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Cantors Assembly . December 1 985 . Kislev 5746 . Vol. XV . No. 2 •

JOURNAL OF SYNAGOGUE MUSIC

David Kusevitsky (1911-1985)
A Brief Retrospective

Rossi, Monteverdi and Rubens:

An Unlikely Triumvirate of Baroque Beginnings

Abraham Baer on his 150th Birthday

A Psalm of Celebration
To Leo Rosenbluth at 80

Report on a Trip to Moscow

The British and Halevy's "La Juive"

Music Section:

Two Songs of Solomon Sulzer
Die Briefe, An Sie

Psalm 30

A new setting for choir and organ of selected verse

Music Review:

The Lady of the Lake

Angel Levine by Elie Sigmeister

In The Mail:

Robert Strassburg at 70

Samuel Rosenbaum

Daniel Chazanoff
Ingrid Lomfors

Augustin Mannerheim

Maynard Gerber

A kivah Zimmerman

Lee Rothfarb 47

Paul Kavon 71

.ofsynagoguemusic, Volume XV, Number2

December 1985/ Kislev 5746

Abraham Lubin

editor: Samuel Rosenbaum

editorial board: Lawrence Avery, Ben Belfer, Baruch Cohort,
Charles Davidson, Morton Kula, Sheldon Levin, Saul Meisels,
Solomon Mendelson, Chaim Najman, Moses J. Silverman, Pinchas
Spiro, David Tilman.

BUSINESSMANAGER l Rob 6rt KleVOl

officers of the cantors assembly: Saul Z. Hammerman, President;
Solomon Mendelson, Vice President; Robert Kieval, Treasurer; Henry
Rosenblum, Secretary; Samuel Rosenbaum, Executive Vice President.

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

Copyright © 1985, Cantors Assembly

DAVID KUSEVITSKY (19114985):
A BRIEF RETROSPECTIVE

Some time between dusk and dawn on the 15th of Av, 5745, the soul
of David Kusevitsky slipped quietly from our midst into the hand of God.
In that sad moment, the entire congregation of Israel became mourners.
Those who loved and appreciated the beauty, the meaningfulness, the
elegance, the authenticity, the d'veykut of the songs of this David found
themselves impoverished, bereft of a communal treasure that had inspired
and comforted them for over a half century.

As Rabbi Baruch Silverstein, with whom David Kusevitsky served in
extraordinary harmony for almost four decades, said in his moving eulogy:

"Vayipaked m'kom David", and David's place is empty." Our Temple
is in mourning.. .and we are not the only mourners. David Kusevitsky was
not only the cantor of the Temple Emanu-El of Boro Park. He was the
hazzan of k'lal Yisrael. Like that first David, he was the "sweet singer of
Israel", known and admired in Los Angeles as well as in New York, in Tel
Aviv as well as in London.

"Wherever he went, he was hailed as the greatest cantor of our age,
the brilliant heir to the keter hazzanut, the crown of hazzanut, worn by
Rosenblatt, Sirota and his own older brother, Moshe. As did they, he
elevated us to the heights of Jewish joy and comforted us through the
valley of Jewish tears. His voice had the power, as Bialik put it, "to elicit
flames from dormant hearts and to kindle sparks in sightlesseyes."

Kusevitsky 's death must have evoked similar sentiments, must have
filled the hearts of all who may read these lines, so there is little point in
recapitulating them here. There is a need, however, to begin to assess,
however briefly here, Kusevitsky' s contributions to the art and craft of the
hazzan, beyond his extraordinary ability to stir a congregation in prayer
or an audience in concert.

Samuel Rosenbaum is the Managing Editor of the "Journal of
Synagogue Music" and Executive Vice President of the Cantors
Assembly. He is now serving his 40th year as hazzan of Temple Beth El of
Rochester, New York.

As a start we must accept the fact that he was a tower in hazzanut,
with a voice, a breath and a technique that never seemed to give out, that
never seemed to perform at any level but perfection. But these are, in the
end, only tools and we must look beyond them.

What was rarer, more beautiful and remarkable was the heart and
spirit of the man and the use to which he put them.

Maybe it was his early service in the Polish army that gave him his
courtly and elegant bearing which carried over to his singing. Or maybe it
was the understandable need of the youngest of four brothers to equal and
even surpass the others. Whatever the root of it all, it was this elegance,
this dignity, this sense of complete assurance that marked all the days of
his life, at the amud and away.

What is even more surprising is that all of this framed a soul that was
gentle, humble, caring, modest and accessible to all.

In a world where there are altogether too many pretenders, it was
refreshing to find a man who was genuine through and through. It is not
surprising that worshippers sensed this and permitted him to break down
the walls that separate so many of us from a true spiritual encounter with
the One who hears and accepts prayer. Even a casual meeting with
Kusevitsky was impressive. You sensed immediately that you were in the
company of greatness.

Besides the countless many who will remember his tefilot with love,
there are dozens of students of the Cantors Institute of the Jewish
Theological Seminary of America whom he taught and coached with
sensitivity and dedication for many years. For Kusevitsky this was a true
labor of love.

He once told me:

"Where will they hear the sound of authentic traditional hazzanut
which we inherited from the burned-out world of Eastern Europe, if not
from those of us who escaped? In past generations there were hundreds of
European trained hazzanim serving countless congregations where you
could hear - where you could almost feel and touch the sounds of the nusah
of Jewish prayer. Today, these hazzanim and their synagogues have
almost all disappeared.

"Those of us who are left owe a debt to our roots. Whether or not my
students follow my style will be their choice; my responsibility is to provide
them with the material with which they can make an intelligent choice."

So, Kusevitsky stood - like a colossus - with one foot in Smargon,
Lithuania where he was born and another in 3080 Broadway in late 20th
century America, inviting kol dichfin.. "let all who are in need come and learn".

We are comforted that modern electronic wizardry makes it possible
for the Kusevitsky voice to survive for uncounted future generations.
Hopefully, the young hazzanim who will follow will seek not to imitate
Kusevitsky, he cautioned against that; but that they will make the heart of
his tefillot, its nusah, its flavor, a living part of their sacred calling.

ROSSI, MONTEVERDI AND RUBENS:

AN UNLIKELY TRIUMVIRATE OF BAROQUE BEGINNINGS

Daniel Chazanoff

In reconstructing the life and times of Salomone Rossi, one finds that
he was part of an unlikely artistic triumvirate which led Italy from the late
Renaissance into the early Baroque. Rossi, a native of Mantua and
Claudio Monteverdi, a native of Cremona were hired in that order by
Duke Vincenzo I (Gonzaga) as court musicians. The third member of the
trio, however, was not a native Italian but a Fleming, i.e. Peter Paul
Rubens, who was born in Antwerp. Isn't it remarkable that three such
innovators were employed by the Mantuan Court at the same time?

Since Rossi and Monteverdi, as musical colleagues, have been
discussed previously, in some detail, it is the writer's purpose at this time to
focus upon some phases of their work which are unique in the movement
from Renaissance to Baroque. However, the third and most unlikely
member of the trio, Rubens has not been discussed in the context of
Rossi's life before. The Flemish painter is an enigma in an Italian court.
How this came about is an interesting story.

Of the three, Rossi was the first to be hired by Vincenzo I; he served
the Gonzaga Court from 1587 to 1628 which is the last trace of him.
Monteverdi was hired in 1590 and served the Court until 16 12 when he was
released. Through a chance meeting with an aide of Duke Vincenzo I,
Peter Paul Rubens became a painter to the Mantuan Court in 1600 and
served there until 1608 when he returned to his native city, Antwerp. 1

To fully understand and appreciate their contribution we need to
differentiate between the terms Renaissance and Baroque in the context of
the three masters being discussed.

According to Van Loon the Spanish word barrocco meant a large,
but irregularly-shaped pearl which was not well-proportioned.* This
symbolism applied to the arts, during the Baroque, implied following the

Daniel Chazanoff has written extensively on his research into the life
and creativity of Salomone Rossi. Several years ago he received a grant
from the National Foundation of Jewish Culture to continue his work.
During the summer of 1984 he spent some eight weeks in Italy continuing
his investigation of Rossi thanks to a grant from the Foundation of the
Jewish Community Federation of Rochester, New York and a stipend
from the Cantors Assembly.

principles of classic masters but, at the same time, infusing extravagant
features. 3 Baroque style, therefore, grew directly out of the style of the
Renaissance and remained closely related to it in a modified and disguised
form.4 Applied to the three masters under discussion we find common
threads which pervade their works even though they pursued two different
artistic media: sound and color.

Renaissance to Baroque: Rossi

Salomone Rossi, father of the trio sonata, the classic Baroque
chamber music form borrowed two elements from the Renaissance in
creating the new style. First, the violins in dialogue used canonic imitation
found in Renaissance choral music. Second, the keyboard part reminds
one of the lute accompaniment to Renaissance lute songs. This new
instrumental music form was established in 1607 when Rossi published his
First Book of Sinfonias and Galliards for 3 to 5 voices (the same year in
which the first great opera, Orpheus, was produced by Monteverdi) .5

Another area of Rossi's innovation was the madrigal. In his First Book
of Madrigal for five voices accompanied by the chitarrone (bass guitar),
dated 1600, he established a harmonic bass line for contrapuntal vocal form
which heretofore had no accompaniment. 6 Two years later, in 1602, his
Second Book of Madrigals for five voices contained a basso continuo
accompaniment (the continuo implied a keyboard accompaniment).'

Rossi wrote seven books of madrigals during his lifetime; all seven
include a harmonic bass line accompaniment which places them at the
beginning of the Baroque rather than at the end of the Renaissance. It is
interesting to note that Claudio Monteverdi "...adopted the basso
continuo in his fifth book..." of madrigals.* This occurred in 1605 or five
years after Rossi's first experiment with accompanied madrigals. 9

Renaissance to Baroque: Monteverdi

In the movement from Renaissance to Baroque, Monteverdi became
the first great composer of opera. His production of 'Orfeo' in 1607 stands
as a landmark, incorporating elements of the Renaissance secular drama
(verse, action and music) in a new way. Music, in Monteverdi's hands,
became an integral part of the production rather than incidental. Verse
became the musical recitative punctuated by orchestral chords - and
orchestral interludes were furnished by a large ensemble considering the
time in which it was performed. Donington lists the instrumentation as
follows: 10

2 harpsichords

2 double basses of the violin or viol family

10 standard members of the violin family

1 double harp

2 small violins in the French style used by dancing masters

(these transposed an octave above the standard violin)
2 archlutes (but 3 are later indicated)

2 chamber organs of wood (flue pipes)

3 bass viols

4 trombones (but five seem required)

1 regal (portable organ)

2 cornetts (short wooden horns of narrow conical bore)

1 little flute (doubles the sopranos of a chorus, 2 octaves above)
1 clarino (long trumpet played very high)

3 clarinos (muted trumpets played lower)

No drum part is written but the lowest trumpet part

(marked alto and basso) has the appropriate rhythms.

Several comments are necessary here. Since there was no established
instrumentation for the orchestra at the time of Monteverdi's 'Orfeo', the
writer suspects that player availability determined the instrumentation of
Monteverdi's orchestra. In the same light, the master probably sought every
available musician in Mantuan territory to make a large assemblage possible.

Renaissance to Baroque: Rubens

Shortly before his 23rd birthday, on May 9, 1600, Rubens left
Antwerp for Italy. 11 In a statement accredited to his nephew, Rubens went
there "in order to study at close quarters the works of the ancient and
modern masters and to improve himself by their example in painting." 12

Within four weeks of leaving Antwerp, Rubens was fortunate enough
to attract the notice of Mantua's Ducal Secretary of State, Annibale
Chieppio, who became a steadfast friend. DThe chance meeting took place in
Venice during June when Chieppio attended the Carnival in the company of
Duke Vincenao 1.14 By October, Rubens entered the Duke's service in
Mantua as a court painter, he served the Gonzaga Court until 1608.15

While Rubens served Vincenzo I in Mantua, his models for emulation
became Andrea Mantegna and Giulio Romano both of whom were
brought to that city 100 years before by the great Isabella d'Este.16 Giulio
Romano, prior to entering the service of the Mantuan Dukes, was
"...Raphael's principal collaborator in the Vatican..."" According to
Wedgwood, he ".. has the distinction of being the only artist mentioned by

Shakespeare." 18 In Act V, Scene 11 of The Winter's Tale, Shakespeare
pays tribute to Raphael's most important pupil as follows:

. ..the princess hearing of her mother's statue, which is in
keeping of Paulina, - a piece many years in doing, and now
newly performed by that rare Italian master, Julio Romano,
who, had he himself eternity, and could put breath into his
work, would beguile nature of her custom, so perfectly he is her
ape: he so near to Hermione hath done Hermione, that they say
one would speak to her, and stand in hope of answer -

Rubens had to be impressed by what he saw in Mantua. "No other
collection in Europe at that time offered so wide a range for study. "19 as the
ducal palace in that city. The writer has been there and can say that it
exceeds all expectations. Picture an area of 34,000 meters; in the context of
sport, this would be equivalent to 400 football fields filled with art. Such
splendor would have to be a source of inspiration to anyone in the creative

During his 8 years in Mantua, Rubens had the opportunity to travel
in the company of the Gonzagas or, as an envoy to various parts of Italy .20
Drawing upon exceptional energy and talent, Rubens explorations in
Italy were most successful .21 Jaffe says that the master ". ..observed and
recorded with loving care, antiquities of every sort and size, intact or
broken.. ."22 When his drawings were sold, 17 years after his death "...his
heirs released a flood of visual intelligence. "23

In the movement from Renaissance to Baroque, Rubens drawings
become the skeletal structure: it is his embellishment of the drawings
which leads us into the Baroque. To cite one example, his painting, The
Birth of Venus began as a drawing taken from a fresco of Giulio
Romano. 14 To the figure of Venus, Rubens adds nymphs and cupids.25
The painting pays tribute to Romano, whose fresco was completed 100
years before.

Summary

By coincidence, the years of Rubens tenure in Mantua were also the
years in which Rossi, Monteverdi and Rubens simultaneously served the
Gonzaga Court. If Rubens "...became the fountainhead of what we now
call the Baroque style"26 in art, then Rossi and Monteverdi were his
musical counterparts, since they contributed individually and collectively
to the formative stage of the musical Baroque. Yet, while Monteverdi and
Rubens are well-known figures in the history of the arts, Rossi's
innovations are still to be appreciated more fully.

10

Footnotes

1. Michael Jaffe, Rubens and Italy (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1977) p.9.

2. Hendrick Willem Van Loon, The Arts (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1939), p.234.

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid.

5. Claudio Sartori (ed.), Encyclopedia della Mitsica

(Milano: G. Ricordi and Company, 1964) IV, 61.

6. Ibid.

7. Ibid.

8. Nigel Fortune, "Monteverdi and the Second Prallica" in

The Monteverdi Companion by Denis Arnold and Nigel Fortune (ed.)
(New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 1972), p. 192.

9. Denis Arnold: Monteverdi (London: J. M. Dent and Sons, Ltd., 1963) p. 174.

10. Robert Donington, "Monteverdi's First Opera" in The Monteverdi Companion

by Denis Arnold and Nigel Fortune (ed.)

(New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 1972) p. 258.

11. Michael laffe, op. cit., p. 7.

12. Ibid.

13. Ibid.

14. Ibid.

15. Ibid.

16. Ibid.

17. Michael laffe, op. cit., p.45.

18. C. V. Wedgwood, The World of Rubens (New York: Time-Life Books, 1967), p.32.

19. C. V. Wedgwood, op. cit., p.3 1.

20. Michael laffe, op. cit., p. 10.

21. Michael Jaffe, op. ci

t., p. 10.

22. Ibid.

23. Ibid.

24. Michael Jaffe, op. c

it., plate 106.

25. Michael Jaffe, op. c,

it., plate 108.

26. Michael Jaffe, op. c

it., p.8.

ABRAHAM BAER ON HIS 150TH BIRTHDAY

INGRID Lomfors

(We share with our readers some interesting correspondence between
one colleague, Hazzan Maynard Gerber of Stockholm, myself and a
young Swedish college student, Ingrid Lomfors.) SR.

January 7, 1985

Journal of Synagogue Music

Cantors Assembly

150 Fifth Avenue

New York, New York 10011

USA

Gentlemen:

I am enclosing a copy of an article about Abraham Baer, written by a
member of the congregation in Gothenburg, Sweden. I have translated the
article into relatively readable English because I thought that you might
find it interesting enough to publish in the Journal. If it's too long in
length, you might just want to print parts of it.

The author, Ingrid Lomfors, is a young girl who is now studying at
Brandeis for the year. I am writing to her and sending her a copy of the
translation, along with several corrections about Baer's book. I have never
met Ms. Lomfors, and don't know how she knows about Baer, because I
don't think many of the congregants in Gothenburg are acquainted with
his name.

At any rate, let me know if you can use the article. Here is Ms.
Lomfors address in case you have to have her permission to print the
article:

Brandeis University
Hornstein Program
Lown Building
Waltham, Ma. 02254

Sincerely yours,

Hazzan Maynard Gerber

January 18, 1985

Ms. Ingrid Lomfors

Brandeis University

Hornstein Program

Lown Building

Waltham, Massachusetts 02254

Dear Ms. Lomfors

I am writing with double purpose: to make your acquaintance and to
request permission to reprint an article which was published in Sweden
recently regarding the 150th birthday of Abraham Baer.

Our organization is composed of over 400 cantors who serve
congregations in the Conservative Movement in the United States,
Canada, Israel, Australia and Sweden. Cantor Maynard Gerber of
Judiska Forsamlingen in Stockholm, is a member of our Assembly, a
graduate of our Cantors Institute, and was kind enough to send me the
article and a translation.

Among the things we do is publish a semi-annual Journal of
Synagogue Music. The leading Jewish composers, musicians, cantors and
musicologists have contributed from time to time and we would like very
much to publish your article.

On a personal basis, I would be curious to know of your interest in
synagogue music and whether or not you are doing any other work in that
field from which we all might benefit. I hope it is not imposing upon you
when I ask you to write me something about yourself and your work.

Faithfully yours,
Samuel Rosenbaum
Executive Vice President

Cantors Assembly
150 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10011

January 30, 1985
Dear Hazzan Rosenbaum,

I am glad that you find the article about Abraham Baer interesting.
You are more than welcome to publish it in the Journal of Synagogue
Music.

It was more or less by chance that I decided to research about Baer,
than out of a profound interest in synagogue music When I understood
that he was an important figure with a great impact on Jewish music I
thought of honouring him on his 150th birthday. His life and work are also
part of Gothenburg's history, therefore I am glad to inform you that the
congregation celebrated his birthday by giving a concert of his music, just
a few weeks ago.

Although I play and sing Jewish music the synagogue music is yet a
undiscovered field to me. I am a student of Contemporary Jewish Studies
and after completing my studies at the end of this semester I will return to
my position as a Jewish Community worker.

If you wish, I will be happy to send you material, if I come across
subjects of your concern upon my return to Sweden.

Please send me a copy of the article when it has been published.

Sincerely yours,
Ingrid Lomfors
Hornstein Program
Brandeis University
Waltham, MA 02254

Ps. If it is your policy to reward contributors financially I shall be
happy to receive a standard fee. Ds.

THE GREAT FORGOTTEN SON

INGRID Lomfors

This year is the 150th birthday of the world famous cantor, Abraham
Baer. He was born in Gothenburg, Sweden, where he was active between
1857 and 1894. Here he began working on his famous work Bael Tfillah, a
collection of synagogue melodies from around the world. During the
fifteen years during which Baer worked on the book, he became a widely
known name in both Jewish and secular music circles. Baer's musical
contributions enriched Jewish cultural and religious life. His name lives on
all over the world, but in Gothenburg, he remains the great forgotten son!

In the year 1857, a young man auditioned before a cantorial selection
committee in the synagogue of Gothenburg. He came from East Prussia,
but had been a student of the famous cantor, Isaac Heyman of
Amsterdam, for quite some time. He was now called to Gothenburg as the
hazzan Sheni, upon the recommendation of the congregation's Rabbi

Wolff. Baer's cantorial knowledge, voice and musical abilities were tested
for three days. He passed the examinations before a committee which
consisted of Rabbi Wolff, Mr. Nissen the choir director, and Mr. Czapek
the organist, and began serving the synagogue of Gothenburg.

The Christian organist-composer, Czapek, became impressed with
Baer's musical abilities. He himself had become quite well known in music
circles, and was later elected a member of the Royal Academy of Music.
Abraham Baer, however, was musically superior to him. He had learned
to modulate by ear, something which few cantors today are able to do.
They usually need the help of the organ or musical notes to transpose from
one key to another. Baer was, however, forced to be satisfied with
rehearsing the boys' choir and assisting the chief cantor, despite his
exceptional talents.

At this time, several hundred Polish Jews had come to the city to live.
They lived poorly and in crowded quarters. The German Jews didn't
readily want to associate with the newcomers, but felt that Baer could
devote a few hours a day to teaching the "pollacks".

Baer worked hard but his salary didn't go very far. In 1859, he wrote

the following to the congregation's board of directors:

"With due consideration to the fact that I have become
a father and that the price of food has risen, I hereby
apply for an increase in salary."

The cantor earned at that time 1,850 riksdaler a year, while his rabbi's

salary was between four and five thousand riksdaler.

The synagogue choir at that time consisted of twelve boys who
received a small amount of money for singing, but not enough to hold their
interest after they were finished with school. Baer though, had become
somewhat popular as a Hebrew school teacher, and was able to get a few of
the Polish boys in his classes interested in joining the choir. By 1861, he
had built up a large Jewish boys' choir in the synagogue.

After several years, both the chief cantor and the choir director died,
which meant that Abraham Baer could devote more time to music. At that
time, all synagogue music was learned by rote. There was little written
music for the choir or for the organist. Baer knew many synagogue
melodies from Eastern Europe, and he began to write them down. The
choir and organist finally received a book of music for the first time, which
consisted of more than 300 pages. The liturgy was changed somewhat and
has survived in that form until now. The services of the Gothenburg
Synagogue follow the score that was introduced by Baer.

It is thought that Baer learned to notate music from his non-Jewish
colleagues. This ability belonged to very few cantors at that time. Those
who studied hazzanut learned the melodies by heart. Each synagogue had
its own musical tradition which varied according to the Ashkenazic,
Polish or Sephardic nusah.

After several years in Gothenburg, Baer began working on the book
which came to be the most significant work ever produced on Jewish
music. This work came to give Baer a world-famous name. For fifteen
years, Baer collected synagogue melodies from around the world. No one
really knows how he was able to do this. Since he had contact with cantors
and Jews in the field of music all over the world, he is believed to have
obtained the origins and history of these melodies through correspondence.
It is also likely that Baer came in contact with the Sephardic musical
tradition through his trips to Amsterdam. The work gradually became a
scientific product of a musical genius. It was finished in 1877, and was
entitled "Baal Tfillah, oder Derpraktische Vorbeter", and contains 1500
liturgical melodies. The distinguished book received its other name
because it even contains instructions for cantors. For the most part, Baer
had collected melodies for all Jewish rituals. However, there are also
melodies for home and life-cycle events in the book, such as brit milah,
weddings and funerals.

There are three different melodic alternatives for every prayer. Baer
wasn't satisfied with collecting melodies from just one tradition, but
instead gives the reader the Ashkenazic, Polish and Sephardic versions.
Baer composed a few of the melodies himself. Some come from his home
town, Filehne. There are even compositions of Sulzer, Naumbourg and
Lewandowski found in the collection.

The work is also historically important since many of the melod ies are
from congregations which are no longer in existence.

The title page of the book contains a picture of the Gothenburg
synagogue, and makes the collection an important cultural asset in the
city's history.

The result of Abraham Baer's long labor awakened unparalleled
attention among both Jews and non-Jews around the world. Letters and
thanks from near and far attest to his greatness. When Baer celebrated his
twenty-five years of service in Gothenburg in 1882, he received countless
letters of congratulations which were reminders of his contributions to
Jewish life. Baer is the only "Gothenburger" who has a place in Jewish
encyclopedias.

Baal T'fillah has been published in six editions between 1887 and
1954; the last one being in New York.

Baer was memorialized in a ceremony in Gothenburg, 100 years after
his birth. At the Jewish community's 200-year anniversary celebration,
however, he was only named incidentally.

Is his name going to be completely forgotten now at his 150th
birthday?

A PSALM OF CELEBRATION:
TO LEO ROSENBLUTH AT 80

AUGUSTIN Mannerheim

(Reset in English by Samuel Rosenbaum)

The skin of his face has been creased

a hundred fold,

and the fleshiness of middle age has disappeared.

The force which pulls him down to the earth

slowly overcomes the force which holds him upright.

But when he sings the psalms of his people

or sings the prayer-text for the day

the voice is that

of a young man.

The secret lies in the larynx;

the same which once long ago belong to David, Jesse's son.

Through the ages to this day,

one cantor after another

may inherit it.

As one gives up his last song

another is heard to pick it up.

Like a precious treasure chest

it is held close and passed on

through Kings, prophets and diaspora.

To this day the 80 year old larynx does not age.

It knows intimately the mysteries of the pause and the connector

in the sacred texts,

The treasure chest rests safely

till it must again move on,

The song still keeps him and the treasure chest erect

as it instructs and delights in Stockholm's Great Synagogue.

Augustin Mannerheim is a well-known Swedish journalist and music
critic who composed this psalm in tribute to Kanter Leo Rosenbliith,
internationally known hazzan/ composer/ concert singer and Hazzan-
Emeritus of the Mosaiska Forsamlingen i Stockholm. We are grateful to
Hazzan Maynard Gerber who now serves that Stockholm congregation
for sending the poem to us.

Leo Rosenbluth was born in Bavaria in 1904 into a rabbinic family.
Following a traditional yeshivch education he went on to study music

theory, philosophy and religion at the University of Frankfort am Main.
He also attended the Hoch'sches Konservatorium where he studied music
theory, composition, conducting and the viola.

Rosenbluth began to serve as a baal keriah after his Bar Mitzvah, and
as Kantor at the early age of 15. In 193 1, he became Chief Kantor of
Stockholm's great synagogue, Mosaiska Forsamilingen. Throughout the
years, until his retirement in 1977, he maintained the highest standards of
Jewish liturgical tradition and quality musical performance. He strove
always to renew and to revitalize the quality of Jewish liturgical music by
holding fast to ancient traditions and concepts, integrating them with
modern musical development.

He is a prolific composer. While specializing in liturgical music, he
has, nevertheless, produced a broad variety of compositions in many
forms: art songs, oratorios, orchestral works, and a number of
commissions from the theater and television.

He won first prize in a composers competition sponsored by The
Jewish Cultural Congress in New York in 1948; he was twice the recipient
oft he Culture Prize awarded by the City of Stockholm ( 1974- 1975) and of
a scholarship of the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm in 1976.

Many hold that Kantor Rosenbluth' s greatest contributions to the
great stream of Jewish liturgical music is his determination and special
ability to serve as a securely footed bridge from the past to the present, one
foot firmly planted lovingly and deeply in our treasured musical hazzanic
traditions, and the other standing firmly on the ground of contemporary
musicology and craftmanship. He enhances both worlds even as he draws
his raw material from both, proving again that a true artist can paint the
old melodies in new colors without destroying their integrity or their
accessability to the worshipping Jew.

Readers may want to acquaint themselves with Kantor Rosenbliith's
major opus, "Hashirim Asher L'Yehudah", published in 1979 by the
Cantors Assembly Foundation, a compendium of compositions for the
entire liturgical calendar of the year.

REPORT ON A TRIP TO MOSCOW

Maynard Gerber

Dear Colleagues,

I have-just received the minutes Of the Executive Council meeting of
August 27th. and was very much interested in the section on Soviet Jewry.
Our community here has a committee that sends people to the Soviet
Union on a regular basis to make contact with refusniks. I was sent to
Moscow at the beginning of February this year. Not only did I meet with
refusniks, but I was also allowed to chant the sabbath morning service in
the main synagogue. I made contact with the young cantor, Vladimir
Pliss, and he asked me to return the next day to record chazzanut for him. I
sat for nearly two hours and recorded. He also asked me to send him
cantorial tapes. I sent a tape to him in care of the rabbi, and I later received
a letterfrom Pliss, thanking me and inviting me to return to Moscow and
sing again in the synagogue. I just recently sent an extra copy I had Of
Gowseiow's "Neginot Yaakov", but have not as yet heardfrom him. (He
had told me that materials would have a greater chance ofgetting through
to him if I sent them c/o the rabbi.)

I'm enclosing a detailed report of my trip. I hope you will find it
worthwhile.

I and three others from Stockholm, left for Moscow via Helsinki, on
Friday morning, February I, 1985. Upon arrival at Moscow's international
airport at approximately five o'clock in the afternoon, we proceeded
through passport control, the first person in our group who presented her
passport experienced what must have been about a fifteen minute's delay
before being allowed to go through. The next two people in our group did
not have such a long delay. I was the last one in our group, and the
passport control officer had some doubts as to whether or not my face
matched the one in the passport I had presented to him. (I must admit that
the photo in my passport is not very clear anyway.) After being asked to
take off may hat by another officer who had been called over to us, and
after turning this way and that way, I finally decided to trying presenting
my Swedish driver's license as another source of identification. That
seemed to break the ice, and I was at long last given the honor of being
allowed into the Soviet Union.

Maynard Gerber is a graduate of the Cantors Institute of the Jewish
Theological Seminary of America and has been serving as hazzan of one of
Europe's leading synagogues, Mosaiska Forsamlingen of Stockholm,

We continued on to customs. I was the last one in our group to pass
thru. The first three in our party had little or no trouble, but I, who was
last, did have some difficulties, I was asked to open my bags, and quite a
bit of interest was aroused when the customs officer discovered some
Jewish music in my possession. The text under the notes was transliterated,
with Latin letters. There were however, Hebrew letters at the bottom of
some of the pages, as well as a few pictures of Jewish rituals, such as a
woman lighting the sabbath candles. I saw one of the officers point
specifically to the latter, and then realized that I was in for some
difficulties. I explained to the three or four officers who had by now
gathered around me to study this "dangerous" material, that I was a singer
and that I was going to sing these songs in Helsinki, on my way back to
Stockholm. I was eventually asked to leave my baggage where it was and
to follow one of the officers. We proceeded to an office where I was asked
to empty all of my pockets. I did so, placing some coins, my wallet, some
tissues and a comb on the desk. I was then asked point blank where my
address book was. I had a little spiral notebook with me containing the
addresses of relatives in the States, to whom I was going to send postcards
from Moscow, but I couldn't seem to find it. I found out later that I had
inadvertently left it in my portfolio which was with my luggage at the
customs desk. At any rate, I said that I had had one, but it looks as though
I probably forgot it back in Stockholm. I was then told to take a seat and
to wait. The officer then left the room and I just sat and waited for
something else to go wrong! I sat and wondered what the result of all of
this was going to be. Sometimes I was alone in the room, and then
someone would wander in, look at me, and leave. I tried to remain calm
and unassuming and to show that I was willing to cooperate in any way I
could. I took out some candy to suck on and asked the 2 or 3 people who
had now returned to the room, if they would like to try a little Swedish
candy, but no one was interested. After what seemed to be about 15
minutes, I was asked to sign two papers. Since they were in Russian, I
asked what it was I was signing. One paper had to do with my being bodily
searched and the other was a new customs declaration, this one being in
Russian, as compared to the original one in English I had filled out on the
plane, and which I was earlier asked to turn in to one of the customs
officers in the room with me. I was given my address lists back, much to my
surprise, and was given a receipt for the music which was being taken away
from me. I was told that I was to present this receipt upon my departure on
Monday morning, and that I would then receive all of my music back. I
was now free to go! I must say in all fairness, that I was not abused in
anyway during this ordeal. I even felt that the people involved didn't want
me to jump to any conclusions, or panic so to say. I thanked them for

"holding" the music for me during my stay in Moscow, saying that it made
my load a little lighter. I left the room and went back to the customs desk
where my luggage was waiting for me. I packed everything up, and joined
the other three people in my group, who were very glad to see me again,
and, of course, vice versa!!

Before we entered the two cars waiting to take us to our hotel, I very
quickly told my friends that my address lists had been discovered. We
didn't know what to do now - if it was safe to contact the people on the list
or not. The ride from the airport to the hotel took about 40 minutes, so
that we all had time to think things out, even though we never said much in
the taxis for fear of the drivers eavesdropping. (One never knows who can
understand Swedish nowadays.)

When we arrived at the hotel (Intourist) we checked in and went to
our respective rooms. I shared a room with a member of the Swedish
parliament who was in our group, and the other two had separate rooms.
The leader of our group, immediately went out of the hotel to phone one of
the refusniks from a public telephone. She returned and told us that he and
his wife could meet with us tonight. We took a taxi there. While at their
apartment, I asked the wife to translate my new Russian declaration, and
from what she read to me, it seemed as though nothing was different
compared with the original one in English which had been taken from me
during the interrogation. She told me, however, that the receipt for my
music was a little more interesting. There it stated that I had been in the
possession of religious material and Hebrew, and that I could get
everything returned to me upon presenting said receipt at the airport. We
related everything that had happened to me at the airport, but they didn't
seem to think anything of it, and said that we should go ahead and meet the
people whom we had planned to meet. The details of the rest of what
transpired at this visit can be found in the reports of the others in my
group.

On Saturday morning, I went to Moscow Synagogue and arrived
shortly before 10 a.m.. Services had not yet begun. I sat down towards the
back of the synagogue, in front of two elderly men who were deep in
conversation. People looked at me a bit, but no one approached me. I took
off my coat and turned to the men in back of me and told them in my
broken Yiddish that I was a chazzen (cantor) from Stockholm. They asked
if I wanted to sing and I immediately answered yes. One of them took me
to the rabbi's office. I immediately recognized the rabbi from a t.v.
program shown on Swedish television several months back, and from a
photo in our community bulletin with regards to an interview with him. I

felt like telling him that I recognized him from these two above-mentioned
sources, but decided against it. I felt that the less we spoke, the less
complicated things would be.

I told the rabbi who I was, and that I was just in Moscow as a tourist.
He took me out to the sanctuary to meet the cantor and to discuss how we
should divide the service up. The rabbi's English was somewhat limited,
but his Hebrew was pretty good. The same for the cantor. The latter is 30
years old, trained as a musician, and knows very little about cantorial
music. I will tell more about him later.

The cantor did the first part of the service. His pronunciation of
Hebrew was very old-fashioned, although accurate. He had a very light
voice, which didn't seem to have too much resonance. His use of the
various synagogue modes (musical scales), was somewhat accurate, but
questionable in a number of places. I would say that there were probably
around 150 people present in the synagogue - mostly older people, and
predominantly men. During the time the cantor sang, I sat next to two
elderly men in one of the wings of the bimah (stage). We spoke to each
other now and then in Yiddish about me, about the cantor whose style of
chanting the prayers they didn't particularly like, and about things in
general. I didn't ask anything about how things are for them Jewishly. I
didn't see any point to it since we all know what the score is in the Soviet
Union anyway. At one point, a man came near us to fetch his prayer shawl,
and I noticed that he had some medals pinned on his suit jacket. I asked
him about the medals, and he told me that he had gotten them during
World War II. One of his hands was injured and kind of hung lifelessly. He
told me that it was a war injury from Hitler. I took this man to be someone
of importance in the synagogue, since he kept his prayer shawl up on the
bimah. He was also dressed a'little better than the usual worshipper. He
proudly related to me that one of his children lived in New York. (If this
man is a government plant, as we usually assume about the synagogue
leaders in Moscow, I thought it strange that one of his children "saw the
light" and settled in America. But this is just plain curiosity on my part.)

It was finally my turn to take over the services. I stepped forward and
began chanting the prayer before taking out the Torah scroll from the ark.
Up until now, there had been a constant mumbling throughout the
congregation, which is not unusual in traditional synagogues. But as I
ascended to the reading desk and began to sing, I sensed that there was
now almost complete silence in this huge sanctuary. As I looked at the
faces of the people standing to the left and to the right of me, I saw that
their eyes were all glued to me, and that they listened to each syllable and

to each letter as I chanted. I was given the Torah scroll to hold. I faced the
congregation and began to sing "Shema Yisreal" - the declaration of our
belief in the One and Eternal God, the very foundation upon which
Judaism is based, and which the Soviets are so bent upon destroying. I
don't think I have ever sung this prayer with as much conviction as I did
that morning. In Jewish tradition, the cantor is considered to be the
congregation's spokesman before God. At this moment I felt more than
ever before in my life, that I was truly proclaiming the words of the Shema
for the congregation. It was simultaneously an appeal to God to help these
captives and protest against the atheistic Soviet system. As I proceeded to
carry the Torah around the congregation as is customary, people
energetically responded to me with the traditional sabbath greetings, some
in Yiddish, some in Hebrew: "Gut shabbes", or "shabbat shalom". One
man said to me: "Am Yisrael Chai", the people of Israel still lives!" I nearly
broke down in tears. I felt so helpless, and yet I knew that I was inspiring
them and giving them hope. I just wished that I could do more. As I came
back to the bimah, I handed the Torah over to the shammes (sexton) and
sat down to rest during the Torah reading.

The Torah reading took place at three different places in the
sanctuary simultaneously. Obviously there was no lack of people able to
read out of the scroll, which is in itself an art. The young cantor came over
to me and we began talking about the services and other things. He
wondered if I could meet with him before leaving Moscow, and record
various melodies. He had no real access to cantorial materials and
wondered if I could help him. We set a date for the next day (Sunday) at 10
a.m., there in the synagogue.

I was given the honor of going up to the Torah on the bimah, as the
seventh man. Afterwards I discussed with the rabbi and cantor how the
rest of the service would continue. After the conclusion of the haftarah
(prophetical reading), I was to begin officiating again, and when it would
be time for the prayer for the county, I was to stop and wait for the rabbi to
come and stand beside me, and he would then chant this prayer, This
proceeded as planned, and we were even joined by the cantor himself and
one other elderly man. The cantor and this layman hummed chords as the
rabbi chanted the prayer for the USSR, and I even joined in simply for the
sake of the music. As awkward as it felt for me to have to stand and listen
to a prayer being chanted for a country that was oppressing our people, I
wondered if the rabbi felt equally as awkward having a capitalistic Zionist
at his side. At any rate, afterwards the service continued as in any normal
synagogue. At the end of the service I said good-bye to the rabbi. He had
heard from the cantor that I would be returning to the synagogue on the

following day, but unfortunately he himself would be unable to be with us.
I said I understood and that was that.

I left the sanctuary which by now was almost empty. I don't really
remember anyone coming up to me. I went out into the foyer and looked
carefully at pictures of various aspects of Jewish life, such as a family
conducting a Passover seder, the baking of matsot, people at prayer, etc.,
etc.. It was obviously an attempt to reassure tourists like me, that Jews are
able to practice their religion. (The following day at the conclusion of my
meeting with the cantor, I asked him if these photographs were really true
or not. I think his answer was a sincere one. He said that some are more
true than others. Some religious practices are easier to fulfill than others. I
said I understood what he meant.) After looking at these photos, I went
outside, where a group of some 25 adult worshippers had assembled to
talk with one another. No one, however approached me, and I simply
returned to my hotel.

Before leaving the subject of my synagogue visit, I should mention
that there were three young men in their 20' s, who sat next to the rabbi on
the bimah during the entire service. They had nice prayer shawls on and
seemed to be able to follow the order of the service. The cantor told me
that these three, who were Sefardic Jews from within the Soviet Union,
were studying to be ritual slaughterers and mohalim, those who can
perform ritual circumcision. I had thought that the rabbi was training
them to become rabbis, but the cantor said no and gave me the above
explanation.

In the afternoon, I rejoined the other three in my group, and we made
one visit to a refusnik in the afternoon, and one in the evening. The details
of these visits can be found in the individual reports of my traveling
companions.

On Sunday morning, I returned to the synagogue at 10 a.m.. I
happened to walk into the smaller sanctuary and realized that a service
was about to begin. There was a small group of about 10-15 men
(including some in their late teens or early 20' s) who wore prayer shawls
and tefillin. At just about the same moment I had walked in, in walked the
cantor. Together we walked through the main sanctuary to his office. In
the main sanctuary there was a young man, probably in his early 20' s,
wearing just tefillin, and who was praying by himself. I wondered to myself
why he was in there by himself, instead of praying together with the others
in the smaller sanctuary.

The cantor's office was a rather small, narrow room on the side of the

bimah. It was virtually empty in terms of books or even music. There was a
desk, a few chairs and a sofa. He brought out a tape recorder and prayer
book. While he set up the tape recorder, I looked through the prayer book
and it must have been printed in the Soviet Union, because it contained the
prayer for the USSR. I couldn't find any copyright year in it.

The cantor wanted me to record some congregational melodies for
sabbath morning service. After recording a few, we were joined by a man
probably in his early 70' s, who sings in the synagogue choir. He had been
present to make sure that I recorded certain pieces which he wanted the
cantor to learn. After recording everything, the cantor went out for a
minute and came back with a bottle of Russian vodka. We drank three
glasses each, as is customary, and within a few minutes I began to feel the
effects! (I forgot to mention that I had brought some chocolates with me as
a present for the cantor. He was very touched by this gesture. He told me
that he was divorced, had an eight year old son, but was going to remarry
shortly. His fiance likes chocolates very much, and this would surely make
a big hit with her. He left the room and came back with two Russian
chocolate bars for me!)

The Cantor asked if I could send him some cantorial tapes, as he
would like to learn different styles. I told him that I had brought some
Jewish music with me, but that everything had been taken from me at the
airport. He was surprised at this. Nevertheless, I told him that I had doubts
about the Jewish tapes getting through to him. He told me that they should
be able to get through the mail if I sent them to the rabbi. He gave me the
rabbi's name and address oft he synagogue, and I said I would give it a try.
He now had to leave, so we said good-bye. I went back to the smaller
sanctuary to take some photos. I took a photo of a large copy of the
Hebrew prayer for the USSR which was hanging on the wall there. I felt so
intoxicated that I dropped my camera on the floor! Several older men
were sitting around a table talking and studying Torah. I asked if I could
take a picture of them, but they preferred not. I went back out to the foyer
to look at the bulletin board pictures again, hoping to get sober enough to
be able to walk a straight line back to my hotel. As I stood there, I noticed a
young blondish man also standing around, kind of glancing at me. He
eventually came over and stood next to me. I said nothing, wondering if
this was someone following me. He finally mumbled something in
Russian. I said that I was American and spoke no Russian. From what I
could make out, he was telling me that he was Jewish, and that's about as
far as our conversation could go. I said "shalom" left the synagogue and
"staggered" back to the hotel, still feeling the effects of the vodka.

In the afternoon, I and one other person from our group met with a
group of 15 teen-agers in an apartment. This group, under the leadership
of a female music teacher in her mid-20' s, meets on a regular basis at the
homes of different youngsters in the group, to learn about Judaism
through music. I taught them a few songs and then they sang for me in
Hebrew and even in Yiddish. I was very impressed with their singing, but
even more impressed with their courage to risk meeting secretly, and with
their determination to learn about their Jewish heritage. Looking at these
young people, I couldn't help but think about all of our spoiled Jewish
children in the West, who dislike giving up their free time to go to religious
school. Here were youngsters who were not only seeking religious
instruction of their own freewill, but were even going against their
government at the risk of being discovered.

Our hostess, in whose apartment this group was meeting, was a
women in her late 30' s. (Her husband was not at home.) She seemed very
nervous about having us there, and asked us to please not speak in the hall
when we would leave. I marvelled at her excellent English, which she said
she had studied in school. We found out that she and her family had
applied for an exit visa five years ago, had been refused, and had not
applied since. I saw various Jewish books in English in the apartment in
addition to various Jewish objects. She even had a small Star of David
around her neck.

At the end of our stay, I sat down with the music teacher to ask her
what materials she would like from us. She said that she needed cassette
tapes, tape recorders and Jewish music. I took her address and told her we
would do our best to help her continue her valuable work with these young
people. She also showed us photographs of a Purim spiel they had put on
last year, complete with beautiful costumes. I could only admire in
complete amazement the drive that these people have.

We said our good-byes and reluctantly went on our way, making sure
we didn't talk in the hall or in the elevator. As we were on our way out the
building, I thought about the fact that here they have a rabbi and a cantor
and a synagogue, but yet these two factions, i.e. the religious
establishment, and this group of young people could not be united. How
ironic and even perhaps perverted the situation is!

In the evening we met with a group of doctors and their spouses in an
apartment. The details of this visit can also be read in the individual
reports of my traveling companions. The only thing I have to add is that
after the lecture given by one of the members of my group, I sang some
Hebrew and Yiddish songs which was very much appreciated. We spent

about four hours here with these courageous people, and it was a
wonderful conclusion to the weekend.

When we came to the airport the next day, check-in went very
smoothly. I presented the receipt for my music. The check-in girl made a
telephone call, and a man came out to me within a few minutes with all of
my material. I signed out for the music and was handed everything back
with no difficulties. This time my luggage was searched very superficially,
as if just going thru the motions. If they knew we had met with all of these
refusniks, they certainly didn't seem to be concerned that we might be
smuggling out anything.

As the plane lifted into the air. I thanked my grandfather who left
Russia for America in 19 12. If he hadn't, it would probably have been one
of my children among those teen-agers we had met the day before, and
maybe I myself would have been one of the refusniks. My trip to Moscow
and whatever I can do for the Soviet Jews from now on, is my way of
showing my thanks for the hand of cards fate dealt out to me. I just hope
that the rest of the Jews who want to leave the Soviet Union, will someday
be able to look back and be thankful that they got out in time.

THE BRITISH AND HALEVY'S "LA JUIVE"

On the 150th anniversary of its premiere, we pose the question: Why
did British authorities prohibit the performance of Halevy's opera, "La
Juive", in Jerusalem?

The Jews have long enjoyed a love affair with The Opera. Even in
Eastern Europe, where they would normally eschew all other forms of the
theater, the Jews permitted themselves the pleasures of the operatic stage.
Many noted singers boasted Jewish origins, and melodies derived from
opera found their way into both the music of the Hassidim and the songs
of the Hazzanim.

An endearing, though ill-fated, experiment was launched in England
some seventy years ago, when the conductor-composer Samuel Alman
joined forces with the celebrated baritone, Joseph Vinogradov, to
establish an exclusively Yiddish opera company. A similar enterprise was
attempted in Warsaw, for which the composer Heinech Cohen wrote an
opera on the theme of David and Bathsheba. The Jews of the Polish
capital inevitably flocked to their own ethnic opera, temporarily deserting
the city's secular Opera House. And since a considerable proportion of the
opera-going public in Warsaw comprised Jews, their absence was sorely
felt, and resulted in a drastic diminution of revenue. Polish authorities
reacted quickly by simply prohibiting the founding of a Yiddish Opera in
Warsaw.

Ultimately, though, an opera based on a Jewish theme, and
composed by a Jew, was to prove enormously popular. This opera - which
has been translated into 21 languages - was chosen to inaugurate the

Akivah Zimmerman is probably the scholar most steeped in hazzanic
lore alive today. He is not only an expert on hazzanim and hazzanut, but
he is deeply knowledgeable in any subject with which hazzanim of the last
three centuries had any contact, proficiency or expertise. He is a true
"renaissance man" at home in every aspect of Jewish, Hebrew and Yiddish
culture: music, art, literature, poetry, theater, recordings, etc. He is a
veritable walking encyclopedia of the broadfield of Jewish music.

During the working day he is a bank official, but at all other times he
is ajournalist, a biographer, an investigative reporter, a historian. His
great and all-consuming passion is the hazzan and the things a hazzan does
or has done, within or without the parameters of his professional calling.

second era of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and was to become a
staple of that company's repertoire until 1936. The work was the French
opera "La Juive", composed by Jacques Francoise (Yakov Ephraim)
Fromental Halevy, with libretto by Augustin Scribe. (The latter had
scores of French libretti to his credit).

Halevy was born in Paris in 1799. His father, Elie Halfon Halevy, was
a Hebrew poet who wrote, inter alia, odes of praise for Napoleon. To
commemorate one of the Emperor's victories, the elder Halevy composed
his "Song of Peace", which was included in a service held in Paris to mark
Napoleon's triumph in battle. Leon, Jacques' brother, was a professor of
French literature in Paris, and we know of other brothers, too; namely,
Ludovic, Daniel and Elijah.

Jacques Halevy was accepted into the Paris Conservatory at the age
of ten, where he studied composition. At twenty, he won the prestigious
Prix de Rome, and was awarded a government grant to support his studies
in Italy. Following graduation, he taught at the Conservatory, becoming
professor of counterpoint and fugue in 1833. His students included
Gounod and Bizet.

Halevy was appointed conductor of the Paris Opera, though he also
served as synagogue choir director for Hazzan Samuel Naumbourg. Most
of his time, however, was dedicated to composition.

His liturgical compositions include a setting of "Min Hameitzar";
and, in 1820, the "Shir Hama'alot Mimamakim", for three voices. This last
piece was written for a memorial service to the Due de Berry held in the
synagogue in the Rue Saint-Avoye, now Rue du Temple. His cantata
"Noe" (Noah) was completed posthumously by his son-in-law, Bizet.

Although he composed about 20 operas in all, only "La Juive" was
destined for great popular success. The opera saw its Paris premiere in
February 1835, and was to be performed in France during its first 50 years
approximately 500 times. The opera is noted for both its dramatic tension
and the innately "Jewish" musical spirit which moves it.

The plot concerns an episode in Jewish-Christian relations, and the
action takes place in Constance, Switzerland in 1414. Eleazar, the local
prince, has been exiled from Rome by the Due de Brogni. Rome had been
attacked - before Eleazar' s banishment - by forces from Naples. Brogni' s
castle has been destroyed and his wife murdered. His young daughter,
Rachel, however, has been saved by Eleazar, who brings her to his home in
Constance.

While Brogni joins the Church in a fit of religious fervor, and finally
attains the exalted status of Cardinal, his daughter - famed now for her
beauty - is brought up wholly in the Judaic tradition.

An aristocrat named Leopold has fallen in love with Rachel. In order
to be near her he takes the guise of a youthful artist named Samuel, and
enters the service of Eleazar. When Leopold returns from war victorious, a
religious holiday is proclaimed to celebrate his triumph. Eleazar and
Rachel, however, refuse to observe the Christian festival, and go about
their business as usual. When a noise is detected emanating from Eleazar' s
workshop, Ruggiero, the Mayor of the city, decides that both must be put
to death.

Cardinal de Brogni arrives unexpectedly, and postpones the
execution.. Leopold - still disguised as Samuel the artist - is invited to
celebrate the Seder on Passover Night at the house of Eleazar and Rachel.

At this point in the opera, the aria, "Dieu de nos peres "is sung,

describing the Exodus from Egypt. (Hazzan David Moshe Steinberg was
later to adopt the melody for the liturgical passage, "Hama'avir Banav",
which similarly depicts the Exodus.)

During the Seder ritual, Brogni and his men burst in, and Rachel's
true identity as Brogni' s daughter is revealed. While she is willing to be
martyred for her Jewish Faith, her father's heart is hardened against
coming to her aid. It is here that the poignant aria, "Rachel, quand du
Seigneur" is sung. The aria has justly remained one of the star items in the
repertoire of dramatic tenors.

It is intriguing to note that Halevy had intended Eleazar' s role to be
sung by a bass. The tenor Adolphe Nourrit, however, who was to appear in
the original cast, persuaded the composer to change it to a tenor role.
Indeed, Nourrit himself was responsible for the text of the aria, "Rachel,
quand du Seigneur."

This aria, too, was adapted by various hazzanim to suit liturgical
passages - most popularly, "Hashamayim shamayim L'Hashem", from the
Hallel. Some hazzanim used the melody for "Lo Teivoshi" (in the "Lecha
Dodi") on Friday Night, while others, still, could be heard chanting it on
Kol Nidre night for the "Hass Kateigor" verses.

The opera's American debut came in New Orleans in 1844, and the
following year saw its first performance in New York. The role of Eleazar
was an especial favorite of the tenor Enrico Caruso, who regarded it as his
finest role. The great singer is said to have been obsessed by the

profundities of Eleazar's character, and the challenge these provided him.
In order to prepare for the part, he would visit, over a six-month period,
many of New York's synagogues, listening intently to the most gifted
hazzanim of his day chant the Shabbat Services. Caruso, it is said,
admired Yossele Rosenblatt and Gershon Sirota in particular. Eleazar, in
fact, marked Caruso's last role on the operatic stage. For during one
performance of "La Juive" in 1920, he suffered a haemorrhage from which
he was later to die.

The first staging of the opera in Eretz-Israel was an occasion for much
controversy. The Mandatory Government, pressured by representatives
of the Catholic Church in Jerusalem, sought to prohibit its performance in
the Holy City. The Hebrew poet, U. Z. Greenberg, voiced stern opposition
to any such ban, explaining that his concern was motivated less by a need
to assert the merit of the work, than by his objection to the apparent
surrender of the Jewish institutions in the face of a challenge by the
Mandatory Government.

In 1924, a production of "La Juive" was staged in Jerusalem by
Mordechai Gulinkin, a pioneer of opera in the Holy Land. The City's
Latin Patriarch, however, complained to the Mandatory authorities that
the performance had been purposely planned to coincide with a visit to
Palestine by an emissary of the Pope. The Spanish Consul, too, protested
the performance, suggesting that the Cardinal, as he appeared in the
opera, bore a suspicious resemblance to Alfonso, King of Spain. As a
consequence, the British Governor met with the head of the Zionist
administration, Colonel Kish, and the two reached a compromise.
Thereafter, the Cardinal's garb was not to appear overly ecclesiastical, and
the singer taking the part of de Brogni was to sport a false beard so as to
minimize any resemblance to the clean-shaven Spanish monarch!

U. Z. Greenberg, who used the pages of the 'Hapoel Hatzair' to
publicize his views on the subject, wrote in the July 4th, 1924 issue: "It is
The Cross which dictates matters in Jerusalem! A Christian leader in the
impoverished City of David has dared to do what the Pope himself couldn't
do in Catholic Rome, and what the cruel leaders of Russia and Poland have
failed to do. They have passed sentence on Halevy's "La Juive"!"

The opera's conductor, Mordechai Gulinkin, described in a letter to
the newspaper, 'Ha'aretz', the changes he had been forced to introduce:
"The Cardinal will no longer wear a red cloak and a crucifix on his chest.
There will merely be a black cloak, and no crucifix." He continued:
"Certainly the prospect of a total ban of "La Juive" could not have been

tolerated, and although, regrettably, our success has been limited, I do not
think that we could have achieved more than we did."

While arias from "La Juive" could be heard in the concert and
recording performances of the hazzanim Itzhak Mann and Moshe
Kusevitsky, I am not aware of any complete performance of the opera ever
having been staged in Israel. In contemporary times, for example, the
managers of the Addis de Philip opera company have stated that a
production of "La Juive" is quite beyond their musical and logistical
capabilities.

One of the opera's most recent performances took place in London in
1973, and featured the New Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by
Antonio Del Almeda. Tenor Richard Tucker - who was often compared to
Caruso -'played Eliazar. Moreover, just as "La Juive" represented
Caruso's final performance on stage, so was it one of Tucker's, last
appearances before his untimely demise in January 1975. It is moving to
recall, also, that during those historic performances in London, Richard
Tucker was wearing the very costume in which the legendary Caruso had
been attired more than half a century before.

Translated by Aryeh Finklestein

TRANSLATOR'S AFTERWORD

Two of the names in Akivah Zimmerman's essay have relevance for me.

Among my early recollections is the bus trips from Petah Tikva to Tel
Aviv which I took with my late father to the home of Isaac Mann, one of
the great voices of our century (and a coach of Gigli). I can still see my
father standing beside the piano, and Isaac Mann coaching him (my father
was younger than I am now) in the vocal scales. Towards the end of the
lesson I, too, would join in the singing.

Aryeh Finklestein is the Hazzan of A. G. Beth Israel Congregation of
Chicago. In addition to his distinguished career as a Hazzan, he has also
achieved recognition as a translator.

MUSIC SECTION

The synagogue music of the great Viennese hazzan, Salomon Sulzer
(1804 - 1890), is well known throughout the world. His personality and
creativity constituted major influences upon the music and form of the
synagogue service over the last 150 years.

Recently, scholars have shown a renewed interest in the works of this
great master. The long awaited re-issue of Sulzer' s classic synagogue
anthology "Shir Zion" , first published in 1839 and 1865, has begun with
the recent publication of a part of this work: Shir Zion (1839) Erster Teil
Sabbarhliche Gesange, Denkmaler Der Tonkunst in Osterreich, Band 134
(Graz: Akadamische Druck-u Verlagsanstalt 1983; Eric Werner, ed.)

(The Journal of Synagogue Music will publish a review of this
publication in a future issue.)

In addition to his synagogue works, Sulzer composed a number of
occasional pieces of a non-liturgical nature, which he dedicated to friends
and dignitaries. We reprint here two such pieces. They are lieder for voice
and piano: Die Briefe, dedicated to Sophie Jaques and An Sie, dedicated
to Clara Stockel-Heinefetter.

Abraham Lubin. Editor

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PSALM 30

A NEW SETTING FOR CHOIR AND ORGAN

Lee Rothfarb

Psalm 30

(selected verses)

A psalm of David. A song for the dedication of the House.

I extol You, Lord,

For You have lifted me up,

and not let my enemies rejoice over me.

you faithful of the Lord, sing to Him,

and praise His holy name.
For He is angry but a moment,

and when He is pleased there is life.

One may lie down weeping at nightfall;

but at dawn there are shouts of joy.

You turned my lament into dancing,

you undid my sackcloth and girded me with joy,
that (my) whole being might sing hymns to You

endlessly;
Lord my God, I will praise You forever.

ABOUT The Composer

Lee Rothfarb holds a Visiting Assistant Professorship in Music
Theory at the University of Michigan, School of Music. He earned degrees
from the Eastman School of Music (BM, composition), where he studied
with Warren Benson and Samuel Adler, from the Hartt School of Music,
University of Hartford (MM, theory), and from Yale University (Ph.D.,
theory). His scholarly work focuses on aesthetics and theories of music in
the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Rothfarb' s interest and involvement in Jewish music goes back to
teenage years, when he served as accompanist for synagogue choirs. This
activity eventually led to an interest in solo liturgical music, particularly
Biblical and prayer chants, and their melodic/modal bases.

The piece printed here is a recent one, written for the dedication of a
new organ at the Temple of Aaron, St. Paul, Minnesota. It received its first
performance there on April 6, 1984. The music is lyrical, harmonically
colorful and rhythmically varied. It pays special attention to the stress
patterns, flow and, above all, to the sense of the Hebrew text. In a
straight-forward three-part reprise form with coda, the music blends
smooth, tranquil sections with more agitated and restless ones. Once
singers orient themselves to the sounds, they will discover the clear
directional logic of the melodic/ harmonic progressions, which facilitate
the preparation of the work. The piece is gratifying to sing and achieves a
good audience effect.

PSALM OF DEDICATION

Psalm 30:l-2i5-6;12-13

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MUSIC REVIEW

"THE LADY OF THE LAKE"

"ANGEL LEVINE"

Paul Kavon

Hadassah B. Markson, innovator and artistic director of the annual
Jewish Opera at the 92nd Street "Y", now in its fifth year, has added
impressively to the ouvre by commissioning the noted composer, Elie
Siegmeister to write two new works, "The Lady of the Lake" and "Angel
Levine". These two relatively short operas received their world premieres
on Saturday evening, October 5, 1985.

With these operas, based on stories by Bernard Malamud with
librettos provided by Edward Mabley, Siegmeister, composer of six other
operas and numerous works in many media, has made a significant
contribution to the limited repertory of Jewish opera.

A sense of total professionalism manifested itself throughout the
performances. Amy Kaiser conducted the orchestra of 16 instrumentalists and
the combined casts of 12 accomplished singers with consummate expertise.
The direction of Dan Held, the sets of Tony Castrigna and the lighting of
Victor En Yu Tan contributed to the overall excellence of the production.

In "Angel Levine", the longer, more dominant work, Nathan
Manishevitz, a poor tailor, is told by the doctor that his wife, Fanny, is very
ill and has only a short time to live. Manishevitz, racked by problems
throughout his life, pleads with God to somehow miraculously save his wife.

His prayers are answered in the person of Alexander Levine, a black
Jewish angel dressed in natty street clothes, who suddenly appears much
to the surprise of the unbelieving Nathan. The tailor challenges Levine
repeatedly for proof that he is indeed a Jewish angel, even asking him to
recite (sing) the blessing over bread and wine, in Hebrew. Despite the angel
fulfilling these demands, Manishevitz is still not convinced, and a
frustrated Levine leaves for Harlem.

Subsequently, at the urging of his sick wife, Nathan pursues Levine to
116th Street, first looking for him in a black synagogue, where a trio of
black worshippers are davening in talleitim and studying Talmud, and

Hazzan Paul Kavon is a member of the Cantors Assembly and the
President of the American Society for Jewish Music.

finally finding him in a seedy Harlem night club. (Here Seigmeister uses
elements of jazz and blues with considerable skill.) When Manishevitz
assures Levine that he truly believes that he is a black Jewish angel sent
from God. Levine goes back to the apartment and cures Fanny.

The first opera, "The Lady of the Lake", concerns itself with a young
Jewish tourist, Henry Blumberg, who falls in love with a beautiful young
lady while visiting an Italian island. When she asks him his name and if he
is Jewish, Blumberg, fearful that she would not marry him should he be a
Jew, gives her a false name. Similarly, beset by identical fears, the lady
responds to Blumberg' s inquiry also with a name other than her own.
Toward the conclusion of the opera, when Blumberg proposes marriage,
the woman shows him her concentration camp number, tells Blumberg
that she cannot marry him because she is Jewish and the opera ends with
Blumberg never able to reveal his true identity.

While the contents of both operas have basically Jewish themes, none
of the music is intrinsically Jewish, with brief exceptions being an almost
shofar-like trumpet in the overture to "Angel Levine", and perhaps the
Motzi and Kiddush hrachot that Levine sings to prove his Jewishness.

The major caveat of this listener on hearing these operas is their
unrelenting modernism. Both works are permeated with wide intervallic
skips in the vocal lines, a feature unfortunately prevalent in most
contemporary opera. Throughout the evening one longed for a sustained
melody to relieve the unremitting note-hopping.

Despite this, it is good to report that Jewish Opera is alive and
flourishing on a high artistic level at the 92nd Street "Y".

IN THE MAIL

Editor:

Please consider including Robert Strassburg's resume and catalog of
Jewish works on the occasion of this distinguished composer's 70th
birthday this past September ( 1985).

It will constitute a genuine pleasure for those who are already familiar
with Strassburg's manifold contributions to Jewish music and an
unexpected treat for those who have yet to experience the pleasure of
knowing him.

Michael Isaacson
Encino, Ca.

A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF ROBERT STRASSBURG

Robert Strassburg is Professor Emeritus of Music at California State
University Los Angeles. Over 13,000 students have taken his humanities
courses since 1966. A great part of his creative energies have been spent as
a teacher, composer, conductor, writer, musicologist, poet and organist
for over 35 years.

His activities in the music world, include studies with Walter Piston,
Igor Stravinsky and Paul Hindemith. He was recipient of a Harvard
fellowship in composition, 1939-40; a Boston Symphony scholarship in
composition with Hindemith at Tanglewood in 1939; a Macdowell
fellowship in 1946 from the National Institute of Arts and Letters. He
received his Bachelor of Music from the New England Conservatory, his
Master of Arts from Harvard University, and his Doctor of Fine Arts
from the University of Judaism in Los Angeles.

As a conductor, his activities included music director for Ragan
Instructional Films, 1941-44; the conductorship of the New York Ballet
Theatre, 1949-50; conductor of the Cantors of Miami, 1950-60; director of
the Festival of the Americas for the City of Miami, 1958; guest conductor
of the Bogota Festival of Music, where he was the first American
conductor to be invited to conduct the Orquesta Sinfonica de Columbia,
1959; conductor of the Hillel House Sinfonetta, 1958-60 at the University
of Miami; conductor of the Los Angeles Zimria chorus in Israel, 1966; and
conductor of many pageants and festivals.

As a composer he has composed a wide variety of music including
over forty documentary film scores. In 1953 he composed and directed an

historical pageant for the City of Miami Beach on the subject of Miami
pioneer days called Sand in Your Shoes. In 1955 he was selected by the
Greater Miami Music Clubs as "Composer of the Year". While a director
of the Palm Beach Play House he composed incidental music for King
Lear, Rose Tattoo, Anne Of a Thousand Days, The House I Live In and
other plays. His compositions also include two Torah Services, many
Psalm settings for solo as well as chorus, the folk opera Chelm
(commissioned by the Westchester Opera Company), music for the
Sabbath and High Holy Days, instrumental music, secular and liturgical
songs and choral settings. His Torah services commissioned by Cantor
Ray Smolover of White Plains Jewish Community Center, have served
that congregation for the past 30 years.

As a teacher, music director and administrator he was chairman of
the Composition and Theory Department at the Philadelphia Music
Settlement School, 1943-47; lecturer on music history theory and
harmony at Brooklyn College 1947-50; music director at Brandeis Camp
Institute, 1947-50; he was music director of the Brandeis Camps of the
East, 1949-5 1; music director of Temple Emanuel, Miami Beach, 1950-52;
music director of Coral Gables Temple, Florida, 1952-60; music
consultant of the Jewish Centers of Greater Miami, 1950-56; conductor-
director of the 7th Annual Music Festival of Miami; Faculty member and
humanities music specialist for the Humanities Department of the
University of Miami, 1958-60; assistant dean, School of Fine Arts,
University of Judaism, Los Angeles, 1960-66; Gave 120 broadcasts on
music of the Bible over KGBS network in Los Angeles, 1961-63; music
director-organist at Temple Beth Shalom, Encino, 196 1-67. Conducted
cantors, children's choirs and adult choirs in the Max Helfman city- wide
memorial at the Shrine Auditorium, 1963. UCLA extension lecturer on
music of the Bible, 1963-64. Professor of music at CSULA from 1966 to
the present. Music director of Temple Emanuel, Beverly Hills, 1967-74.
Founding director of the Roy Harris Archives at CSULA, 1973.
Chairman of over 200 events at CSULA for the Bicentennial Celebration
in 1976. Recipient of his University's Outstanding Professor Award in
1977. Director of the Bloch Festival at CSU LA, 1980. Vice President of
the Los Angeles Jewish Composers Council, 198 1-82, and vice president
of the Friends of Music CSU LA.

He is the author of the biographical study of Ernest Bloch: Voice in
the Wilderness; a collection of poems, Fire and Fret; an appreciation text
for his course Music in World Culture at California State University,
Music Art and You.

ROBERT STRASSBURG'S MUSICAL COMPOSITIONS
LITURGICAL MUSIC

LITURGICAL WORKS

For Cantor, Choir and Organ

TORAH SERVICE I (1949)

Prelude

Lo Yareyh

S h'ma

Emet Elohe

Hine Ma Tov

Ohr Zaruah

Yimloch Adonay
CHELM -A comic folk opera in One Act (1955)

Libretto by Ray Smolover
TORAH SERVICE II (1970) For Cantor, Choir and Organ

PSALMS

Cantor, SATB, Piano
SATB, a capella
SATB, Organ (Mills Music)
Cantor, SATB, Organ
Cantor, SATB, Organ
Solo Voice, S or T

PSALM 3 (1954)
PSALM 134 (1960)
PSALM 117 (1965)
PSALM 121 (1970)
PSALM 150 (1972)
PSALM 54 (1979)

MUSIC FOR THE SABBATH

Torah Service I ( 1949)

May the Words ( 1955)

Meditation ( 1955)

Ve'Ohavta ( 1963)

Kindling the Sabbath Lights (1970) Cantor, Rabbi, SATB, Organ

Torah Service II ( 1970) Cantor, Choir, Organ

Bayom Hahu (197 I) Cantor, SATB, Organ

MUSIC FOR HIGH HOLY DA YS

Cantor, Choir, Organ
SATB, Organ (Transcontinental)
SATB (Humming), Organ (Trans)
Cantor, SATB, Organ

Hotiu L' Adonay (1970)

Harninu ( 1970)

Adonay Hu Elohim (1971)

Al Chet ( 1972)

Dark'cho ( 1973)

Eso Ainai (1973)

Ma Tovu (1984)

Cantor, SATB. Organ

Cantor, SATB, Organ

Cantor, SATB, Organ

Cantor, SATB, (Organ optional)

Cantor, SATB, Organ

Cantor, SATB, Organ

Cantor, SATB, (Organ optional)

CHAN UK AH

Festival of Lights Symphony, String Orchestra

in three movements ( 1955)

Al Hanissim (1956) SATB (a Capella)

Yafey Nofe (1964) Cantor, Solo Quartet, SATB, Piano

LITURGICAL SOLO SONGS

Hashiveynu Elecha,

Chassidic Melody (1949) Medium high voice

Set Me As a Seal, Solomon:8 ( 1953)Tenor or Soprano and Organ

(A Wedding Song)
The Rabbi of Bacharach,

H. Heine ( 1963) Tenor or Soprano and Piano

Shir Hashirim ( 1983) Tenor or Soprano and Piano

(A Wedding Song)

INSTRUMENTAL LITURGICAL MUSIC
Torah Sonata for Piano (1950)
1. Munach

2. Segol

3. Prophets (Portrait of Isaiah)

4. Zarko

Voice of the Psalmist ( 1954) for Cello and Piano

1. Psalm 1

2. Psalm 117

3. Psalm 3

Tercentenary Suite (1954) for Viola and Piano
1. 1654 - Prayer of Thanksgiving

2. 1776 - The Pursuit of Liberty

3. 1883 - Give me Your Tired Your Poor

4. 1954 - "Truly God is Good to Israel"
Tropal Suite (1955)

Setting of Torah Sonata for String Quartet
Festival of Lights Symphony (1955)
Patriarchs (1958) Four Biblical Portraits for String Orchestra

1. Moses

2. David

3. Job

4. Elijah

A Gilgul Fun a Nigun (Migrations of a Melody), 1962

On a text by Y.L. Peretz for Narrator, Baritone, and Chamber
Orchestra.

SECULAR COMPOSITIONS
SONGS

Walt Whitman Cycle (1946) for Tenor and Orchestra (or Piano)

1. Beautiful Women

2. Youth, Day, Old Age and Night

3. Gliding Over All
Mother and Babe (1948),

W. Whitman Tenor

I Am He That Aches With Love

(1952), W. Whitman Tenor

or Soprano

or Soprano and Piano

Three Songs on Texts of
Heinrich Heine ( 1955)

1. Comes My Love

2. Despair

3. Over Me
Two Folk Songs (1956)

1. The Little Horses
(American Folk Melody)

2. B'yom Kayitz
(Ch. N. Bialik Melody: A Saphir)

The Sobbing of the Bells (1963),

W. Whitman
Come Said My Soul (1966),

W. Whitman
Love's Sorrow ( 198 1)
Amorous Bird ( 198 1).
Om Mani Padme Hum (1982),

A Tantric Meditation
Love's Tetraology, Four Songs on

Texts by R. Strassburg (1985) Tenor or M.S.

INSTRUMENTAL

Rhapsodic Dialogue for Violin and Piano ( 1942)

Fantasy on Three American Folk Songs for Violin, Cello and Piano (1950)

Fantasy and Allegro for Violin and Orchestra (1955)

Three Meditations for Piano (1984)

Hunting the Deer - Theme and Six Variations for Piano

Tenor or M.S.

Medium Voice

Medium Voice

Tenor or Soprano

Tenor or Soprano

Tenor or Soprano

Tenor or Soprano

Tenor or M.S.

CHORAL

Triology for Women's Voices (1980)

1. Love Unrealised,

2. Love Alone,

3. Love's Prayers,

A Whitman Song Cycle Tenor, Chorus, Narrator
"Leaves of Grass" ( 1985) and Orchestra

Old Age, W. Whitman 2 Part Men and Women

Back Unto These Days, Tenor, Baritone Solos

W. Whitman SATB, 2 pianos

STRASSBVRG'S COSMOGONY
BOOKS OF POEMS BY ROBERT FULTON STRASSBURG

1. THE ROOTS OF MAN 1942

2. THE HUMAN CONDITION 1975-76

3. FIRE AND FRET 1976-77

4. ALL THAT JAZZ 1976-79

5. OUT OF THE DEPTHS 1977

6. LOVE'S COSMOGONY 1977-78

7. PROMISE OF THE AGE 1978

8. INEFFABLE MUSIC 1978

9. LOVE'S MYSTIC ENCOUNTERS 1978-79

10. PORTRAITS 1978-85

11. ELEGIES 1980

12. SEASCAPADES 1981

13. CRESCENDOS AND DIMINUENDOS 1982

14. EYE MAGIC 1982

15. WERBILY POEMS 1982

16. CARDIAC REVERIES 1982

17. SOUL MUSIC 1982

18. CURRENT POEMS 1985 - PRESENT