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Cantors Assembly • January 1984 • Shevat 5744 . Vol XIII • No 2 •

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JOURNAL OF SYNAGOGUE M U S I C

Articles:

A 1924 Hazzanim Jubilee

Historical Ethnomusicology: Reconstructing
Falasha Liturgical History

Samuel Rosenbaum 3

Kay Kaufman Shelemay 8

Shiru Lo: Aspects of Congregational Singing

Max Wohlberg 35

A Duty of Preservation and Continuity

Irene Hesks 45

Music Section:

From Rlnat Hahechal
Ono B'choach
Hashklvenu

Zvl Talman 53

Sefer Ran'nu Tzadlklm M. Lleberman 69

A personal collection of authentic hasldlc melodies

journal of synagogue music, Volume XI 1 1 , N umber 2

January 1984 / Shevat 5744

editor: Abraham Lubin

managing editor: Samuel Rosenbaum

editorial board: Lawrence Avery, Jacob Barkin, Ben Belfer, Jack
Chomsky, Baruch Cohon, Charles Davidson, Solomon Epstein,
Sheldon Levin, Saul Meisels, Solomon Mendel so n f Chaim Najman,
Abram Salkov, Arnold Saltzman, Moses J. Silverman, Hyman Sky,
Pinchas Spiro, David Til man.

business board: Israel Barzak, Elliott Dicker, Robert Kieval, Robert
Scherr, Neil Schwartz, Max Shimansky, Shlomo Shuster, Elliot Vogel,
Bruce Wetzler.

officers of the cantors assembly: Ivan P&"lman, President; Saul
Hammerman, Vice President; Henry Rosenblum, Treasurer; Harry
Weinberg, Secretary; Samuel Rosenbaum, Executive Vice President.

journal of synagogue music is a seM?/" annual publicdtion. 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.

A 1924 HAZZANIM JUBILEE

Samuel R os e nbaum

Di Agudas Hazzonim d'America v' Canada, better known as the
Hazzonim Farband, celebrated its 30th anniversary with a "monster
concert" at New York's Madison Square Garden on Sunday evening,
February 3rd, 1924.

According to its President, Jacob Rappaport, 15,000 wildly
enthusiastic men and women attended. The occasion was also marked
by the publication of a 250 page volume of essays, poems, critiques,
scholarly papers and historical reportage, as well as a large section
of short autobiographies of its members, replete with picture in full
hazzanic regalia. The volume was titled "Di Geshikhte fun Haz-
zones" (The "History of the Cantorate"), edited by Aaron Rosen.

The membership roster in those days reads like a "who's who"
of hazzanic greats: J acob Rappaport, Pinhas J assinowski, Abraham
Singer, Joshua Weisser, Haim Kotlyanski, Moshe Erstling, Berele
Chagy, Gershon Ephros*, Mordecai Hershman, Zavel Kwartin,
Yossele Rosenblatt, David Roitman, Abraham Friedman*, Pinchos
Minkowski, J acob Beimel, Yaakov Leib Wassilkowski, Alter Karniol,
Abraham Shapiro*, Reuven Kasimirsky, Sholom Zvi Zemachson and
Joshua Meisels among others. (* Deceased members Cantors
Assembly).

We might have expected that the mood of the Farband would
be a joyous one. But, if we are to judge from the contents of the
"History" it was one of deep sadness for the failing state of the
profession. Amid the to-be-expected articles of self-congratulation
there are a number of heart-tugging poems of lament for a lost art
and several articles of dark prophecy. But after reading the auto-
biographies of even the most modestly endowed hazzanim, one must
be led to believe that the American J ewish community was blessed
with a cantorate which was, to a man, brilliant, creative and at the
top of its form.

One of the more realistic assessments of hazzanut was con-
tributed by B. Shevlin, Music Editor of the J ewish Morning J ournal,
one of the three great Yiddish dailies of that era. Even in those
days of the great Yiddish speaking and shul-going immigrant gen-
eration, Shevlin's mood was already pessimistic about the future of
the American synagogue and the American cantorate.

We reprint the article here, in translation, not because we are
in need of pessimism, but because it constitutes an intelligent ap-

praisal; because it is a piece of history worth studying, and because
much of it, in a more sophisticated vein, could have been written
yesterday.

THE FUTURE OF HAZZANUT IN AMERICA
B. Shelvin, Music Editor of "Der Morg'n Jurnal"

If one were to glance at an American Yiddish newspaper,
especially in the weeks before the high holidays, or before a festival,
one might get the impression that hazzanut is enjoying a renaissance.

The notices in the newspapers tell how this or that cantor im-
pressed worshippers in this or that synagogue with his Kabbalat
Shabbat; that the synagogue was packed with an appreciative con-
gregation and that they were stirred to deep spiritual emotions;
that the hazzan shed many a tear and that even though the synagogue
was a holy place (where applause is normally forbidden) the wor-
shippers could not contain their ecstasy and applauded the hazzan
as though they were in a concert hall.

The newspapers also report that this or that cantor had just
been engaged in a wonderful position at a high salary; that he is
a hazzan only recently arrived from Europe and was the center of a
great competition among a half-dozen congregations as to who would
finally land him.

You also get the impression that people go to hear hazzanim
not only in synagogues, but that concerts are arranged in their honor
in various halls and that audiences by the thousands run to these
concerts to hear this or that famous cantor. It seems that wherever
one looks in a Yiddish paper you hear news about hazzanim, pictures
of hazzanim and nothing but reports of their glowing success.

Whether you want to or not you must come away from such
notices with the impression that there is a "boom" in hazzanut and
that hazzanut is currently experiencing the most golden period of its
existence.

Is hazzanut really flourishing so brilliantly in our day? The
answer, sadly, is a negative one. The golden era of hazzanut is
already long gone by and the "boom" in America is no more than
a lovely sunset which covers the landscape with golden rays but
which in a few moments will disappear.

The golden era ended when the younger generation stopped
coming to the synagogue and the synagogues were left to the hands

of the older generation. The diminishing number of shul-goers led
to a corresponding decrease in the number of people who were con-
cerned with and loyal to the synagogue. Therefore, the whole concept
of hazzanic excellence has been narrowed almost to the point of
oblivion. The lessening interest in synagogue affairs brought with
it a lessening of interest in hazzanim, and hazzanut ceased to become
a marketable product. As you know, when a profession ceases to
be in demand it becomes increasingly difficult to raise the standards
for that profession or to continue to work for the betterment of its
practitioners. Along with this comes the death of ambition by the
practitioners to do anything about it.

In olden times, choir boys always dreamed of becoming full-
fledged hazzanim. Today choir singers and even professional haz-
zanim dream of becoming concert or opera singers. Some succeed.
Many others, however, merely illustrate the sad fact that an appear-
ance on the concert stage even under the most inappropriate cir-
cumstances, is more important to them and to their careers than an
appearance, under the best circumstances, at the synagogue amud.

The amud no longer is the great magnet for young hazzanim.
It is, therefore, only natural that hazzanut should slowly disappear
from the scene and that even those who are concerned with hazzanut
should contribute very little new to its development. Where there
is no competition there is little creativity. The hazzanut of the last
few years has produced very few creative or original hazzanim.

The number of such hazzanim grows steadly smaller while the
foundation on which hazzanut must stand gradually disappears.
East European Jewry which produced the greatest hazzanim no
longer has the economic wherewithal to continue to produce them.
Literally thousands of congregations have become impoverished.
Many of them have been destroyed or have just disappeared. The
remaining congregations have more important concerns than to sup-
port a hazzan. Even major congregations in the important cities of
Odessa, Minsk, Berdichev, Warsaw, Vienna, Budapest and Bucharest
can no longer enjoy the luxury of a fine hazzan.

The hazzanim who used to serve these communities run away
to America where they often will make an impression until, in short
order, the excitement they create dies out and the European haz-
zanim boom goes the way of all other booms.

And even if the boom lasts a long time hazzanut cannot expect
any great salvation from America. First of all, hazzanut in this

country is overcommercialized; second, what is missing is the J ewish
environment, the synagogue ambiance where hazzanut can freely
flourish. Hazzanut has historically nurtured itself on a rich Jewish
life, on the sensitive Jewish soul, on deep Jewish thought, on Jewish
sorrow and Jewish joy. I n America, at the moment, there is no real
J ewish life, there is no unique J ewish atmosphere. Whatever there
is here that is J ewish is a weak reproduction of thegenuinej ewish
environment which was present everywhere in Europe. A weak
reproduction can hardly serve as an inspiration for hazzanut or for
any other J ewish creativity.

I n a country where a J ewish woman can teach herself some
hazzanic recitatives and parade herself on the concert stage as a
hazzente and where true hazzanim are pushed away and forgotten,
it is a little too much to expect that out of this atmosphere will
cornea Rozumni, a Nisn Belzer, a Yisrolik Minsker, or a Boruch
Shorr.

Hazzanut in general, even in Europe, is now different than it
once was. It lacks creativity and the important skill of improvisa-
tion. A modern hazzan is no longer the sensitive prayer leader as
were his predecessors, and as a result what we hear hardly reflects
true hazzanut, true amud-melos. Poorer still is the situation in
America where a hazzan is often compelled to cheapen his art in
order to please his congregants or in order to please an audience
that cares little for hazzanic taste.

The most influential force in the life of a hazaazn in America
today is the newly-risen J ew, who in olden times in one of the
hundreds of thousands of Yiddish shtetlach used to stand at the
door in the Shoemaker's Synagogue, the Tailor's Synagogue, the
Butcher's Synagogue or some other shtibl Such a J ew, who does
not understand the meaning of the liturgy, can hardly be expected
to understand what it is that hazzan does, what is the meaning of
a particularly special cadence or coloratura which gives meaning and
casts light on the text for someone who understands.

Under such circumstances, hazzanut in America must go from
bad to worse because the competition will influence the hazzanim
to move along the path of least resistance. Therefore, it is apparent
that America, instead of helping to revive hazzanut, will become
itself the cause of its demise; even though the American economy
could provide a rich source of support for hazzanut.

Thetawdrinessin hazzanic taste is already evident in the way
in which hazzanim are presented in the newspapers. It goes without

saying that the great hazzanim of the European past would never
have permitted such announcements in 'newspapers about their own
accomplishments. Moreover, the American hazzanim themselves will
admit that in Europe they themselves would not have permitted
such announcements about themselves.

America could be a source of support for hazzanut for a long
time to come. The Jewish community grows and becomes more and
more conservative, more synagogue-oriented and a hazzan can be an
"attraction" for American shul-goers but something must be done
to insure that American hazzanut will not chant in inverse propor-
tion to the rate at which American hazzanim are paid less they be
guilty of killing the goose that lays the golden egg.

This is a problem which the Hazzonim Farband must take as its
prime concern. The Farband should have all along done something
to prevent the cheapening of the honor of hazzanut. The organization
is to a great extent responsible for the development of these tasteless
publicity conscious methods which hazzanim use in advertising them-
selves and for the attitude which hazzanim take in imitating other
professional entertainers and the way they talk about themselves
and their achievements. (Italics are ours).

The Hazzonim Farband should also be concerned with the growth
and development of a hazzanic literature by publishing the best
creativity of today's hazzanim. Such a literature will help to extend
the life and existence of hazzanut because it will provide the younger
hazzanim, the hazzanim of the future, with an opportunity to be-
come acquainted with the great hazzanic creativity of the past, in
the time when hazzanut was truly in its glory.

If the present anniversary of the Hazzonim Farband in America
leads to a beginning of action on both of the aforementioned pro-
posals, American hazzanim will have more cause to be proud of the
future achievements than they have for the achievements of the
past.

HISTORICAL ETHNOMUSICOLOGY: RECONSTRUCTING
FALASHA LITURGICAL HISTORY

Kay Kaufman S helemay

In recent decades, the concerns of our discipline have grown from
analyzing music as sound phenomenon to approaching sound as an
integral part of a particular cultural system. We have become aware that
"musical knowledge is cultural knowledge" (Hoffman 1978:69). Yet, we
do not often enough employ the insights gained through studies of living
music cultures to better understand their pasts. The subject here is what
may be termed "historical ethnomusicology."' Although a range of
topics can be included under that rubric, this discussion will focus upon
the potential that a synchronic study holds for illuminating the historical
continuum from which it emerged. A brief discussion of the past and
potential contribution of ethnomusicology to historical reconstruction will
be followed by an illustrative case study.

The lack of emphasis upon historical studies within ethnomusicology
can be largely attributed to the lasting impact of the break from historical
musicology. Despite activity of early ethnomusicologists in the historical
arena, musicology was seen as an essentially historical pursuit while eth-
nomusicology had as its subject matter living traditions. Although sugges-
tions were made intermittently for the use of oral materials in historical
studies, most discussions of the relationship of musicology and ethno-
musicology continued to reinforce a diachronic/synchronic dichotomy
(Chase 1958:7)

historical musicology and ethnomusicology complement each other in time
rather than in space. Might not these two allied and complementary disciplines
divide the universe of music between them, the one taking the past as its domain,
the other the present?

During the years since this statement, scholars of both camps have
dismissed divisions of musicology as arbitrary and inappropriate* (Brook
1972:xi):

The prevailing dichotomy between historical and ethnomusicological research is
artificial and damaging to the growth of our discipline the proper subject of
musicology is man

Kay Kaufman Shelemay received her Ph.D. in musicology at the University
of Michigan. She has taught at Columbia University and is now Assistant
Professor of Music and Director of the Program in Urban Ethnomusicology
at New York University. Her main interest has been the sacred music and
festivals of the Falashas. Dr. Shelemay has held appointments at the Hebrew
University and the Institute of Ethiopian Studies in Addis Ababa.

Reprinted with permission from "Journal of the Society for Ethnomusi-
cology", May 1980.

Within ethnomusicology, an increasing involvement with materials
and methodologies of the social sciences has broadened our concept of
our tasks when studying a music culture. We now seek to understand
music cultures in their total environment as well as in past and present
time. Most ethnomusicological studies today take history into account
when discussing the ethnographic present. Also prominent in the litera-
ture of the last two decades are histories of specific musical traditions that
have written theoretical and historical resources, such as those of the
Near East and Asia. However, recent inquiries into the history of oral
traditions remain primarily organological studies (Epstein 1975) or re-
views of documentary sources (Maultsby 1975).

I wish to suggest here that ethnomusicologists can contribute more to
the understanding of history than the record indicates. The potential role
of musical studies in historical reconstruction has been set forth by Mer-
riam (1967: 114):

Music study, then, contributes in a number of ways to the reconstruction of
African culture history. In certain uses it is corroborative: that is. its own history
contributes to the knowledge of history in general, and both music sound and
music instruments can be and are handled through techniques of historic docu-
mentation and archaeological investigation

These suggestions were realized in the volume Essays on Music and
History in Africa (Wachsmann 1971). Yet we find that historians are not
encouraging about potential ethnomusicological contributions to their
field. A shortcoming of the corroborative role of ethnomusicology in the
study of history is discussed in a historian's response to essays within the
Wachsmann volume (Fage 197 1 :259):

These pictures are perfectly intelligible in broader historical terms. Indeed, they
have not told me very much about the general history of their two areas that I did
not already know , , orthatl probably could not discover for myself from more
or less accepted historical accounts . ,

The following study is presented to demonstrate that an ethnomusi-
cological study can move beyond corroboration of established historical
theory and provide the basis for new and alternative explanations. It also
seeks to show that the potential of the ethnomusicological contribution to
historical reconstruction rests with the richness of our materials. These
materials, including both music and the ritual complexes of which it may
be a part, are primary cultural documents within which crucial evidence is
encoded. We preserve these oral documents on tapes accessible to a
range of analytical methods. As participant-observers, we gather data
concerning the expressed and implied behaviors of our informants as they
maintain and transmit these traditions. We can also juxtapose our consi-
dered perceptions of "reality" with the interpretations of others research-

ing outside the musical arena. Hence an ethnomusicological study of a
living music culture provides a multi-faceted and unique data base, which
in its totality may well illuminate important aspects of a culture's history.

The discussion below suggests a new approach to the history of the
Falasha of Ethiopia. During my fieldwork experience, I suspected that
accepted notions of Falasha history did not adequately account for the
musical-liturgical tradition I was observing. The central questions of
when and under what conditions the Falasha liturgy was formulated were
not satisfactorily answered by existing theories. However, the data I
gathered from the Falasha oral tradition provided evidence for a new
perspective.

The consensus theory of Falasha history, and the apparent incom-
patibility of this historical framework with evidence derived from the
musical-liturgical tradition extant today, will be outlined first. The central
documents found with the oral tradition will next be presented; these two
types of oral testimony will be classified as ritual formulae and commen-
taries. 3 Supplementary information, drawn from non-musical sources,
will be cited to corroborate these data. Finally, the emerging hypothesis
will be tested against existing anomalies, and further testing procedures
suggested.

THE HISTORICAL FRAMEWORK:
PERCEPTIONS AND MISCONCEPTIONS

The lack of documentary evidence about the early history of the
Falasha, and subsequent speculation about their origin, have given rise to
a variety of traditions about and interpretations of the history of the
"black Jews" of Ethiopia. Because their religious practice incorporates
Saturday Sabbath observance, selected Biblical injunctions, and a mono-
theistic theology, most observers have assumed that the Falasha main-
tained intact a Judaic tradition acquired directly from a Jewish source.
The Falasha today maintain several oral traditions about their history,
none of which can be supported by documentary evidence. 4 However,
evidence from both physical anthropology 5 and linguistics 6 indicates that
the Falasha are descendents of an indigenous Agau people who inhabited
areas of northern Ethiopia for millenia. Therefore, scholarly speculation
has centered upon possible sources of Judaic traditions, Egypt and
Southern Arabia.' The summary of Falasha history found in The
Ethiopians by Edward Ullendorff (1973: 107) is typical of the contempor-
ary scholarly view of the Falasha in its emphasis upon the Jewish ele-
ments in Falasha religious practice, and the attribution of many elements
within general Ethiopian culture history to a Semitic source:

The writer feels convinced that all the evidence available points to the conclusion
that the Falashas are descendents of those elements in the Aksumrte Kingdom
who resisted conversion to Christianity. In that case the so-called Judaism is
merely the reflection of those Hebraic and Judaic practices and beliefs which
were implanted on parts of southwest Arabia in the first post- Christian centuries
and subsequently brought to Ethiopia. If this opinion is correct then the reli-
gious pattern of the Falashas may well minor to a considerable extent the
religious syncretism of the pre-Christian Axumrte Kingdom. It is in their living
testimony to the strangely Judaicized civilization of the South Arabian immi-
grants and their well-nigh complete cultural ascendency over the Cushrtic and
other strata of the original African population of Ethiopia that we must seek the
value and great interest of the Falashas today.

The above quotation indicates that the Jewish element in Falasha
culture has been the major factor instrumental in shaping theories of
Falasha origin and history. However, there are other problems beyond
simply accounting for the presence of a Jewish element in Falasha culture
that must also be resolved. One must provide some explanation for Jew-
ish elements that pervade Ethiopian Christianity today, and conversely,
clarify the presence of traditions not of Jewish provenance that are shared
by the Falasha and other Ethiopians. The following brief discussion of
documented Falasha history takes all these factors into account.

The first firm record of Falasha history is found in Ethiopian Royal
Chronicles dating from the early fourteenth century (Hess 1969b:
101-106). At this period, they were a powerful, semi-independent polity in
the Semien Mountains who successfully rebelled against attempts of a
series of Ethiopian emperors to absorb them into the expanding empire.
By the early seventeenth century, the Falasha had been decisively de-
feated; by the end of that century, they were dispersed and forced south-
ward to the regions near Lake Tana. Here they settled in their own ham-
lets or in separate quarters of larger towns and became active in metal-
working and pottery-making. Today the Falasha number less than 25,000,
and live mainly in the Gondar area of the Begemder-Semien Province.

The Judaic traditions of the Falasha attracted western missionary
attention in the mid-nineteenth century. Shortly thereafter, the first
western Jewish visitors arrived, sponsored by various Jewish communi-
ties abroad, to document the existence of these reputed co-religionists.
By the early twentieth century, curiosity had been transformed into a
movement to incorporate the Falasha into the western Jewish main-
stream. In the 1930's, schools were established in Ethiopia to instruct the
Falasha in Hebrew language and liturgy. 8 In 1973, the Falasha were rec-
ognized as Jews in an official decree by the Chief Rabbi of Israel, and
granted the right "to return" there as immigrants. 9 Only the advent of the
Ethiopian revolution in 1974 and the subsequent closing of borders inter-
vened to slow this process.

The impact of western Jews upon Falasha villages during the last
century, and resulting Falasha identification with western Jews of whom
they knew nothing until the nineteenth century, has predisposed writers
of popular and scholarly literature to frame all discussion of the Falasha
within the context of their assumed Jewish heritage. Current views about
the Falasha are therefore shaped first, by a myopic concern with the
Judaic elements of their religious tradition, to the exclusion of numerous
indigenous and Christian elements of equal prominence; and secondly, by
an attempt to tie the entire Falasha religious practice directly to the
source (or sources) from which Jewish influence stemmed. The result is a
closed historical circuit, which isolates the Falasha past from other his-
torical explanations that can more adequately account for the presence of
Judaic elements in the Falasha liturgy, as well as in a cross-section of
other Ethiopian liturgical traditions.

The accepted account of Falasha history does not provide an ade-
quate context within which to analyze newly gathered data. Particularly
disquieting is the historical comer into which the Falasha are swept. Most
observers, while operating within the boundaries of the accepted history
of the Falasha, have commented upon the marked similarity of Falasha
and Ethiopian Orthodox Christian ritual; these traditions share a liturgical
language (Geez), ritual objects, and clerical structure, including monastic
orders. Likewise, the Falasha share certain Judaic traditions with a num-
ber of Ethiopians, including a neighboring people, the Qemant. The
Qemant, termed "pagan-Hebraic" by the one anthropologist who investi-
gated their religious life, pray to a pantheon that includes the sky-god
'ad'ara; the name *adara is found within sections of the Falasha liturgy in
the Cushitic language once spoken by the Falasha (Gamst 1969). There-
fore, the liturgical reality in Ethiopia is extremely complex, with multiple
layers of influence between and within the separate liturgical traditions. It
is ironic, given the marked degree of syncretism extant in the Falasha
tradition, that a unitary historical theory could have gained such
credence.

THEDOCUMENTS : COMMENTARIES

During my fieldwork with the Falasha in the Gondar area of Begem-
der-Semien Province during fall, 1973, I gathered histories of the liturgical
tradition from my informants, priests (qesoch) of the Falasha clergy. 10
The priests related similar liturgical histories that focus on one of the
significant non- Judaic aspects of Falasha religious practice. The priests
credited a Falasha monk named Abba Sabra, who lived in the fifteenth

century, with the organization of Falasha religious laws, formation of the
liturgical cycle, and composition of the prayers.

One of the most striking and neglected aspects of Falasha liturgical
history is the monastic institution, which the Falasha adopted from Ethi-
opian Christian monks during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries (Hess
1969b: 1 14; Leslau 195 l:xxv; Quit-in 1977:62). The Royal Chronicles and
other indigenous historical sources record the names of monks who went
into exile during a period of doctrinal dispute within the Ethiopian Church
and who sought refuge among politically and militarily powerful Agau
peoples such as the Falasha at that period. The Falasha have other oral
traditions, both recorded incidentally in earlier souces, and confirmed by
myself and recent fieldworkers, that credit the monastic institution with a
wide range of religious and liturgical reforms. In addition to the central
narrative concerning the role of Abba Sabra in formulating the liturgical
cycle and composing the prayers, monks are said to have instituted the
Falasha laws of isolation, the fast days in the liturgical cycle, and the rite
of confession (Leslau n.d.). The traditional structure of the Falasha
prayer house (selot bet) with a special door for monks is credited to
monastic influence (Halevy 1877b:203). One account from the nineteenth
century reports that the main spiritual center of the Falasha at that time
was a monastic cavern (Hess 1969b: 113).

My own observations confirmed that the primacy of the monastic
institution as described in oral traditions continued into the recent past.
All of the Falasha priests of the area in which I worked stressed that, until
very recently, the monks had played a major role in training priests and in
transmitting the oral tradition. Indeed, the relative authority and prestige
of each of the Falasha priests with whom I worked is largely based upon
the length of their training with monks of their respective areas.

The Falasha commentaries concerning the influence of the monastic
institution since its inception are intriguing, but do not alone provide
enough evidence to permit historical reconstruction. I suggest that a pri-
mary document that points to a realignment of Falasha historical theories
does exist, in the interaction of yet another level of commentary with
liturgical formulae.

THE DOCUMENTS: COMMENTARIES AND RITUAL FORMULAE

One of my informants was said to be the liturgical expert of his area
by the other priests. During an interview session, in response to my
inquiry concerning classification of the prayers in the Falasha liturgy, the
priest began to discuss prayers performed by Falasha monks. He told me

that the monks "kept the time" by performing seven daily prayer ser-
vices. Although not a monk himself, this elderly priest had studied with
monks during his many years of apprenticeship, and had remained in
close contact with the monks until the last one in his area died about a
decade ago. During the subsequent discussion, he both outlined the struc-
ture of the seven monastic prayer Hours (sa'atat) and performed the
opening section of each Hour (sa 9 at). A second Falasha informant present
at that interview confirmed these data.

According to the summary provided, the Falasha monks celebrated a
Monastic Office that consisted of seven Hours in each twenty-four hour
cycle, the same number of Hours found within contemporary Ethiopian
Christian monastic practice. This priest named the Falasha monastic
Hours by their textual incipits, and provided the general time of perfor-
mance; a list of the Hours is presented in Figure 1. My informant was able
to sing only the first section of each monastic Hour,' I so the data does not
permit reconstruction of the complete order of service for each Hour.
However, the ability of this priest to discuss and perform the initial sec-
tion of each Hour indicates that the monastic Hours were a vital part of
Falasha monastic practice until its demise. 12

At this juncture, another aspect of the Falasha oral tradition, a
second body of ritual formulae, must be added to the equation. These
materials are the Falasha liturgy, performed by the priests as an oral
tradition within the village prayerhouse. I taped a number of these rituals

Hour (sa'at) and Translation

1 . egzi' o sarahku
Lord, I called

2. hallelujah, genayu la'egzi'abher

Hallelujah, worship the Lord

3. mesraqa sarjay
Rising of the sun

4. ahadu semu, maharanna 'adonai
His name is one. be merciful

to us, Adonai

5. qeddus, qeddus
Holy, holy

6 . mahari. mahari

Gracious one, gracious one

7 . yetbarek egzi'abher amlaka
esra' el
Blessed be the Lord. God of Israel

Time of Performance
before dawn

before dawn

at sunrise

daytime (unspecified hour)

daytime (unspecified hour)
daytime (unspecified hour)
sunset

Figure I. Falasha Monastic Office

in 1973 and possess complete orders of service for Falasha daily, Sabbath,
and holiday rituals. The data therefore include sections of two sets of
ritual formulae: the reconstructed Falasha monastic Hours, and complete
rituals of the daily, holiday and Sabbath prayerhouse liturgy as performed
by Falasha priests in 1973. Comparison of the textual and musical content
of the current liturgy to the reconstruction of the Falasha monastic liturgy
provides striking evidence: the prayerhouse liturgy contains portions of
all the prayers that my informant specified belonged to the Falasha mo-
nastic Office. Furthermore, these prayers, said to be part of the Falasha
monastic tradition, are found within the prayerhouse liturgy in positions
equivalent to their occurrence within the respective monastic Hour. For
example, the yetbarek 1 egzi' abfyer (blessed be the Lord, God (of Israel)),
was performed by the Falasha priest as the initial prayer of the monastic
Hour occurring in the early evening; this prayer is performed at the be-
ginning of all evening prayerhouse services at sunset. Likewise, sections
of the first and third morning monastic Hours occur in the prayerhouse
liturgy around dawn.

In Appendix 1 are found transcriptions of the opening sections of the
first (Example I) and the third (Example 2) monastic Hours. The texts of
these two examples are provided in Appendix 2.

The texts of Examples 1 and 2, identified as excerpts from the mona-
stic liturgy, contain centonization of Psalm texts, entire Psalm verses
taken out of context, and additional phrases that cannot be attributed.
Example I (Hour I) is a prayer of petition drawing upon the Prayer of
Habbukuk in two places. Example 2 (Hour 3) is a prayer of praise, incor-
porating sections of Psalm 113, verse 3, and Psalm 19, verse 5.

The text settings of both monastic excerpts are primarily syllabic;
punctuating melismas occur near the middle of phrases one, two, three,
and six of Example 1, and before the final reciting tone in every phrase of
Example 2. In Example 2, texts are repeated.

The melodic structure of Example 1 is that of simple recitation; each
line occupies the ambitus of a fifth, beginning on the third scale degree,
ascending to the fifth, and descending to the final, which also functions as
the reciting tone. The melodic setting of Example 2 has a wider ambitus of
nearly an octave and a half, and frequently moves disjunctly. The melodic
style is more elaborate, with the second scale degree lowered on descend-
ing passages.

Example 3 in Appendix 1 contains an excerpt from the prayerhouse
liturgy for the morning of berhansaraqa, an annual Falasha holiday today
heavily overlaid with Jewish New Year significance. The portion of the
service cited here occurs within the body of the three-hour ritual approx-
imately at dawn; indeed, within the recording of this excerpt a cock is

heard crowing in the background. This section of the prayerhouse liturgy
contains both textual and musical parallels to the two monastic excerpts
cited above. 13

The musical setting of Example 3 begins with an accompanied, re-
sponsorial performance style typical of much of the prayerhouse liturgy.
However, after a full statement by soloist and chorus of a phrase of text,
the drum (riagarit) and gong (qacel) drop out, and the soloist, without
pause, begins a section unaccompanied by instruments. Note that the text
does not change at this musical juncture, but is repeated at the beginning
of the new section. This is an example of a device found throughout the
Falasha liturgy, which I have termed "textual foreshadowing." I have
elsewhere pointed out (Shelemay in press) that this is one structural level
not defined by the informants, and have suggested that the dovetailing of
textual and melodic change is a crucial device that enables oral transmis-
sion and performance of rituals many hours in length. Textual foreshad-
owing also fuses sections of the liturgy and thus effectively prevents
interpolations.

Example 3 begins with a portion of the text found in Example I,
continues with a textual "proper" for the holiday berhansaraqa, and
concludes with part of the text of Example 2. Although the performance
style is different because of the solo rendition of Examples 1 and 2, in
contrast to the initial responsorial setting of Example 3, note that the
melodic contour found in Example 1 is identical to that of the accom-
panied section of Example 3. The primary difference between the two is
the rhythmic pattern imposed on Example 3 by the instrumental ostinato.
and that example's slightly larger ambitus. An examination of the melody
of the initial line of Example 2 will likewise show a striking correspon-
dence in contour to that of the first line of each verse in the unaccom-
panied section of Example 3.

The demonstrated parallelism between portions of the monastic
Hours and the prayerhouse liturgy discussed above is only a small part of
the shared materials in similar positions within both liturgical orders.
These data raise provocative questions. One must ask why similar liturgi-
cal materials are found within both the Falasha monastic and prayerhouse
liturgies. One would not expect parallelism between these two orders of
service if indeed the monastic Hours were of Christian provenance and
the prayerhouse liturgy of Jewish origin. Even in Christian liturgical prac-
tice the liturgy of the monastic Office and the public Mass are distinct in
both form and content (Apel 1958:14-15, 20).

The relationship between the two liturgies is particularly important
since we are able to date Falasha adoption of the monastic institution to
the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. If indeed, as accepted historical

theory would have it, the Falasha liturgy is a direct survival from pre-
Christian Jewish sources in Ethiopia, how can we account for the similar-
ity to the monastic liturgy, which was transmitted by an order that we
know the Falasha received at least 1000 years later? The liturgical paral-
lelism assumes even greater importance when one considers that Falasha
priests today credit a monastic practice adopted at a relatively late date
with a wide range of liturgical innovations and reform. Furthermore, the
Falasha continue to emphasize the importance of their monastic tradition
despite contemporary emphasis upon Jewish traditions in the Falasha
villages in which this information was gathered.

It appears to me that we are compelled to rethink the possible course
of Falasha history, particularly since there is an explanation that can
account for both the Judaic and Christian aspects of the Falasha religious
tradition. I am therefore advancing a hypothesis that will be more fully
illuminated by additional data presented below: that the Falasha liturgy
extant today is primarily a product of the fourteenth and fifteenth centur-
ies, dating from the period during which this Agau people had intense
contact with Ethiopian Christian monks and adopted a monastic institu-
tion.

THE CORROBORATING SOURCES

Where the primary documents leave unanswered questions, an
abundance of corroborating and clarifying information is found scattered
in literature concerning the Falasha and other pertinent aspects of Ethi-
opian studies.

My informant's testimony concerning the order and content of the
monastic Office is partially corroborated in an earlier source. In an intro-
duction to a translation of Falasha prayers in his Falasha Anthology,
linguist Wolf Leslau provides an outline of "prayer types" that he elicited
from Falasha priests in the late 1940's (Leslau 1951:112-1 14). These
prayers are divided into six daytime and four nighttime prayers, each
named by its opening text. When this list is realigned and telescoped, it
matches my informant's list of the Falasha monastic Hours, omitting only
the second Hour of my list (genayula'egzi'abher). 14

The Falasha Anthology summary indicates that Falasha priests thirty
years ago described the liturgy in terms of monastic order (the daytime
and nighttime divisions); their summary also closely corresponds to what
my informant specifically described as the order of the monastic Office. If
Leslau' s informants were not describing the basic monastic divisions,
terming them "prayer types," they then described the prayerhouse li-
turgy in terms remarkably similar to monastic practice. Likewise, my

Prayer Type

Daytime:

1 . mesraqa safcay

The rising of the sun

2. ne'u nesged

Come and let us prostrate ourselves

3. maharanna

Be graceful to us

4. qeddus
Holy

5. maljari maljari

Gracious one, gracious one

6. yetbarak

May he be blessed

Nighttime:

1. 'egzio 'aquerer

Lord, soothe (your anger)

2. wabezuh

And numerous

3. kalhu
Proclaim

4. 'egzi'o sarahku
Lord. I called

Time of Performance

forenoon
midday
afternoon
before sunset
sunset

bedtime
midnight
before dawn
dawn

Figure 2. Falasha Prayer Types (Falasha Anthology)

Sa'atat Only
genayu la'egzPabrjer

Common Titles

'egzi'o $arahku

m£sraqa jahay

maharanna
qeddus

marjari mabari
yetbarek

Prayer Types Only

n£'u nesgfed

'egzi'o 'aquer£r

wabezuh

kalhu

Figure 3. Comparison of Sa' atat and Prayer Types

source volunteered information concerning aspects of monastic practice
of which I was unaware when I tried to elicit data concerning basic cate-
gories of liturgical prayer. Since all Falasha priests with whom I worked
were unable to excerpt prayers from the body of a service for purposes of
discussion or performance during interview sessions, it seems unlikely
that my informant simply performed sections of the prayerhouse liturgy
and misrepresented them as (or confused them with) the monastic Office.
Rather, a system of classification in which sections of the liturgy are
named by the opening text of the first prayer of each section is found
throughout the entire Falasha liturgical tradition. Further segmentation of
a service is made difficult because of the elaborate dovetailing of musical
and textual change.

In addition, a large body of historical evidence lends support to a
hypothesis that these Ethiopian Christian monks were the source of litur-
gical reform, rather than converts to an existing Falasha religious prac-
tice. Thanks to recent historical research, we have growing documenta-
tion for the period in the fourteenth century during which several monas-
tic groups left the Ethiopian Church rather than give up their observance
of the Saturday Sabbath and other Biblical traditions (Taddesse 1972:206-
42). These monastic groups were carriers of what has been termed a
Jewish-Christian tradition (Ephraim 1973) and were the object of great
controversy during a period in which the Ethiopian Church was seeking to
purge itself of elements not sanctioned by the Church hierarchy in Alex-
andria. Several "schools" of Jewish-Christian monks went into exile,
primarily in northern Ethiopia, and sought refuge among the Agau groups
powerful at that time. A leader of one of the prominent monastic orders
was Ewostatewos, who, while in exile, made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem,
and then proceeded to Armenia, where he died in 1352. His followers
returned to Ethiopia and dispersed to found monasteries among the Agau
peoples. Notable among these disciples of Ewostatewos was the monk
Gabra Iyesus, who is mentioned in manuscripts of that period as having
proselytized actively among the Falasha and as having instituted monas-
ticism among them. Another Ethiopian Christian monk of slightly later
period, named Qozimos, is identified in the Ethiopian Chronicles as hav-
ing been a renegade from the Church who both copied the Geez Bible
Corit) for the Falasha and served as a political-military leader among them
as well. Both written sources and oral tradition record the career of the
monk Abba Sabra, who in cooperation with another holy man, Tsege
Amlak, is said to have organized the Falasha prayerhouse liturgy and
liturgical calendar. Strikingly, the names of these two monks are found in
manuscripts of Falasha prayers (Aescoly 1951:201).

The monks credited with liturgical reform among the Falasha were
capable of doctrinal reform as well. Monks who went into exile from the

Church must have been strong proponents of their belief system, given a
stance inflexible enough to trigger a schism. Perhaps the most telling
evidence in favor of the hypothesis advanced here is that the central issue
that prompted the crisis within the Ethiopian Church and resulting exile of
several orders of monks was the monks' insistence upon celebrating the
Saturday Sabbath; likewise, the facet of contemporary Falasha practice
consistently noted as "Judaic" is the colorful Sabbath observance.
Several manuscripts have recently been examined that provide descrip-
tions of these dissident groups known to have been part of Ethiopian
Church history until the late fourteenth century reforms (Ephraim 1973).
The traditions of these so-called "Jewish-Christians" are strikingly similar
to a range of contemporary Falasha traditions.

ANOMALIES RESOLVED

If the Falasha liturgy stems in large part from the impact of Ethiopian
Orthodox monastic groups, who were themselves Judaized, upon the
Falasha, this hypothesis should be effective in resolving numerous
enigmas surrounding the tradition. Several puzzling facets of Falasha
liturgical practice indeed can now be explained for the first time.

Although Falasha instrumental usage of a drum (nagarit) and gong
(qdcel) is not found in post-Temple Jewish liturgical practice, it can be
attributed to the influence of the Ethiopian Christian musical tradition.
The nagarit is used in monasteries in Ethiopia in combination with stone
slabs (merawiy'a) to announce the evening prayers. It is possible that in
the seventeenth century, when the Falasha were forced economically into
the trade of metal-working, that the stone instrument was replaced by a
metal gong. It is noteworthy that other observers have mentioned seeing
other idiophones used in combination with the nagarit in the Falasha
prayerhouse. These include a bell (dowel) and the sistrum (§ena$el), both
still used in the Ethiopian Church today (Krempel 1972:199).

That the Falasha liturgy shares a liturgical language with the Ethi-
opian Church certainly indicates strong historical ties; indeed, to postu-
late that the two traditions share liturgical language and texts without
sharing history seems to deny the obvious. There is no firm indication
when the Falasha acquired Geez, although recent inquiry has tended to
date the Falasha acquisition of Geez literature to the period of Christian
monastic influence in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries (Hess
1969b: 113; Taddesse 1972: 199; Leslau 195 lrxxxvii; Quirin 1977:62, 64).

Within the primarily Geez liturgy of the Falasha, scattered texts are
found in an Agau dialect; this Cushitic language was spoken by the Fala-
sha before Amharic entered their area. Considering the hypothesis ad-

vanced above, it appears possible that Geez was unknown to the Falasha
before the fourteenth century and was introduced during the period of
intensive monastic reform. If so, it was likely that rituals before that
period were in Agau. During the period within which the Geez literature
was copied, and the Geez ritual taught to members of the Agau-speaking
community, sections may have been retained in the vernacular to aid both
congregation and newly trained monks and priests to follow the order of
service. Agau texts may also have insured continuity with pre-existing
rituals. Indeed, references to the Agau sky-god 'ad'ara are found within
the Agau sections of the liturgy, and Agau texts are positioned near the
end of prayers and at important structural points.

Within the context of this hypothesis, yet another provocative inter-
pretation exists for the name "Falasha." The term is usually said to
derive from the Geez root f alias a, meaning "to emigrate" and "to wan-
der" (Dillman 1865: 1340). Recent research into the pivotal fifteenth cen-
tury has uncovered a decree by the Emperor Yishaq, who in attempting to
stop resistance to his expanding empire, ruled: "He who is baptized in the
Christian religion may inherit the land of his father; otherwise, let him be
afalasi" (Taddesse 1972:200-01). In this context, the word means tenant
or visitor, a likely designation for a group without land rights. The people
today known as the Falasha did indeed forfeit their rights to own land
between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries. In addition, within the
context discussed here, it is germane to note that falasi also means
"proselyte" and the word falasyan "monk" (Dillmann 1865: 1342). One
can only speculate if there is a relationship between the religious-political
rebels at times led by monks, and the infidels threatened in the decree of
Emperor Yishaq.

CONCLUSION

The Falasha are carriers of a complex liturgical tradition that is an
outcome of their history within Ethiopia. The reality of this tradition has
captured popular imagination, but has not given rise to viable theories
within which to frame on-going research. The hypothesis that the Falasha
beliefs and liturgy are the product of the period in which the Agau peoples
were heavily influenced by a Judaized Ethiopian Orthodox monasticism is
the beginning of a historical reconstruction with multiple implications. It
is only a point of departure, and does not resolve all the issues that it
implicitly raises. The dating and source of the original Judaic elements
that left their mark on Ethiopian culture and religious life are' still uniden-
tified. It now appears possible that the isolation and independence of

Ethiopian monastic institutions from the mainstream of Ethiopian Church
life may have provided the climate in which Jewish elements were main-
tained, and later, emphasized and spread throughout the country. Hope-
fully, these unresolved issues will become soluble once the complexity of
the historical process of which they are a part is more fully understood.

The immediate concern is to substantiate the hypothesis beyond the
evidence presented here. The hypothesis is formulated from oral data
exclusively from the Falasha liturgical tradition. The present situation in
Ethiopia makes it extremely unlikely that a solution can be sought in a
return to the field to gather additional, corroborating data. However, the
implications of this theory directly draw Ethiopian Christianity into con-
sideration by advancing the notion that the Judaization of the Falasha
may not stem directly from a pre-Christian Jewish influence, but rather,
from Judaic beliefs transmitted through the Ethiopian Church and its
monastic institutions. If this is the case, then the Falasha musical-liturgi-
cal tradition is apparently a marginal survival of a Jewish-Christian tradi-
tion known to have been part of Ethiopian Church history. Indeed, given
the Judaic characteristics still found within the Ethiopian Christian lit-
urgy, it is possible that Jewish traditions may have played a much more
major role than is currently suspected within the mainstream of Ethiopian
Christianity itself. Therefore, the interaction of the Christian monks in
exile with Agau peoples in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries perhaps
provides a viable explanation of all aspects of the Falasha tradition, and
accounts for practices of Jewish, Christian, and indigenous Ethiopian
derivation.

Given the larger body of musical, liturgical, and historical materials
available from the Ethiopian Christian tradition, comparative studies be-
tween the Ethiopian Christian and Falasha liturgical traditions may prove
fruitful. Indeed, preliminary comparative analysis between the contem-
porary Falasha liturgy and contemporary Ethiopian Christian monastic
practice are indicating marked parallels in liturgical order and prayer
texts. 15 Planned quantification of these data may provide firmer proof of
the historical relationshp outlined above. 16

This case study is intended to be useful in charting an instance in
which powerful evidence existing in the oral tradition itself was over-
looked, perhaps because it was overshadowed by the accepted historical
model. I do not suggest that a diachronic study can be dredged from the
materials of every oral tradition. Ethiopia does present a relatively closed
culture history because of its geographic isolation and political independ-
ence. Furthermore, the oral tradition discussed here is an esoteric tradi-
tion transmitted with elaborate external controls, and with internal de-
vices that discourage interpolation and alteration of the liturgical surface

Yet, I suspect had I structured my initial research to accommodate this
inquiry, or at least explored my materials initially with the expectation
that they might hold a key to history, I might have achieved this recon-
struction sooner. I would propose that we need to be alert to the rich
potential of our ethnomusicological materials, and their possible contribu-
tion beyond corroborative readings of history. We should be aware of the
possibility that even occasionally, content may hold the key to context.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I wish to thank Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Theodore Levin, Jean-Jacques Nattiez,
Carol E. Robertson, and Judith Vander for their comments on drafts of this article.

NOTES

1. This article is an expansion of a paper presented in the panel entitled "Music as the
Context of Social Actions,'* at the 1978 meeting of the Society for Ethnomusicology, St.
Louis, Missouri.

2. Chase's position shifted as well, and he later called for the development of an
"ethnohistorical method" within ethnomusicology (1969:2 1 1).

3. The classification of different types of oral sources draws upon categories sug-
gested by Jan Vansina (1965)

4. Some Falasha. along with other Ethiopians, trace their origin to Menelik, the son of
a reputed liaison between King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. This legend, the Ethiopian
national epic, was recorded in the fourteenth century and popularized largely to reinforce
the ruling dynasty's claim to the throne. Other Falasha say that they are descendents of a
group of exiles who travelled south and settled in Ethiopia when Israel left Egypt at the time
of the Exodus. Falasha also recount several versions of a tradition in which they claim
descent from Jews who fled from Jerusalem and settled in Ethiopia. Some individuals date
these migrations from the time of the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem in 586
B.C.E. and others from the period of the destruction of the Second Temple in the first
century of the common era.

5. The one biological survey completed attempted to determine the extent of southern
Arabian (Jewish) influence upon Ethiopian populations, including the Falasha (Tel Has-
homer Government Hospital 1962) The study was unable to establish any connection to
southern Arabian populations and concluded that the blood-studies indicated a closer con-
nection with Cushitic groups of the area.

6. The Falasha formerly spoke an Agau dialect (Halevy 1873). There is no evidence
that they knew Hebrew until the recent introduction of the language by western Jews
(Leslau 1947).

7. A number of popular writers have subscribed to the notion that the Falasha were
immigrants to Ethiopia who intermarried with the local population. This theory was ad-
vanced by Jacques Faitlovitch, who evidently coined the phrase "black Jews of Ethiopia."
Faitlovitch first visited the Falasha in 1905 and began a lifelong effort to bring them to the
attention of world Jewry. His writings were instrumental in shaping attitudes toward the
group. He wrote in 1915: "As they lived for centuries apart from the rest of Jewry, separated
completely from the outside world, they had to submit to inevitable intercourse with the
natives of their new country , , By reason of the scarcity of Jewish women, these Jews
being at first only wanderers and adventurers, were compelled to intermarry with the daugh-
ters of the land, whom they converted to Judaism. Like all Jews, the Falashas have
undergone centuries of misfortune and persecution , , ."

8. Jacques Faitlovitch set up a school for Falasha children in Addis Ababa, which was
closed at the time of the Italian occupation of Ethiopia. In the 1950' s. the Jewish Agency
provided support for schools and teachers within Falasha villages in the north of the
country.

9. In a letter written in November, 1973, Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosseff recognized the
Falasha as Jews: "... our brothers, the Felasheem, as was written in the books of the Law
Givers, that they are Jews from the tribe of Dan-to come out of Ethiopia and make aliyah to
Eretz Israel and be unified with the other Israeli tribes."

10. My informants were the ordained priests of three Falasha villages in the Gondar
area of Begemder-Semien Province; the liturgy was taped in the prayerhouse of the current
Falasha center, Ambober. Priests from outlying areas participated in the rituals at the
Ambober prayerhouse on many occasions.

11. The priest said that each Hour was long and contained its own order of service; he
said that he could not perform all Hours in full because of the time constraints.

12. The dissolution of the powerful Falasha monastic tradition in the twentieth-century
can apparently be attributed to pressures introduced by western Jewish visitors. Several
Falasha remember that Jacques Faitlovitch (see notes 7 and 8) adamantly opposed the
monastic institution and actively tried to persuade the Falasha priests that a community
claiming Jewish origins must not maintain monastic practices.

13. 'The second monastic Hour, genayu la'egzi'abfyer, is found within other morning
services. It is the initial prayer within a daily morning service which I taped in the Ambober
prayerhouse.

14. However, the gtnayu la'egzi'abfcer is among the prayers translated by Leslau. The
four remaining "prayer types" in Leslau' s list are found in the prayerhouse liturgy; indeed, in
my own previous analyses, I had classified them as part of an evening prayer complex
introduced by the yetbarek'egzVabfaer, the evening prayer/Hour in both lists (See Figures 2
and 3).

15. I began these comparative studies during summer, 1978, under the auspices ofagrant
from the Columbia University Council for Research in the Humanities.

16. The next stage in this historical reconstruction will incorporate analysis that will be
subject to statistical procedures, as suggested in Merriam 1967: 108.

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APPENDIX I
Musical Transcriptions
The following symbols are used in the transcriptions:
II unpitched percussion clef

^ unpitched percussion beat

' phrase ending

£ chorus

S solo

/> approximately a quarter-tone higher than written

J> approximately a quarter-tone lower than written

J) j) slide

Example I. Falasha Monastic Hour (saat)i.

m.m.J = 60

m" mPf-Tf g nor - m' ^m?

)Cq-z-i-o $i-roK

ku, hd.-be-(<Jdu si-nwt-Sju-imi

*>fffEf f T ppp g p pp

<&-!&£ -y& Sa,-u>ai£ - icu. hcu-keu \xm- ku-fe^ ffr-TnS&rTTTVV

'»nnf rjp r sBf g sep n

Sirrah- \u> He-be

+ + +

■»y i r p ppnr p g l p p # ?^g

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>> rf | 7 | I g g n p ii I? i p p

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^ p p p i p g b

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'ninry i>Eff ffrppp P iir p pppt i

^tq-xA-'o je-mi'iL

■ fcu dXm-se-fcL a>ii-fa.-ra*-he-ku..

Example 2. Falasha Monastic Hour (sa' at) 3.

m.m. J = 54

A S

>)l" SfiPpLTrrr g g f r

^mes- t-b- + sii,- h<iy

^a&/ca na c a-rcL-be

e p r ^ J p p p > J " p

>em?s-r<L-qe $d hay tjiL-^s-Zca. m«fe - ra - 2?c/

'> M I 1 1 § i j g

ye- t c a teat re-inu cuao-cofes^tflL sou -hay

ggfefeg

p 1 1 ?

u«t-Lj£s - tflL sbi-haLy

s&m sou -la, - lo-tu

>>.^^jr flflftpp' ? | p" gg a^f

uuLuSt-tu- se teL-Tna-mcL-nxru)i xil- yeuJa,- ce& ^rft-sff-hu

93s?

p p- g g c g ^

ukiuj&-tu «- s& £a,.7»&-ff)dL.-n5L-wi ziL-ye-6uOi-S£ , & >&n-s*r- hu

Example 3. Excerpt, Falasha Prayerhouse Morning Ritual for berhansdrdqa.

m.m.J =69

pr^rr pu

sL-m&

*-CL- T7TH

B^g

u)(L- it -

f" JS JlJu JU J>J»? J>? J> J>

^ rr p p 'j * pp ' .p * p p»:

bdL-ai - za sdL-u>a/& - - ku-l<lL

,N My J^ JUL? J*? JUU JuJ-i

P * P P * P * P P 7 P 7 P P ^ P ^ P P

* ( \ f -\ ( \

ite

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■ j 'y r j ' i> [> >j •' g i s ^ ^rr:

Example 3. (continued)

J =60

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■&-

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■> P p r g r g | p f

y»

bil-ai-ze soo-uWL'ft-Htu- k«L 5fe-7T)c'oL-7ini ui.-te.-rv, b<L-t

=»:

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TDdly

iV(H)

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inaa-

> P p i biuPUrr "P ^ P Cirr w

L-zi-t> >d J -a)£-S(&L-TinL 6fl f -sa,-d f ^q<x fcit -ftL-sx-fioL-fc-rmi

Example 3. (continued)

J = 56

'> l g g g i ° ' p uil r | a e

3 axn-!flL-feit

>ct -ma- - - )ek£ &Q-zjl-

'.^ffPBB p tmr fl t i^r

^abher T\'L-barbiL oSa*-sd*-uMJz, ioL-me- dr& C * *. mm

(C)

^ r [J r 'p p p tfr r ^

ber-hcm 50, - fdr

/a- ya-dfe'-aa. • - ne. bSu-ter-

tV(H)

«:

/ra.-no-ma IbL-afdi- da-saTL siL-ri- oi btr-har) b(L-ujes-tjL

Stl-mod. l &' bi -ya, ber-ha.- nu ku-na fc - su- nan biL-m'an-aes-

z*mt

nr Mrirr pp ^^

£-qus sad-qa-ne >£s-kiL c flL- /flL-mSL

t(L scL-may-ai n£-aus fad-aa-ne

^M' ppp g err i ppcvt fl^

b&r-han siL- rii-aii

/flL-50L-d^-ao-

ne,

Example 3. (continued)

(S)

» E f umif i nitir p pff urn

ba^-ber-liau- no-mu lcL~aed-du~sax) ta-ti-yoL 6er-rian ru-fart

k n (i g p p e gj g p ff p | g fl g

ft~9u-fiaxL a>&-^*rn£n-aevia 3(L-mcL-v&t i&mes-ra*- ae jcL-fiay

'M g CI fl g P f ^pip

her - $bb aiL-/?(L-at y^-m£L

APPENDIX II

Text Transliterations and Translations'

Example I: Hour (sa'at) I, 'egzi'o sarahku

■fcgzi'o saratjku j)abeka sfemfcanni

sa'elatya sawa'eku haba 'amlake sem&'anni

$arahku (rabeka semeanni wa'adehananni

bagize sawa'ekuka bagize salayekuka

'anta frawwesana 'emsamay 'emena dellwe mahadareka semeanni qaleya

'egzi'o seme'anni demseka wafaraheku

Translation:

Lord, I cry out to you, hear me.
When I call to you, my God, hear me.
I cry out to you. hear me and save me.

When I call to you, when I pray to you. you visit us from heaven, from your
prepared dwelling place. Hear my voice.

Lord, I heard your voice, and I was frightened

Example 2: Hour (sa'at) 3, mesraqa sahay

emesraq $ahay wa*eska na'arab
'emesraq Jjarjay wa'eska me'erab yet'akut semu
wawesta sahay wawesta sahay sem salalotu
wawetuse kamamarawi zayewa^ee 'fcmsfcrhu

Translation:

From the sunrise to the sunset, from the sunrise to the sunset, let his name be praised

And in the sun he put his shadow.

And he is like the bridegroom who comes out of his house.

Example 3: excerpt, morning ritual, berhan sardqcP-

S: seme'anni C: wiitera S: bdgiz.e sawu'ekuka

(repeated)
{nagarit and qucel end here)

S; seme'anni wiitera

C bagize sawa ekuka seme anni watera wabigize saldyekttkd anta haw we sand etnsama\

'emend dellwe mahadarekd westii serhii maqdasaka 'egzio "awesa'anni basadaqakii

tasahalenni
S: "amlaka'amalekt 'egzi'abher nababa wasawa'e lamedre
C: berhan saraqa lasadqan baberhanomu laqeddusan saraqa berhan bawesta selmat 'abiya

berhanu kunu fesuhan bamangesta simayat negus §adqan 'eska Ja'alam
S: berhan saraqa lasadqan baberhanomu laqeddusan 'abiya berhan rufan fesuhan

wiibamangesta samayat 'emesruq sdhay wd'eskd ttd'arab wdmesa'e satu sehhatihu

"egzi'abhersa gahad yemase'e

Translation:

S: Hear me C: always s: When I call to you

(repeated)

S: Hear me always

C : When I call to you hear me always when I pray to you. You visited us from heaven.

from your prepared dwelling place. Lord, save me in your righteousness, forgive me.
S: God of Gods, Lord, spoke and called to the earth:
C: The light appeared to the righteous in the light of the holy. The light appeared to the

righteous within the darkness. His light is great. Be happy in the kingdom of heaven.

righteous King, forever.
S: The light appeared to the righteous in the light of the holy. Star with great light, happy in

the kingdom of heaven. From the sunrise to the sunset comes the beauty of his glory.

God comes openly

NOTES TO APPENDIX II

I The texts were transcribed directly from the tapes with the help of native speaker-5 of
Geez. Perhaps as a result ofcenturies of oral transmission, language usage at times appears to
be at variance with what is today considered standard practice in Geez: in these instances,
texts are transliterated as sung. The phonetic system, seen below, enables the reader to
distinguish between the seven types of vowel sounds in Geez:

fl (b)a

rv u
n '
n
a

2. Words italicized in Example 3 are shared with Examples I and 2.

36
SHIRU ID: ASPECTS OF CONGREGATIONAL SONG

Max Wohlberg

I EWISH LITURGY has two salient qualities: it is congregation-oriented
and it has to be chanted in an agreeable manner.

Although in the absence of an alternative one is permitted to pray
privately, synagogue attendance and participation in communal worship
is mandatory. Indeed, we are warned not even to dwell in a place that
is without a synagogue.l Furthermore, we are exhorted that a com-
munity without regular worship arouses the ire of the Almighty. 2

The Talmud records a revealing dialogue between Rabbi Isaac and
Rabbi Nahman. Why, asked the former, does the master not attend
synagogue prayer? I cannot, the latter replied. Then, continued Rabbi
Isaac, why not collect a minyan at home? That, maintained Rabbi Nah-
man, would involve me in too much trouble. Then, persisted Rabbi
Isaac, why not ask the hazzan to inform you of the exact time of the
congregational service, so that you may synchronize your prayers with
theirs? But look, asked Rabbi Nahman, why all this fuss? Because, replied
Rabbi Isaac, Rabbi Yohanan quoted Rabbi Simeon ben Yohai (on Psalms
69:14:, "But as for me, let my prayer be unto Thee, Lord, in an
acceptable time") as teaching: What time may be considered acceptable?
When a congregation is at prayer?

Frequent references to public worship are found in our early history.
At the dedication of the first Temple, the very inception of our formal
public worship, King Solomon prayed that the Lord "may hearken to
the supplication of Thy servant, and of Thy people Israel."' He thus

1 Sanhedrin 17b.

2 Berakhot 6b.

3 ibid. 7b.

4 I Kings 8:30.

Dr. Wohlberg is Professor of Nusah at the Cantors Institute-Seminary College of
Jewish Music of the Jewish Theological Seminary.

Reprinted with permission from Conservative Judaism, Fall 1968.

visualized the Temple as a place appropriate for both personal and
group prayer. It is also significant that many sections of our liturgy,
which had originally been in the domain of private devotion, have gradu-
ally entered the reahn of group prayer.5

We are told that theprayerof a congregation has definite advantages
over that of an individual, in that the former never remains unanswered. 6
It is therefore not surprising that for the formal recitation of a number
of prominent liturgical passages the presence of a minyan is obligatory/
It is an accepted rule that items of special sanctity require the presence
of a minimum of ten.8 As a matter of fact, it is suggested that even for
prayers not requiring a quorum, at least three be present: one to read
and two to respond. 9

The Midrash enumerates the five possible manners of prayer. Fore-
most is the communal prayer in the synagogue. Then, in diminishing
order of value, are those in the field, at home, on one's bed, and in
thought.10 If one prays in the synagogue, the Shulhan Arukh advises
him to adjust his prayers so that he can first join the congregation and
only then attend to his private prayers.ll

responses

WHILE the role of the congregation is thus emphasized, we must also
bear in mind that the role of the individual worshipper is not a passive
one. H is active participation is vital, indeed indispensible. 12 Prayer and
its response, benediction and its Amen are an inseparable unit. 13 A num-
ber of responses, such as barukh shem kevod malkhuto (probably the
oldest \14haleluyah, amen (not employed in the Sanctuary), berikh hu,
form an integral part of the liturgy.

Our ancestors knew of various forms of responses, refrains and anti-
phonal chants.l5The Mekhilta quotes Rabbi Nehemiah:

5 Berakhot60b. Ismar Elbogen, Der J udische Gottesc// enst, Leipzig: 1913, pp.

15, 87; Eliezer Levy, YesodotHatefillah, Tel Aviv: 1961, p. 106.

6 Devarim Kabbah 2:7.

7 Mishnah Mecjllah 2:7.

8 Berakhot 21b.

9 Midrash Tehillim 113:3.

10 Ibid. 4:9.

11 Orah Hayim, HilkhotTefillah 109. See also Rashi and Tosafot on Berakhot

21b and Rashi on Sukkuh 38b.

12 Joseph H ei nemann, Hatefillah Bitekufat Hatannaim, Jerusalem: 1964, p. 18.

13 T. J. Ta'anit 3:11-

14 I. Elbogen, op. dtp. 495.

15 ibid.p. 4%. see also SiMah 38b.

The holy spirit rested upon Israel and they uttered the Song (of the sea)
in the manner in which we recite the Shema. According to Rabbi Akiba it
was recited as is the HalleL Rabbi Eliezer ben Taddai said: Moses would
first begin with the opening words. The Israelites would then repeat them
after him and finish the verse with him.16

In addition to responses, the Jewish worshipper is enjoined to recite
each service almost in its entirety with the rest of the congregation.
Such phrases as veamru khulam, umashmV im yahad bekol, kulam
lae* ehad onim, yahad kulam kedushah yeshaleshu, precede sign&ant
passages and bespeak the ideal of prayer in unison,

congregational song

But OUR LITURGY was not merely recited in a monotone, it was chanted
binelimah- pleasingly. It is remarkable how replete our ancient litera-
ture is with references extolling the importance of song. Not only prayers
were sung, but the study of Bible and Mishnah had to be tuneful. 17
The tune, it was believed, would facilitate the memorization of the text
studied. 18

In the dedicatory prayer of Solomon, 19 the Temple is designated as
the forum for song (rinah) and prayer(tefillah). The Talmud stresses
the dependence of the one upon the other.20 The Midrash interprets
rinah as praise of the Lord and tefiUohas prayer for the needs of man.21

A detailed description of the Temple service during the reign of
Hezekiah relates: "And the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded;
all this continued until the burnt-offering was finished." 22 Indeed, ac-
cording to Rabbi Meir the song had predominance over the offering. 29
In an effort to assert the primacy of song, the Talmud ascribes a biblical
source to it.24 Elsewhere we learn of the minutiae of the service in the
second Temple, and of the important role of music in its scheme.25

The one condition required of this song was that it be pleasant. God,

Mekhilta Ex. 15:1

Megillah 32.

Sanhedrin 99b with Rashi.

1 Kings 8:28.
Berakhot 6a.

Devarim Rabbah 2:1.

II Chronicles 29:28.

Arakhin 1 la.

Ibid.

Mishnah Tamid 7:3, 4; Mishnah Bikkurim

3:4; Rashi on Kiddushin 71a.

we are assured, loves to hear a pleasant voice.26 In a charming homily
the story is told of ten men who appeared before the heavenly throne
and wished to sing a hymn to God. He said to them: "All of you are
pleasing, pious, praiseworthy and capable of singing before me. But
I choose this one, because his voice is mellow." 27 We are also informed
that, although He will accept the tribute rendered by musical instru-
ments, His preference is for vocal music.28

Rashi, who on occasion served as a sheliah tzibbur, appreciated the
favorable effects of fine singing. In commenting on I Kings 8:28 he says:
"In the synagogue the congregation recites songs and praises in a pleas-
ant voice."29 Discussing the qualifications of a precentor on fast days
Rashi remarks that the sweetness of a voice captivates the heartBOIt
was thus inevitable that a pleasant voice became a prime requisite for
a hazzan.31

the tunes

Considering our ancestors' strong attachment to congregational singing,
it may be surprising to note how few congregational tunes have been
transmitted to contemporary worshippers. The following reasons may
explain this anomaly.

1) The congregational song familiar in ancient times was, as it
still is in most eastern synagogues, a limited chant, a primitive form of
sprechgesang, frequently with a melismatic ending. The tunes sung to-
day are of more recent origin and have not achieved the familiarity of the
old.

2) Many congregational tunes were associated with holiday piyutim.
Not all of these were employed by all rites (minhagim).

3) When a piyut fell into disuse its melody became obsolete.

4) Hazzanim, in an effort to be creative, sometimes replaced ancient
tunes with compositions in "modem" style. (In Sephardic congregations,
where the hazzan did not parallel the musical creativity of his Ashke-
nazic colleague, congregational singing flourishes.)

5) As a result of recurrent migrations and consequent exposure to
new and different ethnic musical influences, old chants were altered,
replaced and forgotten.

2 6 Midrash Tehillim 33:1.

27 Shir Hashirim Rabbah 4:3.

28 Midrash Tehillim 149:5.

29 Besakhot 6a.

30 Taanit 16a.

31 Mishnah To rah, Ahavah, HUhhot TefiUah 8:11.

6) New communities were often denied the services of competent
hazzanim with a knowledge and appreciation of the congregational
chant.32

7) Under the influence of "star" hazzanim, the bravura recitative
gained emphasis and the traditional chant and nusah were neglected.

8) As the knowledge of Hebrew among our worshippers dwindled,
and as the frequency of their attendance in synagogue decreased, so tbe
role of the congregational song was reduced.

9) Frequently the professional choir preempted the congregational
melody.

recent attempts

The f I RsT SERIOUS attempt in modem times to involve the congregation
musically, took place in the early nineteenth century. The founders of
the Reform movement, in their effort to emulate the Protestant church
service, introduced hymns in the vernacular. A few of these, serving as
preludes and postludes for the sermon and appropriate to the observance
of national holidays, the Sabbath, weddings and youth-services, pene-
trated the so-called "Moderate Reform" congregations, particularly in
Germany, Austria and Hungary.

These congregations in the main followed the traditional liturgy, but
adopted moderate or external reforms. Decorum, formality, choir sing-
ing (mostly male), a sermon in the vernacular (although German was
often utilized in Hungary as well as in the United States), and the
elimination of the excesses of cantorial improvisation, were the mark of
these congregations, In essence, these were the prototypes of our con-
temporary Conservative congregations,

This marked the beginning of congregational participation in the
music of the service. However, it must be noted that it was in the
Conservative synagogue in the United States that congregational singing
of the liturgy in Hebrew achieved its greatest popularity. There, as in
no other place, it was welcomed and there it flourished. For decades
it was a distinctive aspect of the Conservative synagogue. Gradually
this "Conservative" practice began to be adopted in Orthodox and Re-
form congregations, and except for a few dyed-in-the-wool, ultra-tradi-
tional Reform congregations, it is today a sine qua non in the American
synagogue.

32 B. Jacobson. Der lsraelUischeGemeinde-Gesane.l^mTie-A 8 84 p. 52

literature

Unfortunately, few composers concerned themselves with congrega-
tional song. Salomon Sulzer's (1804-1890) exclusive concerns were the
purification and recording of the ancient nusah and the creation of a
choral repertoire for the entire calendar.33 Of this enormous task he
acquitted himself nobly. He created the model, and supplied most of
the elements, of a well -organized musical service, but the element of
congregational song is absent in his works.

This omission was noted and rectified by Louis Lewandowsky (1821-
1894), who in the foreword to his Kol Rina Usefillah (Berlin 1871)
bemoans the fact that congregations who previously shouted have been,
si nee the introduction of choirs, condemned to silence. He also laments
the fact that ungifted and unmusical individuals introduced trivial tunes
into the service. In this work Lewandowsky provides abundant oppor-
tunities for the congregation to sing, and many simple tunes for the

purpose.

Of other works intended solely for congregational singing, at least
three must be mentioned: Gesange Fur Symzgogen (Braunschweig
1843) by H. Goldberg; Sch'ire Beth Jacob (Altona 1880) by L. Liebling
and B. Jacobsohn; and the anonymous Liturgisches Liederbuch (Berlin
1912).

In the United States the melodies of Rabbi Israel Goldfarb, who
taught Hazzwwt at the Jewish Theological Seminary, gained wide
popularity. His settings for Shalom Aleikhem, Vayekhulu, Magen Aoot
and others, have become staples in the synagogue repertoire. A. W.
Binder and A. Z. Idelsohn contributed liberally to this branch of music.
A. Goldenberg and this writer composed works -now out-dated-for
congregational singing. Legions of cantors and lay-musicians have intro-
duced original tunes, or re-arranged older ones.

analysis

A SURVEY of these tunes reveals such heterogeneous sources as: Yiddish
folk and theater song, dance tunes, pseudo-Oriental melodies, operatic
and popular songs, Sephardic and Hassidic tunes and, more recently,
Israeli songs. At least two-thirds of them possess the flavor of the shtetl
The Hassidic tune, it should be noted, is in a category of its own.
It is not subject to critical musical analysis. The qualities of pious fervor
and ecstatic yearning which imbue its singers place it outside the

33 Schir Zion, Vienna, 1838-1865.

realm of analytical consideration. To introduce it into a sedate and
formal service is to commit an esthetic blunder. Similarly, a pleasant
zemirot tune is not necessarily appropriate for a liturgical text.

Irrespective of the melodic quality of the song, the desire of the
average congregation to join in the singing is so great that it will without
hesitancy appropriate the "melody" line of a choral composition. Thus,
the choral music for the Torah service by Sulzer and Dunayevsky is
sung today "in unison" by hundreds of congregations. As a matter of
fact; the two are effortlessly intertwined. At Av Harahamim the Sulzer
setting is abandoned - not without logic - for the Dunayevsky music,
and at Vayehi Binesoa a return is made to Sulzer.

THE CONGREGATIONS determination to sing will not be thwarted by the
excessive range of a melody (Hashivenu) nor by its chromatic altera-
tions (Hodo - Sulzer and Lewandowsky).

Alas, all too often the urge to sing, coupled with a lack of discern-
ment, results in a congregation intoning the majestic AdonOlam to a
tune better fitting the atmosphere of a beer-hall. At times, a melancholy
melody is attached to a text devoid of sad content while, at other times,
the jolliest of tunes accompanies the description of an animal offering
(Uveyom Hashabbat).

The area of congregational singing is an expanding one. New texts
are being suggested, requiring new and appropriate musical settings.
One obvious source for these is our choral literature. To reduce a full-
bodied choir selection to a congregational song needs musical sensitivity.
However, the fact must be faced that in doing so one not merely re-
arranges but transforms the music. What was before a complex edifice
is now a simple house. True, the latter, in the hands of a competent
craftsman, will receive the essential planning, execution and polish.
Nonetheless, it has undergone a metamorphosis and to compare it with
the original source would involve us in a venture of futility.

Furthermore, the musical ideas employed in a choral composition are
neither identical with nor comparable to the ideas appropriate for a
congregational tune. The latter requires an altogether different approach
and demands unique technical considerations.

While it is not feasible to discuss herein detail the melodic elements
of congregational song, it is proper at least to point to general qualities
legitimately expected of it. These would embrace: congeniality with the
text, consonance with the nusah, harmony with the mood of the service,
conformity with the dignity of the synagogue restriction t o texts tra-

ditionally assigned to the congregation, limited vocal range, melodic
ease and rhythmic tractabi I ity.

Although the discriminating singer can, by the manner of his singing,
avoid some of the objectionable qualities inherent in a trite tune, he
should never introduce tunes of vulgar quality. While a joyful, rousing
song in a suitable place (Lekha Adonai Hagedullah, En Kelohenu) is
perfectly acceptable, we must beware crossing the tenuously delineated
borderline between joy and levity, and between enthusiasm and fri-
volity.

The conscientious composer, we should add, need not avoid origin-
ality, but in his search for useful melodic material he could, with profit,
examine nusah, canti Nation motifs, misinai tunes, Sephardi and Oriental-
Jewish melodies.

Two volumes entitled Zamru Lo, published by the Cantors Assembly,
contain an abundance of congregational tunes for the Friday evening
and Sabbath morning services. However, the collection is rather more
inclusive than selective. Thus, there are 14 melodies for Adon 01am, 12
for Yismah Moshe, 10 for Av Harahamim, 15 for Sim Shalom, 19 for
Lekha Dodi and 18 for Veshamru. In this case the tahnudic aphorism:
kol hamosif gorea, seems applicable. Nevertheless, these volumes can
serve as the foundation for any serious study of the subject,

text*

CAREFUL THOUGHT should also be applied to the selection of meaningful
and inspiring passages in the liturgy. (There seems to be no justification
for a lusty singing of Uveyom Hashabbat or Atah Hu Shehiktiru at the
end of En Kelohenu.)

The editors and publishers of new editions of prayer books and
Mahzorim could be of great help in indicating, by contrasting type or
indentation, the appropriate passages for congregational singing. Such
underscoring will prompt composers to supply the needed musical set-
tings.

Attention should also be given to the placement of these tunes in
the service. It is wrong to crowd most congregational melodies in one
section of the service and dole them out sparingly or withhold them
entirely in other sections.

I will not dwell here on the technical aspect of accompaniment. I
believe that the role of accompaniment is a subservient one. Its one
task and sole justification is to be of help to the congregation. It is not
to assume an independent role.

Today, a eulogy in praise of congregational singing is an anachron-
ism. Two of the many services I attended this past summer in Jerusalem
were at Beth H i I lei and in a Yemenite synagogue. Musically, the two
had nothing in common, but the total, vocally spirited involvement
present in both congregations was stirring beyond words.

The subject of worship in song and the problems inherent thereto
would seem to merit the appointment of a permanent committee of
composers, cantors and rabbis. The findings and recommendations of
so representative a committee would, I believe, be influential in raising
the standards of a hitherto neglected area of Jewish life.

Irene Heskes is a music historian, writer and lecturer who specializes in
the field of J ewish music. She has lectured at various colleges, institutes and
before organizational groups. She is the author and editor of numerous study-
monographs, articles, reviews, columns, resource manuals, educational
pamphlets and program aids. She is currently completing an annotated
Bibliography of Jewish Music: Literature and Music Collections for Green-
wood Press.

45
A DUTY OF PRESERVATION AND CONTINUITY

Irene HESKES

COLLECTORS AND COLLECTIONS OF JEWISH MUSIC

IN AMERICA

The Book of Koheleth-Ecclesiaste-oncludes with the admoni-
tion: "Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a
weariness of the flesh." Such counsel certainly has never been heeded
by bibliographers and book collectors, nor by librarians. All of them
also appear to have declined the advice of the stoic emperor Marcus
Aurelius, that we should free ourselves from the thirst for books.

Apparently, since those ancient times, many people have succumbed
to an overwhelming desire not only to read and write, but to search
out and acquire written materials related to a favored topic. Such pas-
sion could shape an entire lifetime of activity: the bibliographer com-
piling documentations and the collector gathering, sorting, and saving.
Often the work of collecting has been combined with that of bibliog-
raphy, and thereby the act of collection has become a service of veri-
tication: an item was once written and then set into some form of public
distribution; it has been found and preserved, and so here it is, ready
for examination. In this context, collection has been-and continues to
be-an instrument of history. One cannot, therefore, overlook the dy-
namic influence of collectors upon the actual direction and content of
scholarly works. Often there have been symbiotic interactions among
collectors, bibliographers, and scholars, with the collector serving less
as passive conserver and more as active catalyst for a field of study.

Insofar as Jewish music is concerned, there have been some fasci-
nating constellations of dynamic and influential relationships, some of
which I hope to make clear by highlighting one significant music col-
lector, Eric Mandell. By particularizing this collector's achievements, and
by- placing his dedicated work within the frame of other collections in
the field of Jewish music, I seek to underscore the very important con-
tributions and influences which such devoted labors have had upon the
growth and enrichment of our musical heritage. In this case, the col-

A version of this paper was presented at the joint session of the Music Libran Association and the
Sonneck Society, held in Philadelphia in March 1983. It is a bv-product of the author's work on a
bibliography of Jewish music which she is completing for Greenwood Press.

C 1983 by the Music Library Association

(Reprinted with permission from "The Quarterly J ournal of the Music
Library Association, December 1983).

lector's objectives were dual: to advance the systematic study of Jewish
music and to provide sources of information which place this music
within the aggregate of all musical expression.

Eric Mandell (Erich Mendel) was born in 1902 in Gronau, West-
phalia, where he sang in a synagogue boy-choir and then as a young
man prepared himself for a career as cantor and teacher in Jewish
schools. He studied music in Berlin and Munich, and from 1922 to
1939 served as cantor and educator for the synagogue in Bochum,
Westphalia. He first began to collect music books and scores in his youth,
and by 1939 had accumulated a substantial number of items, remark-
able in scope and quantity for the personal library of a young man of
very moderate means. Among his items were significant general music
material as well as Judaica.

Shortly before he had to flee to England in 1939, Mandell shipped
his collection to Holland for safe-keeping there, but all of it was irre-
trievably lost. In 1941, he came to this country and soon took on the
post of music director for Har Zion Temple in Philadelphia, where he
served until his retirement. Settled in America, Mandell resumed his
work of collecting, at first in the hope that his missing European ma-
terials would someday be found. His zeal for Jewish music combined
with an ardent appreciation of this country, and so he particularly sought
out American items.

When all efforts to recover his European collection failed, Mandell
decided to rebuild by salvaging whatever might be found of any musical
Judaica left on the continent in ruined synagogues or among unclaimed
personal belongings of Jewish musicians. This became a mission of ded-
ication; he searched tirelessly at great financial sacrifice, and was re-
markably innovative and venturesome in making his contacts. He sought
out book dealers, publishers, musicians, community leaders, and public
figures, and traced all manner of "leads." In America his activities as a
professional synagogue musician brought him in touch with many oth-
ers in this field who either had important holdings to offer him, or were
able to direct him towards available items. He became especially skillful
and sensitive in approaching Holocaust survivors for their music, and
thev also helped him to locate estates of those deceased.

Mandell was truly imaginative and instinctive in undertaking his many
European negotiations, never finding himself in competition with the
libraries of governments or educational institutions. He simply was sin-
gularly interested in this material, and the labor was in finding, secur-
ing, and transporting it back here. Indeed, he developed an uncanny
aptitude for discovery, and by these extraordinary efforts put together
a treasury which literally filled the rooms of his Philadelphia brown-
stone house.

By 1947, Mandell's collection had already attracted local community
interest, and that year 300 examples of literature, scores, and manu-
scripts were exhibited for two months at the Free Library of Philadel-
phia. The following year, a display was presented at the Jewish Mu-
seum in New York City. Then, for the 1954 celebration of the tercen-
tenary of Jewish settlement in America, the Smithsonian Institute showed
a number of Mandell's unique acquisitions. Also in Washington D.C.,
a special exhibition in 1961 filled the main hall of the national office
of the B'nai B'rith Jewish Organization. For each of these shows, Man-
dell prepared a concise guide to the origins, publication styles, and
iconography of the materials.'

In 1965, I first visited him to see his collection and was fascinated by
its size and scope, and deeply impressed with this man's devotion to his
"labor of love." He knew all his acquisitions and carefully protected
them. By that time, however, Parkinson's Disease had slowed Mandell's
energies, and soon he was compelled to curtail his professional work
and was confined to home. It was about this time that a wonderful op-
portunity to transfer the collection developed, and since 1970 the Eric
Mandell Collection of Jewish Music has been housed as the focal section
of the Schreiber Music Library at the Gratz College of Jewish Studies
in Philadelphia.?

Gratz College was constituted in 1895 under final provisions of a Deed
of Trust originally executed in 1856 by Hyman Gratz (I 776-1857),
member of a historic Jewish family of Philadelphia. Regular instruction
began in the assembly rooms of the old Mikveh Israel Synagogue on
Arch Street. In 1928, Gratz College was greatly expanded to serve the
general Jewish educational needs of the Greater Philadelphia area, and
since 1962 the school has been located at its present site- 10th Street
and Tabor Road.

While study of hymnology and folk music had always been included
in the curriculum, strengthening the emphasis on Jewish music com-
menced with the appointment of Shalom Altman as music director in
1945. Expanded and restructured in 1958, the Tyson Music Depart-
ment of Gratz College provides three main services: I) courses of study
in Jewish music for educators and scholars in an academic program,
accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary
Schools for the B.A. and M.A. degrees: 2) community- wide consultation
and programming activities; and 3) the Schreiber Music Librarv. con-
stituted as the central resource for Jewish music-literature, scores, re-

Copies of these guides arc among the catalogues in the Mandell Collection.

2Mygratitude to Shalom Akman. Director and to his dedicated staff-Minerva Robinson. Warner
Victor, and Adina Moseson-for their assistance and warm hospitality during my visits to the library.

cordings, and media materials-for which the Eric Mandell Collection
was acquired, largely through the efforts of Shalom Altman.

During the first years of acquisition, Mandell himself served as con-
sultant-curator and advised directly, on the appropriate arrangements
at the already excellent library facilities. Among the furnishings are a
grand piano, all types of audio equipment, and many different edu-
cational aids.

At Gratz, the Mandell Collection is extensively used for scholarly studies
and performance. Consisting of some 15,000 items, it includes books,
articles, clippings, catalogues, anthologies, sheet music, vocal and in-
strumental compilations, and a variety of manuscripts. The holdings
are approximately seventy percent music and thirty percent literature,
and may be divided into five distinct categories:

1) Americana, consisting of Jewish and non- Jewish materials from the early nineteenth
century and comprising a broad range of hymnology and other liturgical music, as
well as a wide variety of secular music-folk, art, and theatrical-popular:

2) European synagogue and cantorial music, including liturgical items from the eight-
eenth century onward and anthologies for most of the leading synagogue music fig-
ures of the past two ccnruries;

3) European secular Jewish music-folk and art song compilations and manuscript scores
in many languages;

4) collected articles, clippings from newspapers and journals, and other printed matter,
all treating a great variety of subjects within the frame of world-wide Jewish music:

5) an array of 350 books, of which 115 date from 1705 to 1900.

Currently a volunteer archivist, Warner Victor, who is an accomplished
researcher and linguist, maintains ongoing contact with Eric Mandell
and is preparing an annotated listing of the rare printed volumes.

With the installation of the Mandell Collection, the Gratz music li-
brary has become one of the leading sources for unique and rare ma-
terials on Jewish music. Here in America, it probably ranks second in
scholarly significance only to the holdings at the Klau Library of He-
brew Union College- Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, with its
remarkable and monumental Eduard Birnbaum Collection of Jewish
Music, also the life-long labor of acquisition by one individual collector.
No collection can really stand alone, as the interrelationship of these
two great collectors demonstrates.

In 1875 Hebrew Union College was founded in Cincinnati by Rabbi
Isaac Mayer Wise (1819-1900), "father" of organized Reform Judaism
in the United States.' A library was immediately begun with donations
of private holdings, and by 1881 this already constituted the country's
largest repository of Judaica. In 1907 Adolph S. Oko (1883-1944), who

'For a detailed hi story see Hebrew uni on College— Jewish Institute of Religion: One Hundred}' ears, ed-
ited by Samuel E. KarfT (Gncinnaii, 1976).

had worked in the cataloguing department of The New York Public
Library, became the first professional librarian at the school. Until he
left in 1933, Oko built up the library through fine acquisitions, expan-
sion of the facilities, and catalogue organization. After World War I he
traveled in Europe on behalf of the library, seeking out and purchasing
many valuable items. Among Oko's triumphs was securing in 1923-
by transaction with family heirs -the personal library and collection of
Eduard Bimbaum: a treasury of books, manuscripts, study documents,
research papers, scores and sheet music, cantorial compilations, and
synagogue compositions. In this important endeavor, Oko was fortu-
nate to have the active support of the Synagogue Music Committee of
the Central Conference of American Rabbis.'

In 1925 Abraham Zebi Idelsohn (1882-1938) was invited to join the
college faculty and Klau Library staff, where he served as archival con-
sultant for the Bimbaum and other music holdings. Failing health forced
his premature retirement in 1934. During the years he spent at the
school and library, Idelsohn completed his monumental lo-volume The-
saurus cfQcienfcal Hebrew Melodies,5 basing the contents of volumes 6, 7,
and 8 upon examination of Bimbaum' s studies and in particular upon
his extensive thematic catalogue of traditional synagogue melodies of
the period 1700 to 1900. Subsequently, Eric Werner joined the Cincin-
nati faculty in 1939 (moving to the New York campus in 1948). and his

"Committees' Reports,' in Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) Yearbook (Cincinnati),
vol. 32 (1922) and vol. 33 (1923).

Unlike Crau Col e, wraditesiablished a separate music library facility, ihe Hebrew Union College
has alwauts mustoholdingi inlo the main library. In 1 93 1 , a campus building was creeled

in Cincinnati to house what by then constituted a major resource, and an even larger structure was
dedicated there in 1961 as the Klau Library. In New York Gly in 1922. Rabbi Stephen Wise (1874-
1949) had created another school for the training of rabbis in the Reform movement, the Jewish
Institute of Religion. Here, a library was created by Joshua Bloch (1890- 1957) before he left in 1923
io become librarian of the Jewish Division of The New York Public Libran The two schools merged,
commencing in 1948, At the present time, there arc four campuses of the Hebrew Union College-
Jewish Institute of Religion: Cincinnati, New York City. Los Angeles, and Jerusalem. All have libraries
to serve students and acuk> and art maintained under unified policies and practices. Inasmuch as
HUC-JIR established a School of Sacred Music in 1948 on its New York City campus, there is an
extensive selection of music materials at thai branch library — literature, scores, and records — inte-
grated into the catalogue. Philip Miller is branch librarian.

The major library at Cincinnati constitutes a chief repository for scholarK research and houses a
great arra> of materials, from which all branches may draw loans while building up their own col-
lections. Herbert Zafren serves as Director of the Klau Libraries of HUC-J 1R, The Birnbaum Music
Collection is maintained at Klau in Cincinnati, kepi in a secure area for rare books, and accessible
for examination only at that location. There is no imer-iibrarv Joan. Cataloguing was recently com-
pleted and a fourteen -leaf inventory also has been compiled for reference use. Some of this collection
and its finding aids arc now on microfilm which is available at cost to schools, libraries, and individual
scholars.

In am indebted to Philip Miller, librarian of the Klau Branch in New York, for invaluable aid and
information as to the structure, contents, and services of the Klau libraries complex and the Bimbaum
Collection

*Htbrfok-orienkdhhtr Melodifiuckato (also in English as Thesaurus of Oner0al 4 Htbrew Melodies, but title
varies) 10 vols.: Leipzig. 1914—32.

own significant scholarship has been nourished by direct contact with
the Birnbaum Collection.6

Cantor Eduard Birnbaum (1855-1920) was born into a family of no-
table rabbis and scholars, and combined his own scholastic inclinations
with fine musical aptitude in a life of liturgical service and musicological
study. For over forty-five years, despite modest financial means, Birn-
baum accumulated an enormous collection of eighteenth- and nine-
teenth-century European synagogue music. He was also an enthusiastic
teacher and maintained wide-ranging intellectual contacts. Much re-
spected by his colleagues, he soon became a sort of "role model" for
many younger Jewish musicians. Of Birnbaum' s own teacher-mentors,
Cantor Salomon Sulzer (1804- 1890), the celebrated music leader of the
great synagogue in Vienna known as Seitenstettengasse Shul, was es-
pecially, influential.' Sulzer collected, arranged, composed, and pub-
lished liturgical music, and he commissioned religious works from such
notable composers as Franz Schubert and Ignaz Moscheles. During the
years of his study with Sulzer, Eduard Birnbaum began his own col-
lection by copying many old manuscripts from Sulzer' s personal ma-
terials. Decades later, for the tribute marking the celebration of Sulzer' s
100th birthday, Birnbaum wrote a series of biographical and biblio-
graphic studies of the life and work of Sulzer. Among those studies was
an essay "Franz Schubert as a Composer of Synagogue Music," which
details Sulzer' s role in the commissioning of this music'

Although the Birnbaum Collection in the Klau Library contains those
copied-out Sulzer materials, many of the actual items from his Vienna
synagogue-rare scores and old choir books-may now be found only
at Gratz College! This music was acquired by Eric Mandell with the
holdings of Heinrich Fischer, who was the last cantor at Sulzer' s con-
gregation before its desecration in 1938. Moreover, the Gratz music
library also has unique scores and papers of Eduard Birnbaum himself.
These materials came by way of Mandell' s acquisition of the music es-
tate of another collector, Arno Nadel (1878-1943), who had been a
pupil and devoted protege of Birnbaum. In turn, Nadel had been the
mentor and dear friend of Eric Mandell, and the two had shared their
interests in the collection of Jewish music. The legacy of Amo Nadel
is a significant component of the collection at Gratz.

Amo Nadel came from Vilna to Konigsberg to sing in Cantor Birn-
baum' s boy-choir and remained on as his cantorial student. Nadel saved

6Eric Werner. ' Manuscripts of Jewish Music in the Eduard Birnbaum Collection of the Hebrew
Union Coflege library." HixwUnion QjhgsAnnual 18 (1943/44): 397428.

7 Eric Mandell, "Salomon Sulzer," in Tk* Jews «f Austria, edited by Josef Fraenkel (London. 1966).
pp. 22 1-29.

•Reprimed in Contributions to a Historical Study if Jewish Music, edited by Eric Werner (New York
1976L

all of his music from those years, including Birnbaum's handwritten
scores and inscribed manuscripts. He took them with him to Berlin,
where he settled as an educator and choirmaster for the Rottbuser Ufer
synagogue. There Nadel began to develop his own extensive music li-
brary. In 1923, the Berlin Congregational Community commissioned
Nadel to compile an anthology of synagogue music, which he com-
pleted in 1938. This was intended for publication as an encyclopedia
in seven folios to be used for musicological research. Arno Nadel per-
ished in Auschwitz. Before he was taken away, he left his entire library
with a neighbor, who managed to save a good part of the material and
after the war returned it to Nadel' s estate. Eric Mandell sought out
Nadel' s widow and purchased the music from her.

Over the years, Mandell has had much active and fruitful contact
with other musicians, scholars, and collectors in this country. For a time
he was a member of the Jewish Music Forum, a society which flourished
from 1939 to 1960, sponsoring lectures and concerts in New York City.
Among the other members of the Forum were A. W. Binder, Lazare
Saminsky, Curt Sachs, Joseph Yasser, Paul Nettl, Stefan Wolpe, Ger-
shon Ephros, and Alfred Sendrey. In those years, Sendrey was com-
pleting his monumental bibliography of Jewish music literature and
scores,' and Ephros, who had been a young protege of Abraham Zebi
Idelsohn in Jerusalem, had launched his own preparations for a six-
volume anthology of cantorial music."

Those years of meetings and interactions among so many gifted mu-
sicians were stimulating and fruitful, producing a multitude of projects
which have shaped an arena of international leadership in America for
the advancement of Jewish music study, composition, performance,
publication, and education. Not the least of those varied accomplish-
ments has been the development of excellent training schools for the
cantorate. Indeed, a history of the fifty-year period in American Jewish
music- 19 15 to 1965-would document that process by which Jewish
music leadership passed over into this country, and incidentally also
enriched the general musical climate here. From 1945 onward, Eric
Mandell was a part of that milieu as synagogue musician and collector.

At present there are some extensive collections of musical Judaica
abroad, notably in libraries in England, France, the Soviet Union, and
at the Vatican. In Israel much has been gathered and continues to be
collected for university archives, libraries, and museums. Especially
noteworthy are the materials at the Jewish Music Research Centre of
the National Library at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Also of inter-
est are the holdings at the Haifa Music Museum and AMLI Library.

^Bibliography of Jewish Musw (Nr» York, 195 J)

In this country, there are Jewish music scores and literature in the
libraries of many universities and religious seminaries, at the Library
of Congress, as well as in numerous public libraries. There are some
good materials at The New York Public Library in the Jewish Division
(in the 42nd Street building) and also in the Music Division of the Per-
forming Arts Research Center at Lincoln Center." Yet the two sources
which afford extraordinary scholarly advantages still remain the Klau
Library in Cincinnati with its Birnbaum collection and Mandell' s col-
lection in Philadelphia. The essential focus of Birnbaum is European
liturgy; Mandell provides not only European materials but an impor-
tant selection of Americana. Both of these collections-representing the
life-long labors of two dedicated and knowledgeable collectors-should
sustain generations of scholars.

In the 1963 volume of Fontes artismusicaqH Eric Mandell contributed
a brief article "A Collector's Random Notes on the Bibliography of Jew-
ish Music." In it he remarked that "the true collector is an eternal stu-
dent." Perhaps Mandell is too modest. Others might rather consider
the collector as a devoted caretaker of continuity, as someone who serves
the future. Some individuals seem by nature to be dedicated collectors.
Like Mandell and Birnbaum, they combine a scholarly musicality with
a sense of history. Directing their energies and resources towards goals
of conservation, they have gone about that mission with educated se-
lectivity, almost limitless attentiveness, and a healthy respect for the luck
of a fortuitous discovery. In this manner those collectors influence the
trend of scholarship. For better-and, one hopes, seldom for worse-
our educated society is dependent upon their collections.

There is a mystique to the work of the inspired collector, part ideal-
istic philanthropy and sometimes impractical preoccupation. Simple
possession may be one objective, devotion to certain traditions or topic
may be another motivation. Still another may relate to the convenience
of having various research materials at hand for personal study. The
collector may also wish to "connect up" tangibly with others in the same
field of interest, across time and place. To some extent, many of us are
music collectors, and we may even have acquired some unique things.
By these acts of conservation and preservation, we too are sustaining a
continuity. We are choosing whatever we happen to value in this art,
and what seems to reflect our own particular purposeful endeavors. In
saving, we are passing ourselves along with those items into the un-
charted time ahead.

"including the Mailamm Collection, a small group of books and published music acquired by The
New York Public Library in 194 1 from the organizational holdings of rhe Mailamm- American Pal-
estine Music Association (1932-39).

12Fontesartismusicae IO (1963): 34-42.

MUSIC SECTION:

RINAT HAHECHAL

The First International Conference on Liturgical Music was
convened in Israel by the Cantors Assembly during the summer of
1964. It was an historic event in that it seemed to presage an era
of revived interest in synagogue music throughout the J ewish world.
The American hazzanim were most anxious to construct a gesher
nigunim between the west and the State of Israel.

I n J erusalem the delegates to the conference attended a Sabbath
service in Hechal Shlomo, the seat of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate.
They had an opportunity to hear there the exceptionally fine male
choir directed by the well known composer and conductor, Zvi
Talmon. Most of the compositions were created by Talmon. What
made them especially attractive to the visitors was the tunefulness
of the selections and the many opportunities provided by the com-
poser for congregational participation within the choral structure.
As a result of this experience the Cantors Assembly, in 1965, pub-
lished a 141 page volume of compositions for the Sabbath by Talmon.

Two especially successful examples of Talmon's craft follow:
Ono B'choach and Hashkivenu.

Zvi Talmon was born in J erusalem in 1922. He was educated
in Yeshivat Etz Hayim and Bet Hamedrash L'morim. He received
his early musical training under the beloved teacher of hundreds of
hazzanim, Shlomo Zalman Rivlin. He continued his studies at The
Jerusalem Music Institute, The Israel Conservatory of Music and
The Israel Academy of Music.

Talmon has composed extensively not only for the synagogue
but for the J ewish school and youth groups.

Rinat Hahechal is currently out of print, but an avalanche of
requests accompanied by advance orders might easily convince the
Cantors Assembly's Publication Committee to republish this valuable
work.

- S R

ONO B'CHOAH

AH DANTE

Music : Zvi Taoion

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Tunes and Songs
of the Rabbis

Collected and arranged by
M. LIEBERMAN

PUBLISH ED BY THE AUTHOR

PRINTED IN ENGLAND BY

LOWE AND BRYDONE PRINTERS LIMITED, VICTORIA ROAD,

LONDON, N.W.10

mwi nso yitf?

PREFACE

In publishing these ancient and modem Hebrew tunes
and marches, which I collected in Warsaw, Poland, where I
was brought up and educated since childhood (though born in
London) and where my people met the same fate as the other
six million Jews who were massacred in the great upheaval
that came to our people and to civilisation general®.

I owe all my Hebrew education to my Mother, who strug-
gled in her widowhood to give me knowledge. I collected these
songs among various D*H**On chassidim. Song i I heard sung
by the Bresslaver, it is attributed to the Besht *}"] Q^tfSn
the founder of Hassidisim. There is a little story attached to it :
He had a daughter named Odil, once she asked him for a new
dress he rebuked her that a material dress is not as important as a
spiritual one, and he started singing in great ecstasy "IT mill?
HEAD 1 ? which refers to a spiritual dress. These songs however,
were not composed but just sung by the great mystics when in
meditation and came down by word of mouth. The Gerer and
Madhitzer were composed by hassidic composers, The former
songs I heard in Ger, where I went for the high holidays to
the world famous Thadick ; memories of which are unforgettable.
The latter I heard among the Madhitzer chassidim.

In my first book " Degel Menaseh " I wrote down all
my comments so nothing was lost, but the music I did not
write then, so unfortunately much was forgotten.

I may add however, that five songs by the Besht Bresslauer,
Kohnitzer Magid, were published by the late Rev. Mayrovitz
to whom I lent them. As he adapted them to other Zemirath I
thought I would publish them in the original form, as sung
through the centuries by the Russian and Polish Rabbis in
moments of ecstasy.

I hope you will find as much enjoyment in these songs,
as my memories of the singing of them have given me.

I offer them for your enjoyment.

62 VfiHODOR LEVUSHOH

Moderato

Tune by Rabbi BBSHT

1700-1760)

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fiu mosso

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Andantino

AISHES CHAYIL

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Tune by R. NACHMAN
(Brat&Uv 1772-1811)

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Andante, Religioso Tune by r. NA chman

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Andantino

YEDID NEFESH

Tune by R.NACHMAN

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.d»o "?di *]is riDi3» .■ymrT i 1 ? a-isr ,-pin Via b* mmw
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.oVis -ira iaam isio xa "a ainx nna ,p nnawi

Andante molto

Rabbi AARON
Tune by HAGODOL MIKARLIN

flU J JJ

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^/£ mosso

ho kad - - sheim bi -

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tsbn lif- to ■ ach sha-a-rei re-tio-

^-st f^^iupa ^nan prut 'i ^v im

■)nKT» nsu -|wa ^nVuoa mrmnai naKnan naw nvn *poaK rr
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nmta Vsn ^«nj? nwa mrntnan naw ovm VapV myn o^oa p ,o*a
nawa rwmp o^apan o*»a* nww ona -n» rrnn *nVaV nawn ja trmoV
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ay Vy n*VVuna ^om vm .ynno Vy n^VViana -pam ivri
rn»na Vm«r» n» i&yV pya rcrrn -kim ,-pon ^Kas nipwnV -|^ip
n^nan^ cra^ nww Va ,-|«np naw *r Vy naw ora -|niK nnroan

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.mrao «rnp naw ^name nVin *wm vnip naw ,*|nKT»ai "|nanKa
.-131 "pes* n* .-|roa ]«na jri-v jvon* -pwa Vsa Vkw

OMAR ADOSHEM LEYAAKOV

fc Moderato Tune by KOZUITZU MAGID

,nfjjJ*Jr it ? 1 1 i *TJ J

O-mar a - do-shem le - ya - a - kov al ti-

v JJJ JJ |JJ J JJ_/ J g J*

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ro-al a- do -shem es ya- a- kov al ti - ro av-di ya-a -

al ti
roll.

K— K

jjijjj i r 5u a a

av-di ya-a - kov

do-rachko-chovmi-ya-a-kov al ti-ro av-di ya- a - kov

ma? n xmn

b nivai

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Andante

KOL BRUEI MALOH

KOZUITZEB. NIGUN

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Kol bru-ei ma - loh kol bru-ei ma - ioh kol bru-ei ma-loh ye-

I* : jjj jJiJ >jJ J/ i JTT^g

" _ i _ Hnn uBvo<«ri - /Inn vH _ i _ /Hun v«va_«rf - ^nn as?A _ chom

- i - dun veya-gi - dun yS - i - dun veya-gi - dun ado - shem .

la v la - la-la - la

kol bru - ei ma - loh ye - i - dun vi!

JUM-'J. J/ I J J3J j>/

ya - gi - dun ye - i - dun ve ya - gi - dun ado - shem

Andante
P It

chod u-shmo e - chod la- la- la la- la-la- la - la>

.irm ran inK 'n jmn ppy» n*?ya "*ma to
MEIER BfiNI

Nigun f in Barditshever rov

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*pta T»m pto iDonyttBma ntr?0K
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,-px ux^nya jvt okti

.ism pm maiTai a^n a*aa

.Ka^T npaiya pa »pix ptorn m^an n tk ,pr oy am jyn

•Kan jraw unpn^i yurr pT ay*n o^Kaan

Andaatino

EIL NEKOMOS

Tune by Rabbi RIZINER

t «"««^v.w Tune b Rabbi R1ZI

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sho-fet ho-o - rets ho-sheiv ge-mul al ge - im tra-ra-ra, ra,

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.ma -po^K-a its 1 ? win ruina

.o-iia *?» Via; att?n pKn ustt? K2?rt .srDin mapa Vk 'n mapa Vk

Andantino

1 <ft?/C0

BENEYHEICHOLO

Rabbi ISAAC MIVUR KU

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.peaic -rsn vt ^rna 1 ? ,pspoan K*?a-n -aa

.pDiVaa naVa rran ,nan -una Kan prr

•pD-u Vai p-rs iaa ,Knm -KnaKin 1 ? ias

.pD»T irVi kwi rrai .Rrowmro iwwn nn

.pe^pm pa*n n-Vn ^V-n irn ^ ia*np

.pD-xrn paVa "an .pbiw k^i .p^oa la 1 ?

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.po^p VdV KVoaV ,nV ■•Van rr^n i»n

.pa laa jnairi ,prrapiaa p 1 ? *w

.pcan T»n Knnna ,Knnaaa Kntpn n«

AllegTetto

tAnegTeuo

BEFI YESHORIM

GERER N1GUN

' ■kj ' J r ir

M=3t

Be- fi ye-sho - rim tis ro- mom u-v^sif-sei tza- di -

-dosh la la la la la la la la u-veke-revke-do-shim tis-ha-lol.

.«rrpnn on-on jwtai ,"pann trpns "iwai ,oannn onsr *D3

•Wnnn D'wrp anpai

LECHOH DODI

GERER NIGUN

A Scherzando gerer niguj

Le - choh do-di lik - ras ka - loh pe-nei s ha- bos ne-

fr JgJj

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la - la - la- la la - la-la-la.

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lio ,naioa onpa wna -nanan mpa x^n *o .naVai laV natz? nvnpb

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.'w »m n 3 > .rrt>an t»^» Vtarr mm
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,'i3i nn ns* .rf?Xa ^DJ *?X naip

naa ,nai w m» m» /m* *aip -pix xa *a ,*-mynn ■mwnn

t "i3i nn »* .nVaa "p^y 'n
nnaaai ,■•»» «a» iorr p ^ann nai ■wmwn na ^a^an x^i ^an x 1 ?

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Allegretto

SHIR HAMAALOS

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GERER NIGUK

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shi - vaa tzi yon

ho-yi-nu ke cho - lemim

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oz yi -mo-lei sSchok pi ~ nu u - lesho-nei-nu ri - noh

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la ho-loch yeUeich u - vo - choh

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Allegretto agerer * IiraD

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♦n-mo t» ia*? K^n *a ,n-nnn nun trupai V-aa .mp* D-a-aoai roa ,n-nno

Andantiuo

KOL HOOLOM NIZON

Anig-un fin di "Mu&ermkes?

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3,?3 i 1 ? -r "33 Kram -33 «ran Vwa pra D^ivn to Maim nnsai

.n3c? an»V naw anva pai-in

MAH YIRON LEODOM
Andante espressivo Tune by MUSERNIKUS

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U'ZECHOR ES BORAACHO

Andantino , Tune by MUSERNIKUB

A I Andantino Tune by huskhnikub

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vo-hem chei-fets.

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wot nvnn -a" nta* tf? wk iy -pn-nna wa "jKTia nn nan

.fen ona - 1 ? j*k n&Kn -itwt trap

Andante, Religioso

Tune by Rabbi YE RACHMIEL
from P&hischo

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GERER NIGUN

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GERER MGUN

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Full text of "Cantors Assembly Journal of Synagogue Music"

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