKI.KNK WAGKNAAK-NOI.TIIKNHJS

J^^^S^J^ Jc^tiS ^^^F^^^F

& 'jrjrjr ^ ^^^jS^^^ S ^ ^r m ^^ ^Yr^^^

ILLUSTRATION No. 3

Reprinted from Helen Wagenaar-N olthenius' " Der Planctusludeiund
der Gesang Jiidischer M arty rer in Blois anno 1171." Melanges offert h Rene
Crozet (Poitier: Societe d'Etudes Medievales, 1966). p. 883.

'-T-n J 'J^r

wm

^^

Pp cTr'c^ J'JJJ r c rrg

l<n ' : nn

I'Menu. of the Hig h Hafydays

j i i'm fnpii ii i P i i n ^

f r e. li u jTr ^^

ILLUSTRATION No. 4

(Reprinted from The Sacred Bridge by Eric Werner, (N.Y.: Columbia
University Press, 1959), pp. 569-70.)

•rav 1 ? rki* nrr? Sjdh [n** 1 ? fi^ 1 ? wj?y
y&B> nSi ninxn vij? m^v *&# * rrpjra

nipta tfina? *^n ip-i} pnj?n mWi ^ ^Sa
nr??n by»& dw"3 nj?» neto ♦ pa npvi. d^b*
n$K *Tiy p« •wrkg *wi :owa *hm i?y
oi»n nyn •irvTina 3m?3 on^r dsk ♦u^Sa
W&& dw"3 d^'Wi tfin »j ^ ^tSk rih^ni

it is our duty to praise the Lord of all things, to ascribe
greatness to him who formed the world in the beginning,
since he hath not made us like the nations of other lands,
and hath not placed us I i ke other fami I ies of the earth, si nee
he hath not assigned unto us a portion as unto them, nor a
lot as unto all their multitude. For we bend the knee and
offer worship and thanks before the supreme King of kings,
the Holy One, blessed be he, who stretched forth the
heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, the seat of
whose glory is in the heavens above, and the abode of whose
might is in the loftiest heights. He is our God ; there is
none else: in truth he is our King ; there is none besides
him ; as it is written in his Torah, And thou shalt know this
day, and lay it to thine heart, that the Lord he is God in
heaven above and upon the earth beneath : there is none
else.

ILLUSTRATION No. 5

(Orthodox version reprinted from The Authorized Daily Prayer Book by
Joseph H. Hertz, (N.Y.: Bloch Publishing Co., 1948), pp. 550-553.)

16

AFTERNOON SERVICE FOR ATONEMENT DAY

(Congregation rises)
(Before the open Ark)

Reader

isv!? n^a nrh .b$7] ]Mi6 nzwb nty
ntfiDi .p« lov] ww hum Rim? .nnfrn?
.o^pno 'na^ 1-TS7 nrotfi .bvnn wntiz npjj

Reader and Congregation, then Choir

:wn fna K>nj?n .doVdh o^p

Reader

Let us adore the ever-living God, and render praise
unto Him who spread out the heavens and established
the earth, whose glory is revealed in the heavens above
and whose greatness is manifest throughout the world.
He is our God; there is none else.

Reader and Congregation, then Choir

We bow the head in reverence and worship the
King of kings, the Holy One, praised be He.
ILLUSTRATION No. 6

(Reform version reprinted from The Union Prayer Book, Newly Revised
Edition, (N.Y.: CCAR, 1955). pp. 260-1.)

24b. Complete Adoration

(Conservative Ritual)

ILLUSTRATION No. 7A

ILLUSTRATION No. 7B

LLUSTRATION No. 7C

(Reprinted from Samuel Adler's Yamim Noraim, Volume II, (N.Y.:
Transcontinental Music Pub., 1972), pp. 107-109.)

6. ALENU - VA'ANACHNU

)r Cantor, Choir and Organ

feff r rgSr ^ gg^ 1 -

ILLUSTRATION No. 8A

ILLUSTRATION No. 8B

(Reprinted from Frederick Piket's Services for Yom Kippur, (Flushing,
N.Y.: New Horizon Music Pub., 1973). pp. 23-24.)

ILLUSTRATION No. 9A

ILLUSTRATION No. 9B

ILLUSTRATION No. 9C

Reprinted from Eric Werner's A New Year Service* (N.Y.: Bloch Pub-
lishing Co., 1952). pp. 33-35.)

A CENTURY OF IDELSOHN

BARUCH J . COHON

(In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Idelsohn's birth.
He was born on J uly 1, 1882 and died on August 14, 1938.)

"A munach," said my teacher, "has no personality." And I, at
age 5, understood perfectly. It was this man's pungent description
of the lowly munach, adapting itself melodically to whatever cantil-
lation followed it. Music was already a big part of my world, and
how could it be otherwise, for my teacher of Trop — my first teacher
of music of any kind — was Abraham Zevi Idelsohn. Looking back
on my childhood now, he looms large. But then, in the early 30s,
I took him for granted. He was my parents' friend, my father's
colleague, a man who had tunes running around in his head and
could sing them and play them and write them down and — best of
all — teach me how to do the same.

As I learned a little more, he let me copy some of his music.
I remember when he showed me that there really was a note below
middle C. A L'choh Dodi of his started on B.

Idelsohn was no longer an active cantor when I knew him. He
was Professor of J ewish Music and Liturgy. His most prolific pub-
lishing years were just behind him. His standard works were new
then, and exciting the scholarly world. The last five volumes of his
Thesaurus of Hebrew Oriental Melodies appeared in 1932 — including
the Synagogue and Folk Song of the J ews of Germany and Eastern
Europe, plus the special volume of Hassidic song — to stand along-
side the Sephardic and Oriental traditions he had collected in volumes
1-5. His Jewish Music was just three years off the press, and
Schocken is still selling paperback reprints of it today. 1932 saw
his second standard book, Jewish Liturgy, published. And a succes-
sion of articles and monographs in Hebrew, English, Yiddish, German,
Dutch — on the.Ro/ Nidrey and its origins, on the Mogen Ovos mode,
on the life of the Vilna Bal-ha-besl, on the Cantor in J ewish life —
and on and on his efforts went. Glance through any of the biographies
written of him, during the '30s in the Chazzonim Velt and the Mac-
Millan Encyclopedia of Music and a dozen other publications — or
more recently in the Encyclopedia J udaica — and you get the feeling
of a passionate, powerful, colorful, and determined man. A man who
channeled his prodigious energy into pioneer achievements in his
field, our field.

Baruch J. Cohon is the Hazzan of Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills, Ca.
He has written extensively on the origin and development of nusah hatefilah.

25

I was hardly aware of most of that, however. As a young boy,
I was aware of an imposing man — heavy head, black Vandyke beard,
barrel chest, bearing himself with a kind of dignity that was of no
specific country but specifically Idelsohn. He could be stormy and
impulsive. He could abandon himself to the pleasure of a fine spring
day, or could brood in volcanic rage. His offhand reaction to the
American presidential campaign of 1932 was open disgust ("Roosevelt
slings mud, and Hoover slings back the same mud"). He was im-
patient with his students at the Hebrew Union College ("A boy
without a book is no boy"), furious with those who would challenge
his professional authority while lacking even a fraction of his qualifi-
cations, tireless in working to finish a manuscript or a score, and yet
he made time and found patience for a friend's young son. His own
children were grown-ups to me. His youngest daughter Yiska was
in high school, as was Dena, while the older children were living
far away in South Africa. His apartment on Maple Avenue in the
old Avondale section of Cincinnati was a scholar's workshop, and
also a place where his wife Zilla could fashion gefilte fish for Shabos.

Ethnomusicology was a word I didn't learn until nearly twenty
years later, but of course that was Idelsohn's greatness and his
unique contribution to our art. Because of his combination of dream,
drive, and insight, and because of the times and places in which he
moved, he could singly bridge the gap between tradition and science
in J ewish music, to an extent that nobody else approached before
or since.

This coming year we will close a century since Abraham Zevi
Idelsohn's birth (J uly 1, 1882) in a section the Czar called Curland
— now the Latvian S.S.R. A century of Idelsohn.

Early in that century, young Zevi stood in a market in Libau
watching a man wrap a fish for a customer. The paper he was using
for wrapping had strange marks on it — not letters in any alphabet
Zevi had ever seen. He kept asking what those marks were until
he found someone who recognized them. Music writing? A revela-
tion! The yeshivah bochur had discovered a new world; music could
be represented on paper. He didn't rest after that until he had
mastered music — first, in the customary way that he knew as the
son of a shochet and baal t'fillah, by singing and studying with the
local cantor, Mordecai Rabinovitz — later pursuing his studies
with the great Boruch Schorr, and in conservatories in Germany.
His restless nature, the migrations of his family, and his dream of
musical research, took him first to Southern Germany, then to
South Africa, and in 1905 to J erusalem. There he found a polyglot
steaming unsanitary and jittery population, ruled in archaic splendor

26

by the Turkish Sanjaq of J erusalem, although the Ottoman Empire
was slowly crumbling under its own rotten weight. Perhaps it
would have disintegrated sooner, except that the subject popula-
tion consisted of countless groups that were strangers to each other.
Each group was isolated, culturally distinct, ignoring all the rest.
And therein lay their supreme value to Idelsohn. A strongly-built
young man with plenty of courage, he strapped an Edison cylinder-
recording machine to his back, and went hunting for melodies.
Every spare hour, and the few spare pennies not absolutely needed
to feed his growing family, he spent prowling the city from Yemenite
enclave to Hassidic shtiebl to Bukharan synagogue, collecting the
sounds of Jewish life in all its varieties. If the Oriental Jews
refused to sing into his strange horn-box, that didn't stop him. He
relied on his memory, developed his own modified notation for the
quarter-tones of the Middle East, built a file.

Idelsohn's century is in very reality the century of our musical
Haskalah. All of us — cantors, researchers, musicologists, lecturers,
composers, teachers — look to him for our foundations. He became
all of those things, that boy with the well wrapped fish. And when
he did his collecting — "field work," we'd call it now — he had no
Foundations to help him. No grants. No patrons. Only the dream
and the drive, and the unique talent and insight to take musical
charge of that moment in Jewish history.

The separate streams of our farflung tradition have begun to
merge now. The technological heirs of Idelsohn's Edison recorder
have wiped out all musical isolation. Cultural researchers in Israel
today comb the ingathered exiles to find pure melodies that Idel-
sohn didn't already hear and collect. And what of us in the Ameri-
can cantorate? Where would our art and our knowledge be without
his work? He contributed so much that we can hardly conceive of
J ewish music without Idelsohn. Others have excelled in specialized
areas. They, and we, stand on his shoulders.

By his own definition, Idelsohn was certainly no "munach." A
pazer, if anything. And he had a lesson for me which went even
beyond music. Cut down by one stroke after another, crippled,
muted, he still fought back. In 1933, he was to receive an honorary
Doctorate. For the first time in months, he did the impossible. He
stood on both feet, with only a cane for support, immaculately
dressed and as dignified as ever, and mounted the steps to accept
the degree. This courageous, sensitive man and total J ew taught
all of us that day about self-respect.

The following year, paralysis struck again. Totally incapaci-
tated, he died in South Africa in 1938. Thinking of his scant 56

27

years and of what they produced for us as bearers of the J ewish
musical heritage, and for me personally, I feel fortunate to have
been a munach to such a pazer.
Y'hi zichro baruch.

ABRAHAM Z. IDELSOHN - A Chronology

J uly 1.1882 -Born in Pfilsburg, Curland, Russia (now Latvian S.S.R.) to

Azriel, a Shochet, and Baal Tefilah; and Deborah Idelsohn. One of 16

children: 7 survived.
1833-1901 -I n Libau: attended heder and yeshivah to age 17; 17-18 sang in

choir of Cantor Mordecai Rabinovitz. Studied hazzanut, harmony and

Hebrew literature.
1901- In Berlin: Sternsches Conservatorium, choir singer in Charlottenburg

Synagogue with Boruch Srhorr.

1902 — Hazzan in Leipzig. Studied at Royal Conservatory of Music, also with

Cantor H. Schneider, whose daughter, Zilla, he married.

1903 — Hazzan/Shochet in Regensburg. Lost first-born.

1904 — Hazzan in Johannesburg, South Africa. Daughter horn.

1905 — Went to J erusalem with his family, following the twin passions for Eretz

Yisrael and Shirat Yisrael.
1905-21 -In Jerusalem: Cantorial, teaching and research work. During World
War I, led a Turkish army hand — and sang Schubert lieder to enter-
tain the officers!

Published works from this period include: "Shirey Tzion", Toras
HaN'ginah" "Shirey T'Fillah". and "Sefer Hashirim". The latter with
all its music printed Hebrew-style, right to left. First volume of his
Thesaurus "Songs of the Yeminite Jews" (Vienna, 1914) — result of
his field research among the various J ewish groups in the Yishuv.
Thesaurus was to cover 10 volumes and to take 20 years to complete.

i J erusalem with an orchestra of

1921-23 — In Germany: Lecturing and writing. Began Hebrew-Language His-
tory of Jewish Music for Bialik's "Dvir" Press. Volumes 2 and 3 of
Thesaurus (Babylonian, and Persian-Bokharan-Daghestani) published
Berlin 1922.

1923-24-1 n America: Lecturing and officiating. Cantor for several months
at Society for the Advancement of J udaism, New York. Now, volumes
of Thesaurus published with English and Hebrew introductions, as well
as German. Vol. 4, (Oriental Sephardim) Berlin 1923.

1924 -Settled in Cincinnati, first to catalogue the Birnhaum Music Library,
hut soon thereafter as Professor of Jewish Music and lecturer in Jewish
Liturgy at Hebrew Union College, a position he held until his death.

1925-28-Began to write and compose for the U.S. Jewish community, while
teaching and lecturing. Articles, synagogue music, and the first edition
of his "Jewish Song Book" published. Also, in 1928 the 5th volume of
the Thesaurus (Moroccan) published in Berlin.

28

1929 — Published "Jewish Music, in its Historical Development" (Holt & Co.,
535 pages) which has remained the standard work on the subject, re-
issued by Schocken for today's market.

1930-33 -Published monographs on "The Kol Nidre Tune", "The Diwan of
Hebrew and Arabic Poetry of the Yemenite Jews", "Features of Jewish
Sacred Folksong in Eastern Europe", and others. "Jewish Liturgy"
(Holt & Co., 404 pages) appeared in 1932. The American Council of
Learned Societies undertook to finance completion of the Thesaurus,
and the last five volumes were published (in Leipzig, with English
introductions) : #6 (18th Century German Synagogue Song, from
manuscripts), #8 (Eastern European Synagogue Song), #9 (Eastern
European Folksong), #10 (Chassidic) and finally #7 (South German).

1933-38 — Despite a succession of strokes which cut his life short, he published
a few more works, and received the H.U.C.'s Doctor of Divinity Degree.
Taken back to J ohannesburg in September 1937. to spend his last days
with his family, he died a helpless invalid on August 14, 1938.

A TALK WITH LAZAR WEINER

Kenneth Cohen

(Following is a transcript of an interview with Lazar Weiner on
J anuary 23, 1981, at his home at 310 West 97th Street in New York.
The interviewer was Kenneth Cohen, then a J unior at the Cantors
Institute of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. Hazzan
Cohen is a 1982 graduate and will begin to serve Congregation
Shearith Israel of Dallas, Texas in September 1982.

Lazar Weiner passed away on December 15, 1981, after par-
ticipating in a concert of his music held at Hebrew Union College's
School for Sacred Music on Sunday, December 13, 1981. His final
work was a masterful setting of "Merciful God" (a poem by Samual
Rosenbaum based on the Yiddish poem, Eyl Hanun by Kadia Molo-
dovski) for Soprano, Cello and Piano.)

Key: Lazar Weiner = W: Kenneth Cohen = C: Workman's Circle
Choir = W.C.C.:

C: The first question, Professor Weiner, is ....

W: Would you cut out the word Professor, just Weiner.

C: Alright. Please tell me about the Workman's Circle Choir. When
it was organized, how it was organized, who organized it, and
what role you played in the organization.

W: As far as I recall, the Workman's Circle Choir was organized in
1914, by a man named Pironznikoff. Zaslowsky succeeded
Pironznikoff. F. Posner, a conductor who came from London
was the first "musician" in the full sense of the word. He led
the chorus for about 12-13 years from 1916-1929. He was pre-
paring a concert at Town Hall, which was to be the first major
concert the group was to have performed. Posner himself trans-
lated the oratorio "Elijah" into Yiddish and arranged for an
orchestra to accompany the group. He died a few weeks before
the scheduled date of performance, some time near the end of
1929.

After his death, two men came to see me and inquired as to
whether I would be interested in the post of conducting the
choir. Both men, Mr. Mawlot and Mr. Lifschutz, were ardent
members of the choir which at that time numbered about 40
people. In response to their offer, I had certain conditions which
had to be met prior to my acceptance: Number 1, I would not
continue in the footsteps of Posner and complete the rehearsals
culminating in the performance at Town Hall. In other words,
I would not take over the work which someone else prepared,

30

. . Secondly, during the first year the chorus would not have
any scheduled appearances.

Prior to the negotiations, I had heard the choir a number
of times and was not pleased with their diction, as far as Yiddish
was concerned. Since I'm a bug about Yiddish, I would not
let it go that way. I have too much respect for the text as well
as the music. . . . Both should be maintained on a high level.
Our language should be kosher.

Our problem is that as J ews we have so many dialects,
and what people doesn't? In New York we say "Bawston" and
in Boston they say "Baaston". Now if New Yorkers and Bos-
tonians have dialects, why can't we J ews have dialects too?
There are all kinds of dialects. I consider only one dialect —
the printed word. This is the language I pursue and that I
sought to develop.

With music it is the same thing. I took over the chorus in
late '29, and I had to remake it my way. Meaning, I wanted
to have a different method, not necessarily better. But I must
say that within 2 years the choir grew from 35-40 people to
over 100 by the time of our first Town Hall performance. We
did various programs and compositions, primarily of Jewish
composers. Naturally, we performed Beethoven, Rossini,
Mozart, but everything was translated into Yiddish. My friends
were probably the greatest Yiddish poets of that era, and when-
ever I asked them to make any translations, they were very
happy to help.
C: Who, for example?

W: David Pinsky, H. Leivick, Nissenson, Minkoff, Mani Leib,
Schumacher, Y. L. Peretz, Peter Hirshbein, A. W. Liessin, A.
Reisen, etc. ... all the greatest writers.
C: They translated the works on your behalf — no money or any-
thing?
W: None whatsoever. We were too poor to give them any money
and they were too poor to accept money. It was a question of
idealism, Jewish idealism. There were not many choruses
around and we were all glad to have a chorus which would
function on a higher level. I was with that chorus for 35 years.
I have all the programs I have ever performed. I don't think I
ever repeated a whole program — ever! This can be verified —
except in one instance where we performed a cantata of mine.
The demand of the audiences and members of the choir was so
great that we repeated that particular program. We did the
repeat performance five weeks after the initial performance.

31

C: What was the name of the cantata?

W: "A Mol in a Tzayt" (Once upon a time). We had good reviews,
and it was subsequently performed a number of times after that.
Throughout the thirty-five years I had completely different
programs. There wasn't a J ewish composer I have not per-
formed. Of course, I would not perform a composition that
wasn't worthwhile performing; because I'm a musician and to
me, music comes first. Never mind my partiality towards my
friends. If it wasn't good enough, I would not do it. In thirty-
five years, we did an enormous amount of music. The YIVO
Institute has about 11-12,000 programs of our concerts in Yid-
dish and in Hebrew in its library. I did not want to send these
programs to Israel for one reason.

It's not that I'm against Israel, but I felt that I've collected
all the material right here in this land and if anybody in America
would want to get acquainted with this type of repertoire they
would not have to travel to Israel to obtain a piece of music.
YIVO houses my collection which is open to the public and
accessible through Xerox copies. All of my own compositions
are there as well. In addition, the music of Rossini, Mozart and
Schubert, Beethoven are there at YIVO all translated into
Yiddish. We also did Yiddish folk songs, and a program of
folk songs of different nationalities. For example, Gruizine,
Chubash, Russian Ukraine, White Russian, Middle Russian and
Upper Russian — all kinds including Yugoslavian and J apanese.

C: Did you have the folk song program in order to best represent
the various nationalities present in the choir?

W: No, there were only Jews in the choir. But I wanted them
getting acquainted with various nationalities of the entire world.
So we gathered all kinds of folk songs. I even arranged one or
two songs, but I primarily took native composers and their own
arrangements, translating everything into Yiddish. That was
quite a big job too, but I had a man by the name of David
Pinski, one of our greatest dramatists, who was very happy to
help — a delightful human being, who translated many of these
songs. Being that the Workman's Circle was a workers organi-
zation, I had to cater to their desires and not sing any religious
songs. Not that they were against religion. Yet, they were not
religious. They called themselves the International J ews. What-
ever that may be? I'm not criticizing that ... that was their
policy. But if I accepted the job, I had to abide by their policy.
And nevertheless, I sneaked in religious songs translated into
Yiddish. We did one hassidic composition, but I don't re-
member the name ... and I was not reprimanded for that.

32

C: Did you do that religious work because the choir had changed
in terms of religious observance at that point?

W: No, I persuaded them to sing it because we are a part of that
culture. We are not simply Jews because we're circumsized.
There are so many different things that we have, which of course
is very difficult to talk about. I wish they would not have
Socialism, Buddhism, anarchism, Communism, Zionism, all
kinds of "isms". We're J ews once and forever, otherwise we'll
split into little fragments.

C: What were the dominant ideas in the group?

W: They were Socialists. But Socialism is not a religion. Some were
leftists not communists. But as leftists who resented religious
music, they did not quarrel about performing it. We did a work
of Bach that we translated into Yiddish. But we did not sing
to our God primarily. Do you see? Ana Adonai Hoshiu Na
(Answer us Lord and Save us) did not enter into our minds.
We went on. These thirty-five years were a tremendous memory
in my life. We all passed through many fascinating people work-
ing with many great artists, poets, writers and human beings.

C: You mentioned before I started the interview, that Richard
Tucker was in your choir?

W: Richard Tucker was with us when he first began to sing for a
span of two years. It was a very good voice. But his musician-
ship was not on par yet. Luckily, he married a woman who was
well to do, who believed in him. Tucker had good zitzfleish,
if you know what I mean. And he sat and he worked diligently.
Tucker was the king. And even when he reached the top, he
never denied my working with him. A few years ago there was
a banquet given in his honor and I was there because I belonged
to that organization. He told the group gathered there 'There
sits one of my teachers, his name, Lazar Weiner, who gave so
much to me." We even have pictures taken together.

C: Do you recall what year that was?

W: Since the picture is dated 35, approximately one year prior, I
suppose.

C: Do you remember any soloists from your choir, or any musical
people that eventually became prominant members of the J ew-
ish community or the world at large?

W: No. Most members of the choir were manual laborers -workers.
There was once, however, a young lady with an excellent voice
who gave a recital in Town Hall. She had a very promising
career, but she didn't have the patience and she married, had
children and dayeinu — she was forgotten. I was the first con-

33

ductor of the Communist chorus in New York. Not because of
political affiliations. I took the job because I needed the money
and at that time a job was a job.

Under my auspices, that group grew in size to over two
hundred singers in less than three months. (Fr&h&t Gesangs-
ferein). In that particular chorus, one day a young man came
over to me and asked if I would be so kind as to listen to him
sing. I listened to the young man sing a few notes and then
asked him how old he was. He replied, "I'm 18". I said to him
that he was not 18, and that he should go home and not sing
for an entire year. In other words, don't open your mouth. I
told him that it is symptomatic that you will be blessed with
a good voice. I felt that there was something in him. A few
years later, I attended the preview of a movie called the Vilne
Balabessel. After the viewing, a young man came over to me
and said to the women he was with, pointing at me, "Do you
see this man? His name is Lazar Weiner. I came to him once
and auditioned for his group. After the audition, he asked how
old I was and I told him a lie — 18, I was really 16. He told
me to go home and ref rai n from si ngi ng — but I kept on scream-
ing my lungs out. Then I decided, by jimminy, maybe that
fellow is right ... sol completely gave up singing for months
. . if I could not hug and kiss him now for he saved my life."
So I asked this young man who he was. And he replied that
he was the one singing the lead in this Vilne Balabessel ...
my name is Moyshe Oyshe. So here was a case, that uninten-
tionally, I felt it important to tell you, but perhaps not, a
prominant individual was indirectly affected by my work in the
chorus that ultimately affected his life. But aside from him,
we did not have anyone significantly musical in the group.

C: How did you teach music to the group?

W: Everything was by rote. Almost no one read music. When I used
to ask the chorus, "Why are you holding music before your
eyes", they used to reply, "It looks much nicer when we hold
something." 'See, there you have it — it was an amateur group.

C: How did you whip them into shape though? If they had this
musical deficiency?

W: Patience, my friend. Blood and sweat. We performed Mendel-
sohn's Walpurgis Nacht — a tremendous oratorio. We also did
Mendelsohn's Elijah and Schubert's Song of Triumph. My com-
positions were also standard repertoire — and they were not
very easy. At the beginning, it was heartbreaking for the group
to learn the material. They would not listen to me, I was very

strict. But as they gradually worked with the music, it became
more comfortable for them. They loved it . . . and I felt their
love when I was standing with them on the platform (shows me
a picture) with the choir of one hundred and thirty. I never
used to curse at them. My father taught me not to swear. My
curse words with the choir were 'Your eyes should be glued
to me." And their eyes were glued to me. "Weiner", they used
to say, "what is it that you want? Here we are.. Take us."
And I took them.

C: So you were very strict with them.

W: Because they saw that in the end I didn't want it for myself. It
was meant for the whole. Even now I get letters of compliments
from past choir members. These things are memorable to me
because it is a major part of my life. Thirty-five years is no
joke! I was with the Central Synagogue for 44 years . . . which
is a totally different story. But the W.C.C. was a highlight of
my life for 35 years.

Usually in choral organizations, the balebatim want to
deliver speeches to the audience prior to a performance. I used
to plead with them to let the choir speak for themselves, ex-
plaining that this 'was a musical event, not any planned talk
show. They told me they had a right to speak, but I told them
they didn't have any right. I threatened to bring the chorus in
right at the same moment that they were going to begin their
talk. I finally talked them into it, and they had the greatest
respect for the choir, my work, for all that we did. And I am
very appreciative of that.

C: Do you have any recordings of the choir?

W: Look, to make a recording one needs to be in a studio environ-
ment which accepts every little detail. Today, when a recording
is made, we make a test recording of the song and change it if
it isn't good. But when we made our recordings, we had a group
of one hundred people with one small mike. And what was the
result? The singers closest to the mike were the ones which
dominated the recording. Totally unbalanced and distorted.
The Forward once published 1,000 copies of a cantata of mine,
A Mol in a Tzeit. I hope all the recordings are destroyed! I
couldn't stand it when I heard it. It was improperly recorded.
You have to have a studio to make a recording, otherwise it
doesn't mean anything.

C: When a person came to you and asked to join the choir, how did
you audition them?

35

W: I just listened — if they had voices and ears, that was sufficient
for me.

C: What musical tests did you use, if any, on the piano?

W: I played a scale or an arpeggio. If they were able to duplicate
what I was playing on the piano I would say to them, "Alright,
you have a voice, you're in!"

C: It was as simple as that?

W: I would also find out what type of ranges they had . . tenors
or baritones. It wasn't their musical ity that I was after.

C: What happened if a person didn't have a good voice, but really
wanted to be in the choir?

W: Those desires I couldn't accommodate.

C: How did you inform them that they couldn't ...?

W: I'm awfully sorry ... become a librarian... this is more
or less a musical organization.

C: Where did you perform?

W: We had our yearly concert. Either in Carnegie Hall or in Town
Hall with the Philharmonic or a small group from that ensemble.
Something on the order of 40-50 pieces. Sometimes, the New
York Philharmonic or the Toscannini orchestra performed with
us.

C: Did you travel?

W: Weoncesang at a convention in Philadelphia.

C: Did you ever have an assistant?

W: No. Didn't want one.

C: Why not?

W : They were too used to me.

C : What was the choi r's favorite song?

W: We didn't have one. We did a tremendous amount of com-
positions.

C: Did you commission anyone to write for the choir?

W: As a test, I asked 5 J ewish composers of the theatre, Ruminshin-
sky, Olshanetsky, Secunda, Ellstein, Trilling. Only Ellstein and
Secunda bothered to answer. Secunda wrote this completely
Schubertian piece and I performed it. But in order to have it
performed I had it published, because I didn't want it xeroxed
or copied ... I wanted it published. But we only performed
it once and never again ... because it wasn't a good com-
position.

C: What was the title of the work?

W: Words by Reyzin ... I can't recall the title. Ellstein wrote
a piece called Mir VelnZeyn. An excellent piece. We published
it and performed it a number of times. Also, the W.C.C. to-

36

gether with the J ewish Congress, commissioned a work by a
Cantor from Stockholm, Rosenbluth.

He was here in New York a few years ago at a convention.
Rosenbluth set a text by Peretz. For this work, were gathered
5 choruses together with the W.C.C. numbering close to 250
people. We won the first prize of the competition, which paid
200 dollars. They sent us the money and we then performed
it a number of times — first with an orchestra.

C: Whose arrangements did you sing?

W: Everybody that was worthwhile musically.

C: Do you recall compositions, names, which were popular then?

W: Zilberts. Originals as well. A little bit of Low who was instru-
mental in making a conductor out of me. He forced me to
organize the chorus. He said that there was a chorus available
without a conductor. "Go on and pick up the baton." He said,
'You know Yiddish and you know music, go on and start con-
ducting." So I began conducting. This was in 1917 — in
Brooklyn . . I believe because Freyerhaber was then con-
ducting a Mendelsonian Symphony orchestra then. But Low
helped me start in J ewish choruses — there was a need for it
then. There were many choruses in the country.

I was Low's accompanist for a while and we performed
every J ewish composer.

C: Did you ever bring in professional singers when you performed?

W: Depended when and what we needed to get by. But we tried
to avoid it. The chorus didn't like such things. But I felt, that
since we had so many women in comparison to men, we were
forced to amend the imbalance. After all, music is a question
of balance.

C: Where did you get these singers from?

W: One professional would recommend another professional.

C: You organized the choir and advertised it through the news-
papers?

W: Yes. Through the Forward or The Day or The Morning Journal,
which were popular at that time.

C: How many concerts would you have in an average year?

W: Our chorus couldn't have a concert in any house. We had to
have a big place ... Town Hall or Carnegie Hall where they
could have a big stage production. I would never allow the size
of an auditorium interfere with the number of choir members
that could comfortably fit in that space. It was either all or
none.

C: How many concerts did you have?

37

W: It varied. Sometimes we would have concerts two or three times
a year. Sometimes none. Excepting for our own concert. Ours
was holy to us. Year after year we had our own concert.

C: Who were the people who attended your concerts?

W: Primarily, Jewish audiences.

C: Who paid for the choir? And for your salary?

W: The conductor was paid for by the choir members who paid ten
cents a week dues each, I think it reached a point where it
grew to be 20 cents a week. But the W.C. gave them a certain
subsidy. Plus there were dues for buying music, paying for the
hall and many other expenses all absorbed by the choir. The
choir members had to sell tickets for their own performances
in order to fill up the house. No one was going to do it for them.
The same situation occurs today with the Zamir Chorale.

C: Did you ever use your own compositions with the choir?

W: Many of them. But I never stood for "MY music is the only
one which exists." Once there was a J ubilee program given at
Town Hall celebrating my 50th birthday, in which I decided to
give a program of my own compositions. Both the W.C.C. and
the Central Synagogue Choir sang. We made over 1,000.00
dollars and I didn't know what to do with the money. I came
home and said to my wife, 'Well, we made the money, now
what do you want me to do? Shall we take a trip somewhere?"
She answered that she wanted to take the money and invest it
in the printing of my songs. So we printed a book of songs —
my first books of 11 songs. It required the investment of the
1,000.00 dollars as well as an additional few hundred. Now its
out of print. I have since published three more books all with
the same design on the cover ... published by Transcon-
tinental. You ask a short question, and I give you a long
answer.

C: Did you ever use the choir as an experimental group for your
compositions?

W: I experimented with them and too often wrote extremely com-
plicated material. At least I had someone to work with. I could
hear the music in my mind, yet very often what you write on
paper looks beautiful, but when it comes to the sound . . .

C: It' snot what you want ...

W: It ain't necessarily so. Before my work was published, I could
use the choir to experiment with.

C: Getting back to the chorus itself, what was the average age of
the singers? And from what facets of life were they?

W: Workers from every facet of life. They would frequently come
to the rehearsals in the evening totally exhausted.

c: From what? The garment, textile firms ... or unions, like the
I.L.G.W.U.?

W: Yes. Every kind of work, not necessarily the garment industry.
There were plumbers, truck drivers . . .

C: Manual laborers.

W: Yes, nearly all of them. Even paper hangers ... every type
of skill. They would always come dirty. But they loved it . . .
I would see 100 pairs of eyes looking at me saying, 'What do
you want? Take it! We'll give it all to you." There was
nothing to deter them.

C: They loved you ... they loved it!

W: It wasn't a question of loving it. They felt that they wanted
to give . . to give what we all have prepared. There was a
tremendous enthusiasm. I'm sorry I don't have it anymore ...
I dont see it anymore. Though I do teach a couple of classes
now that I'm really excited about. But those classes are not
quite the same as the W.C.C.

C: You mentioned that there were more females than males. Why
was that?

W: Somehow women are more sentimental than men in singing.
Even in our folklore, the majority of our songs are love songs.

C: What was the choirs' level of J udaica?

W: All of them read the Yiddish paper. It is questionable whether
or not they attended the synagogue regularly. I don't know,
maybe they did. I personally doubt it very much.

C: Did you use any of the music you learned at the Brodsky syna-
gogue in Kiev while you were a chorister in the two choral
groups you conducted?

W: It's a strange thing. I left the Brodsky synagogue when I was
about 14 ... (leads me to his back room of his large apart-
ment off Broadway and shows me pictures of his past — re-
counting his many personal relationships, achievements, etc.
■ ■ .).

C: In what languages did you address the choir during rehearsals?

W: Whenever I would start speaking in English the choir would
say, "Weiner is angry with us already." I spoke to them mainly
in Yiddish. Well, you asked me about my childhood. When I
left the synagogue in Kiev, I had already studied piano for one
year at the Kiev Conservatory. I didn't finish the Conservatory
for my family feared the onslaught of the pogroms, so we left
for America. My father had left a few months before the rest

39

of us. In fact, our boat that left Russia was the last boat to
leave from Europe prior to the start of World War I. Instead
of taking 7 days to reach New York from Hungary, it took us
11. There was a lot of gold aboard the vessel and the Germans
were chasing us for the booty. Yet we made it here . . . we
were very fortunate.

During my first seven years in America, I had absolutely
nothing to do with J ewish music. Nothing penetrated me. But,
over time, I became acquainted with J ewish literature, various
writers and authors. Since throughout my life I was an ardent
reader, I quickly became saturated with the language and en-
chanted. I began to recall those years when I sang in the
synagogue as a child. Like they say in Italian, "poco a poco",
little by little, those feelings and memories began to get closer
to me. By now, I had already become acquainted with the
major Jewish composers, such as Achron, Milner, Rosovsky,
Gneissen, Engel . all of whom have left a tremendous im-
print on me. I began to feverishly study their work — and the
result, of course, is seen in my work.

One very important incident occurred around the year 1924.
Joe Engel had just left Russia for Berlin. I located his new
address and sent him three of my Yiddish compositions, think-
ing well, I 'II take a chance and see if he responds. I told him in
my letter who I was, where I've studied, etc. ... and how
excited I was about the prospect of setting Yiddish poetry.
Please, I asked him, tell me your impressions of my work. I
had a lot of chutzpah. There he was, Engel, way up on top,
and there I was, just a little bit of nothing.

Well, behold a few weeks later, I received a letter saying,
'Young man, I think that you have talent. But I don't under-
stand something. You say that you sang in a synagogue choir
as a child, and that you are pursuing studying Yiddish litera-
ture, yet I do not see anything Jewish in your music. Why?
Why don't you remind yourself of your past? What you sang
in the synagogue? Why don't you return to trop? This was the
beginning of myj ewishness. It was Engel, a few thousand miles
away . . . and his remarks.

All of my musical life it was Mozart, Bach and Brahms,
Beethoven and Haydn, Schubert and Schumann. Here in Amer-
ica it was a different story. I discovered Yiddish songs which
I had never heard of before. It was here in the U.S. that I
encountered Ravel and other great French composers. I don't
know whether it was instinct or what, which made me write

Yiddish songs. However, I remember distinctly the A. W. Binder
wanted to beat me up because I wrote a piece with parallel
fifths — this was in the early 1920's. He actually wanted to
beat me up. In those days he detested parallel fifths!

C! Speaking of your contemporaries, did any of them influence you
aside from . . .

W: I feel that I am very much under the influence of Achron and
Milner.

c: How?

W: Because of the J ewishness in their melodic lines. Do you see,
it is one thing to take a J ewish melody and make an arrange-
ment. But take for instance, Boris Godunov. You know it could
only have been written by a Russian who was steeped in Russian
music. With me it is exactly the same thing. In the Yiddish
Art-Song class that I taught at the J ewish Theological Semi-
nary, did you sing Yankele Vil a Yeger Zayn? (Sings the
melody from the song).

C: Yes.

W: This is trop! And it is enough for the pieces melodic base.
Mimer did not take trnp per se, but this was tropish within him.

C: Right, the source of Yiddishkeit.

W: Consciously or unconsciously. Does it mean that because Bee-
thoven took Scotch songs and arranged them, it made him a
Scotsman? Prokefiev used Yiddish folksongs given to him by
a friend of mine and wrote an overture for orchestra. Does this
make him a J ew?

C: What were the goals you set for the choir?

W: Clean, clear singing.

c: Please describe your involvement with the childrens choirs in
the sleep away camps during the summer.

W: I was with the Shalom Aleichem Schools for many, many years.
After which I became involved with the Zionist Farband and
their summer camp program. I probably spent a good 15, 16
summers in those camps.

C! During which years?

W: The first was Boyberick of the S. A. schools . . . approximately
1925. It was located about 50 miles off Poughkeepsie. Eight
miles from Rhinebeck N.Y. The S.A. order was strictly Yid-
dish. The children used to leave camp each summer with a
hundred Yiddish songs under their belts.

C! What were the ages of the children?

W: From 6-14. I had a choir with girls who were 13, 14.

c : What type of children's music did you use?

41

W: All kinds of things. There was a great pageant at the end of
each summer. Our theme was "People of the World Unite."
Each of the 16 bungalows represented a different nationality.
For example, I had to prepare the Yugoslavian bungalow with
Yugoslavian folk songs. And the artists and dancers of the
camp did similarly. We had to prepare everything in Yiddish
. . . translating from the Yugoslavian language into Yiddish in
addition to learning the stylistic folk song of each country. And
the camp finale was Alle Menschen Zeinen Brieder — Beetho-
ven's Ninth. We just changed the words. All peoples are
becoming one . . . what a monumental idea!
Every year we would do this kind of event ... varying na-
tionalities ... we went through hundreds of songs. But how
did we do the translations? I don't read J apanese. Starting
with the melodic line, I would write to the poet and take it from
there. We did some big literature ... everything was lost.
I even wrote quite a number of compositions for the group too,
pertaining to the theme of peace. "May all people who live
find peace in the world."

C! What wasthesizeoftheW.C.C. at its highest and lowest point?

W: The largest size was about 140. When I left the chorus there
were about 65 — many died. After all, it was alive for 35 years.

C: In what year did you leave the choir?

W: Ten years ago in 1970.

c : Why?

w : The quality of singers were not there any more. Only old people
remained. And because of World War II, there was a lack of
immigration . It wasn't anymore.

C! When you first took over the W.C.C. how old were the members
of the choir?

W: We had young ladies in their twenties and old men in their
eighties.

C: Did you always sing accapella?

W: We had accompaniment, yet, if the piece was accapella, we
would do it that way. We used a piano at every rehearsal . . .
I had to do everything with one finger ... in order to punch
out the melodic line.

C! Were the professional singers that you brought in at perform-
ances J ewish?

W: Yes. If not, some of them were singing in Temples. Even though
Hebrew is not the same thing as Yiddish, these pros were accus-
tomed to Synagogue music. I don't think we had many gentiles
who were professional singers. We didn't use many of them,

42

It was primarily the preponderance of women which caused us
to hire more male singers.

C: What were some of your personal feelings leading the group?

W: When you come to someone and they give you whatever they
have and you feel their honesty and their devotion, what more
can you ask?

C: That's right . . . purity and honesty. How did the J ewish or
Gentile world view the success or standard of the group?

W: We received wonderful criticism. Once in the New York Times,
they reviewed a concert and said we were the best amateur
chorus in New York City ... that was in the early 30's.
That was when the group was at its peak. Somewhere between
35 and '45. It was during this period that I composed and
conducted the Legend of Toil. Critics even compared it to the
work of Bloch. I was very much surprised by that.

C: Nice. Did you ever use instrumental pieces between choral
numbers?

W: We had a violinist play a group of solos. Quartets often per-
formed with us. Audiences found it too monotonous to listen
to a whole program of choral music.

C: Who were these instrumental groups that performed with you?

W: Professional people that we invited.

C: Jewish professionals?

W: It didn't make any difference. We would invite a String Quartet
to perform a Beethoven movement or two.

C: How did you place them in a typical program?

W: We would have a group of songs with the choir, followed by the
instrumental group invited for that evening. Then we'd play our
second group and they would do two groups and we would do
three groups ... constantly alternating. It added variety.

C: How long were your concerts?

W: Normally anywhere between an hour and forty minutes and two
hours. I didn't believe in any chopness. If a concert was an-
nounced for 3:00 p.m., I would start 5 minutes passed three.
If I would announce a rehearsal for seven o'clock in the morning
— five minutes passed seven I said to whoever came late, "Here
is the mezzuza, kiss it and go home." I wouldn't allow tardi-
ness . . .

C: If you didn't come on time . . .

W: Unless . . . we are human beings. I knew who was sincerely
telling the truth. Yet, they had the greatest respect for my
punctuality. The concerts were always on time. Even the Phil-
harmonic or the Metropolitan start their events five minutes
passed the scheduled time,

43

C: Do you recall any kind of choral techniques that you might have
used to motivate the people in the choir?

W: I don't know what you mean. You see sometimes I had to take
them by the neck . . . sometimes with their feet, and some-
times with their puppeck. You can never predict what you have
to do. You size up the situation.

C: Do you have any comments on the future of J ewish music?
What do you foresee?

W: If we will not have a J ewish immigration, we will be swallowed
up by the larger culture. And that will be the end. I'm sorry
to say it. Although there are 64 Universities in this country
which have Yiddish chairs. There is even one University in
Queens where there are over 700 students in the Yiddish pro-
gram. But not every University has a large Yiddish department.
Harvard doesn't have one, but they do have a Yiddish chair.
It's strange, that you people, third generation J ews, are coming
back to your parents and asking them why they didn't teach
you Yiddish as a child. I've been teaching at the School of
Sacred 'Music for the past twenty years, since '56, and this is
the fi rst ti me i n 24 years there that they have asked me to teach
Yiddish Art song. Prior to now, I had been coaching Cantors.
Now I have the class called "Contemporary Music and Yiddish
Art Song . . . with 8 students in the class — I usually don't
allow more than six ... but they forced two more on me. Why
do the students eat from the palm of my hand? They're anxious
to know it. I'm sorry that in those 24 years I could have in-
fluenced people throughout the country in Yiddish Art Song.

Who are you? You're a Cantor . . . and you will be taking
a job in Kalamazoo. What will you do when you become a factor
in the community, and they ask you to take part in a community
event? What will you sing? ElMa/e Rahamim? Just can-
torial music? A song in English with Jewish content? Why
not sing a Yiddish Art song, you're a J ew? It improves you as
a human being as well as an artist. Not just one avenue of
expression. There's a famous saying in Yiddish "A worm lies
in horseradish — he thinks there is nothing sweeter." It means
that if you are used to only the same thing day in and day out,
you think nothing else exists. It's' wrong! One way of doing
things does not mean culture.

We are swallowed by larger cultures here in America. The
fact that I'm stubborn is nobody's secret ... go ahead and
invest so much time, money and energy in your own designs.
Nobody subsidized my work ... once in a while I got some-

44

one to help me out, but I'm not a shnorer (beggar). I don't ask
for anything.

Not many of my songs are being sung. Why? Because they
are too complicated. But I'm aiming at music somewhere else.
Not in the realm of songs like Bei Mir Bistu Sheyn, which has
a right to exist! Everything has a right to exist. But when they
come to me and ask me, "Where is your Schubert", I'll open
my mouth and I'll say nothing. So what does it prove? We
have our Schubert! Not with my own compositions, but with
the works by Engel, Gnessen, Rosovsky, Fromm, and even by
me little boichek, Yehudi Weiner ... and I talk about my
own already.

We are a young musical culture . . . probably a hundred
years old. What was Jewish music a hundred years ago? It
was only to be found in the synagogue. Nowhere else. J ust
sung by the Cantor. How many choruses were there? Where
was the orchestra? Where was the Opera? Where was the
symphony? The Quartet, Sextet, ... Tell me, do you know
of any? Why shouldn't J ews know? I don't know. Occasionally
someone wrote a symphony. Mahler is a great composer, but he
is not a Jewish composer. Neither is Mendelsohn, Rubinstein,
Gershwin . . . they are not \ ewish composers. They are J ews
— composers, but not Jewish composers. Which is something
entirely different. This is a problem. Am I stubborn. No, these
are my beliefs and I love them. Its my love. What to do about
it now, I don't know? I have given up writing for the synagogue
five years, because we are beginning to use Rock 'n Roll in
the Service. Jazzing up the Service. And I want to have a
m'chitza, a division, between the secular and the profane. Be-
tween good and bad. I do not want to bring the musical comedy
into the synagogue. The synagogue has its place and so does
comedy. Everything has a right to exist. But to break down
the mechitza and mix up all these things. It seems that we
love the goyim. Because the goyim took jazz into the church
and our synagogue follows suit. I object to these things.

C: No instruments in the Temple then?

W: An organ is enough. A Quartet, an orchestra, perfectly alright,
but not Rock 'n Roll with electric guitars and drums.

C: I know a cantorial student at H.U.C. who often performs a
service with her light acoustic guitar and flute, taking on the
effect of an instrumental interlude ...

W: It all depends on how you use the flute. "B' tzil-tze-lei terua",
in Psalm 150, with its description of musical instruments ...

46

I'm not objecting to using instruments at all, but how they are
used in the synagogue is a subject for discussion.

C: What pieces did you select for those instrumental interludes of
your choral programs. Classics?

W: Always.

C: Any J ewish works?

W: My cantata. Three cantatas of mine utilize an orchestra. When
I performed Mendelsohn's Walpurgis Nacht, I didn' t change one
iota. J ust changed the language. I didn't minimize anything,
or distort anything, I have too much respect for the printed
page.

C: Let's say you dislike a bar of what a composer has written, and
feel you could have done it better, would you change it?

W: I would never do it. Sometimes I will make, out of a quarter,
two eighths, or vice versa, because of the words ....

C: Simply rhythmic changes according to the text.

W: These textual kind of compromises are made, but not those
which destroy the music. No, if I don't like the song, I will not
do it at all. It is my sense of duty. Or I'll take a piece of
paper and write my own song. I want to give of myself . . .
or is it that you are the one that wants to take? Where are we
now?

C: I'd like to thank you very much for your time this afternoon.

W: Alright.

IAZAR VAINER: REBEL WITH A CAUSE

Samuel Rosenbaum

(Excerpted from a talk given as part of a program in memory of
Lazar Weiner at the 35th annual convention of the Cantors
Assembly)

How to grasp the essence of Lazar Weiner?

When a lawyer does not have any precedent in the law with
which to support his case, he will try to convince the court that his
case is unique, sui genaris, an altogether special and different case
than has ever been considered before, and therefore, must be con-
sidered on its own merits. The case is not to be compared with any-
thing that has preceded it, there having been nothing like it until
now.

Lazar Weiner was sui generis.

One, unique, special, like no other who has ever come before.

His major uniqueness was not only his extraordinary talent but
that it was coupled with a thorough classical musical discipline and
training. Few, if any, J ewish composers of the first half of the 20th
Century came to their craft so formidably prepared. He was not a
primitive although his ear was true to the authentic spirit of the
J ewish people. He was a master. Uniquely gifted, he developed his
own style. And while he was always true to that style he was not
confined to one pattern. He could be lyrical, dissonant, elegantly
legato, jagged and angry, classical, contemporary, spare and luxuriant.

His songs were so carefully thought out, the voice and piano
treated so evenly, that they could well be sonatas for voice and piano.
They easily hold their own against Schubert, Brahms and Mous-
sorgsky, and some even against J ohn Cage.

But what brings him even closer and makes him dearer to the
J ewish neshome is his long-time devotion to Yiddish poetry. He was
determined to the very end to bring new life, new light, and melody
to the known and little known works of Yiddish poets, who were,
he said, the secular prophets of the J ewish people.

The J une issue of they ournal of Synagogue Music will give proof
that he was not interested in Yiddish poets only to find new texts
for him to set. He was concerned that the words should live and if
that meant refurbishing a simple folk tune so that it became an
elegant art song, he was ready and willing to do it.

47

In November 1980, Lazar sent me a portfolio of songs he called
"Poet'n Zingen" (The Songs of Poets). These were four songs whose
music as well as words had been composed by the poets themselves.
He had constructed a tasteful and loving accompaniment for each,
together with a short article in which he told how he came to put
together such a collection.

This portfolio bears out anew Lazar' s lifelong belief that Yiddish
poetry was the true essence of amkha, the soul of the broad Jewish
masses, just as the Tanakh contained the heart of the Jewish sense
of ethics and morality.

As a human being, Lazar was demanding of himself as of others.
He was acerbic, he was feisty, apparently unable to communicate
personal feelings easily except through his music. He covered this
inadequacy with stinging jabs of his own kind of humor.

We wanted him, at least I wanted him, so much to be our grand-
father, but he twisted and turned insisting on being Peck's bad boy.

He was a rebel because he could not accept fame and glory easily.
He never let down his guard, nor his ambition. I firmly believe he
enjoyed being angry more than being satisfied. You might say that
his anger was essentially his credo, his unrelenting drive for ever
higher standards in Jewish life and in Jewish music.

Now, if anyone has earned a peaceful eternity, it is Lazar. But
if I know him he is probably at this moment complaining that I am
taking too much time talking when we could be spending it, not in
mourning for his passing, but in celebrating his having been for an
altogether too short a time in our company. Celebrating, by listening
again and again to his music.

LAZAR WEINER
310 West 97th Street
New York, New York 10025
November 28, 1980

Dear Sam:

I am enclosing the promised four songs "Poet'n Zingen". If the
music is acceptable, I am enclosing the poems for you totranslate
which I hope you will do.

I do not have the correct Yiddish spelling of the song "Di Nacht"
at present but will send it later.

I repeat, if the songs will be accepted I would I ike to have the
following: The Yiddish poems should be transliterated into
English and on theother side — the English translations. I also
enclose my small article "I Remember". This unique document
should be a Foreward at the beginning of the album of the four songs.

Please let me hear from you.

Yours,
Lazar

MUSIC SECTION

"POET'N ZINGEN"
(Poets Sing)

Four Yiddish Art/Folk Songs
with words and music by

Avraham Reisen

Peretz Hirshbein

Mani-Leib

Mordechai Gebirtig

newly arranged by
Lazar Weiner

50
FOREWORD

I REMEMBER

LAZAR Weiner

About the years 1918-19, my unforgettable chaver, the poet
N. B. Minkoff introduced me to Yiddish literature. One day I asked
if it would be possible to meet some of the writers whose works I
had been reading. So one Saturday evening he led me to the home
of Dr. J . Kling on 181st Street in the Bronx. The word salon was
familiar to me through reading, and here in Dr. Kling's home I found
a salon where a group of Yiddish writers used to meet. The evening
was captivating with its readings from newly written manuscripts,
its discussions and its heated arguments.

It was here that I met Yehoash, Reisin, Hirschbein of the older
and known writers, and a group of "Dl YUNGE" among them Mani
Leib, Moishe Leib Halperin, H. Leivik, Zishe Lande, Ignatov, Raboy,
Haimovitch, Dilon, Rolnik and many others. Rolnik always sat in
a corner and never uttered a word. I was elated by the atmosphere
of these Saturday evenings and always looked forward to spending
time with these creative minds.

Bertha Kling, the wife of Dr. Kling, and a poet in her own right,
possessed a small but very warm and expressive voice. She had a
never ending source of folk songs and songs in folk style and we
made music far into the night. I heard almost all of these songs for
the first time in my life.

When I first heard the song "May Ko Mashmalon'" Bertha told
me that it was not a folk song. I was very impressed by it and asked
her who wrote the tune to this poem. She took me by the hand and
brought me over to the poet Reisin and said "Ask him". I dared
and asked. He answered, 'The nigunim that I heard when I was a
Yeshivah bochur have lingered in my memory all my life, and I
fitted my poem to the rhythm and mood of those tunes."

Then Bertha introduced me to Mani Leib who had written
"Flantzt Mayn Shvesterl a Gortn." I asked him whether he had
made up the tune to this poem and his answer was 'Yes, I made the
tune to fit the poem."

"Di Nacht" Peretz Hirshbein wrote the poem as well as the
tune. I remember his appearance. Tall, erect and slender with a
magnificent head of hair. He sat at the piano and accompanied
Bertha Kling. Hirshbein could not read music but somehow his

51

finger seemed to know how to move over the keys. The harmonies
were simple and primitive. Later I learned that the songs, "AMalach
Veynt" and "Yamen Royshn" which I thought were folk songs, were
also by Peretz Hirshbein. A short time later I made simple piano
accompaniments of these songs and arranged to have them published.

Although I did not know him personally, I can't omit the name
Gebirtig from "Poets Sing." I have always admired him for his
genius in combining the perfect harmony of word and sound.

I know that there are others that I have omitted in this series,
but let this be a beginning.

These arrangements I dedicated to the memory of the unfor-
gettable Bertha Kling.

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72

REVIEW OF NEW MUSIC

"Psalm 139," by Warren Benson for S.A.T.B. and keyboard, Trans-
continental Music, New York

Augmenting the list of new publications for the Gates of Re-
pentance, Warren Benson, Professor of Composition at the Eastman
School of Music, provides a tautly crafted, coloristic approach to an
English translation of Psalm 139.

Fugacious feminine endings and light, treble organ comments
buoyantly color the text, Wither can I flee from your presence".
"Heavens" and "lower depths" are respectively painted with an as-
cending serpentine organ line and a descending diatonic women's
duet. An evanescent tonal shift from Ab to B gives flight to "the
wings of morning" while the solitude of octaves punctuates "farthest
shore".

It is refreshing to hear an instrumental accompaniment that has
a lift of its own. At times it punctuates or extends vocal ideas, other
times it initiates; always in an engaging way.

Curiously the composer omits setting the concluding thought:

"If I say, 'Surely darkness will conceal me, night will
hide me from view,' even the darkness is not too dark
for You, the night is clear as the day."

Whether this last image was thought to be redundant or perhaps the
tenacity of 'Your right hand will hold me" was preferred as a final
idea, this setting relinquishes the possibility of an arch form that
would return to the ephemeral nature of the opening.

The work is not easily sight read. Its performance requires the
same patient care that the composer obviously gave to its concep-
tualization; but the rewards are greatly satisfying.

The Transcontinental catalog distinguishes itself by the welcome
addition of Warren Benson's fine music.

"Blessed is the Match," S. S.A.T.B. acapella, by Lawrence Avery,
Transcontinental Music, New York

In a simple, unassuming setting of Hanna Szenesh's "Ashrei
Hagafrur" (translator is not credited), Cantor Avery's choice of
harmonies brings up the issue of harmonic vocabulary.

J ust as one would not deliver a speech with each sentence in a
different language so one should not compose a musical entity with
many different kinds of harmonic devices. The result is the same in
both cases; a statement communicated with less clarity.

73

To be specific, modal vs. tonal, quartal vs. tertial, and triads vs.
sevenths all mix together in an opalescent wash.

While clearly the composer has other elements nicely under
control, harmonically this piece would be much more effective em-
ploying the doctrine of "Less is More!"

"Hebrew Songs for the Beginning Beginners," Piano Solos and Duets
compiled and arranged by Ruth Norman, published by Century Music
Publishing Co., 263 Veterans Blvd., Carlstadt, New Jersey 07072.
Familiar holiday tunes are arranged for both solo and four hands.
This is a lovely way for a parent and child to share a piano bench.
Recommend it to your congregtion.

"J ewish Easy Piano Pieces," op. 97, Words and Music by Minuetta
Kessler, Transcontinental Music, New York

These are charming, personal reflections upon the holidays,
Israel, and t'fillah for beginning pianists who like to sing along as
they play. The music is better than the words.

It is hoped that Transcontinental will encourage the creation of
many more instrumental works; for now it offers the composer of
J ewish music limitless possibilities.

"Avadim Hayinu," S.A.T.B. acappella by Steven Richards, Trans-
continental Music, New York

Cantor Richards, former editor of Transcontinental, now serving
Temple Beth Israel in Phoenix has embroidered the traditional tune
with a festive madrigal lightness. Accessibly crafted, this piece
should do very well in the educational arena as well as in synagogue
life. The next time a choral director in your community inquires
about J ewish material for his spring concert, recommend this Pass-
over madrigal.

"In Days of Awe" medium voice and piano, music by Maurice Gold-
man, words by Herb Brin, Transcontinental Music, New York

Here is an expression of yearning composed in a later romantic
style with an undulating pianistic accompaniment. If your congre-
gation is programming concerts in and around the High Holidays,
this art song would be a lovely inclusion.

"Yisrrf chu," S.A.T.B. and keyboard, by Mordechai Cohen, Trans-
continental Music, New York

Whilethereis little to be said for an endless ostinato accompani-
ment and less than inventive supporting harmonies, the rhythmic

74

vitality of this hassidic-like setting (complete with "Yism'chu
v'malchutecha, AYE!) is, indeed, infectious.

If your choral forces are not intimidated by extended beats
(5/8, 7/8,11/8) sung at a whirlwind tempo, this piece will surely
wake up the lethargic and recapture the distinterested.

"You Shall Love the Lord Your God," medium voice, S.A.T.B., oboe
and keyboard, by Michael Horvit, Transcontinental Music, New York
This setting is reminiscent of classic Reform music, composed in
the forties and fifties. Every cliche associated with "religious" works
can be found in this treatment, including augmented seconds, doleful
pedal points, oboe sequences with Semitic tunes as ornamentation.
Why, when Transcontinental is so selective about accepting new
works, is this piece published in 1981? If you are in a nostalgic,
Cecil B. DeMille mood, you'll enjoy performing it.

"Kaddish," S.A.T.B., keyboard, by Marvin David Levy, Transcon-
tinental Music, New York

I n memory of Leonard J oel Goldberg, a man whose life spanned
but thirty-four years, the composer offers a simple, contemporary
Kaddish. All voices sing one melody. This chant is varied by alter-
nating textures of men and women's voices along with concomitant
octave doublings. The accompaniment joins in now and again sup-
porting the tune in a peaceful davening fashion. The singers are
instructed to sing with quiet intensity in a sustained legato avoiding
all opportunities for dramatic accentuation.

The result is an effectively stark intonation with a threatrical
intimacy of sensitive proportion.

"Psalm 121," S.A.T.B. and cello, by Aminadav Aloni, Transcontinen-
tal Music, New York

This is a most interesting interpretation of "Esa Einai" by a
newcomer to the Transcontinental catalog. Aloni, a Los Angeles
freelance composer and Temple music director is a member of the
Los Angeles Composers Council. This composition is the result of a
creative exercise "assigned" to three members who were all asked
to set this psalm. At a subsequent meeting, the "premieres" were
performed and discussed.

Aloni divides the psalm into three sections:
1. Esa einai — alyanum shomrecha.

Lyric, sustained, double stopped cello harmonic under-
pinning.

76

2. Hinei lo yanum — al yad yeminechu.

Rhythmic, fugal, pizzicato cello, mixed meter, Yemenite-
feel.

3. Yomam hashemesh — meatah v'ad olam.

Return to a lyric, impassioned andante with a strong,
dramatic cadence.

His strong sense of form, melody and color combined with years
of knowing what is practical without the loss of integrity makes
Aloni a bright new star on the national scene. Welcome!