Journal
of
Synagogue
Music
July 1990 . Tamuz 5750 . Vol. XX . No. 1
From the Editor
Articles:
A Jewish Dancer in Exile:
The Yiddish Art Songs of Joseph Dorfman
Review of Chosen Voices:
The Story of the American Cantorate
Herbert Fromm at 85
Sabbath Morning Service by
Darius Milhaud:
An Analysis of the Origins of Thematic
Material in the Mah Tovu and Kedushah
Jack Chomsky 3
Lay a Harbater Silber 5
Brian J. Mayer 20
Samuel Adler 32
Arnold H. Saltzman 35
Musk Section:
Excerpts from Sabbath Morning Service
Purim Kiddush
Ki Eil Shomreinu
Darius Milhaud 43
Yosef and Shoshana Zucker 49
Jacob Goldstein 53
JOURNAL OF SYNAGOGUE M USIC, Volume XX , Number I
July 1990/ Tamuz5 750
EDITOR: Jack Chomsky
MANAGING EDITOR: Samuel Rosenbaum
EDITORIAL BOARD: Ira Bigeleisen, Stephen Freedman, Edwin Gerber,
Paul Kowarsky, Robert Scherr David Silverst&n.
OFFICERS OF THE CANTORS ASSEMBLY: Robert Kieval, President;
Nathan Lam, Vice President; Stephen J. Stein, Treasurer; Abraham Lubin,
Secretary; Samuel Rosenbaum, Executive Vice-President.
JOURNAL OF SYNAGOGUE MUSIC is a semi-annual publication. The
subscription fee is $15.00 per year. All subscription correspondence should be
addressed to Journal of Synagogue Music, Cantors Assembly, 150 Fifth
Avenue, New York, New York 10011.
Articles and Letters to the Editor should be addressed to Cantor Jack Chomsky.
Editor, Journal of Synagogue Music, 1354 East Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio
43205. Articles should be typewritten and double-spaced. Music and musical
examples should be photo- ready.
Copyright © 1990, Cantors Assembly
FROM THE EDITOR
This issue of the Journal of Synagogue Music opens with an article by
Laya Harbater Silber on a Yiddish song cycle by the Russian-Israeli
composer Joseph Dorfman. Dorfman's music is not well known in the
United States. We appreciate the opportunity to share Ms. Silber' s
appreciation and analysis and hope that we may hear more from our
readers about other composers worthy of attention.
Next is Brian Mayer's review of the long-awaited Chosen Voices,
Mark Slobin's book on the history, evolution and sociology of the
American cantorate. the work is an important one to us, and its analysis of
the cantorate and its impact on American Jewish society is long overdue.
This is not a criticism of Mr. Slobin, but rather of the blind eye and ear of
Jewish historians who have ignored the role of the hazzan at every turn in
the past. What can we do to remedy this? Slobin's book is a beginning, but
only a beginning. Each of us must read Chosen Voices, teach about it in our
communities, expand on it and contribute to future scholarship and
analysis.
Indeed, this provides me with yet another opportunity to remind you
how important it is that you formulate ideas, research and experience in
writing and send them to me for publication in our Journal. Describe your
experiences as a hazzan, what made you choose the profession, the path
you took to get there. Or do some research into the congregation you serve
~ who are the men who have preceded you? What sort of impacts did they
make on your congregation and community? You may be surprised at
what you find How do you deal with the challenge of imparting love of
prayer to young people and adults? All of these are fertile subjects which
need to be examined in the pages of our Journal.
Other articles in this issue include Sam Adler's appreciation of
Herbert Fromm at 85 and Arnold Saltzman's analysis of Darius Milhaud' s
Service Sacre.
The Music section includes brief excerpts from the Milhaud service,
as well as an entertaining Purim Kiddush by Yossi and Shoshana Zucker
and a transcript of Ki Eil Shomrenu by Jacob Goldstein. Do you have
music which you would like to share with us? Send it to me at Congregation
Tifereth Israel, 1354 East Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio 43205, or c/o
Cantors Assembly, 150 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10011.
For further information about the works discussed in these pages, feel
free to contact me at the above address or call me at (614) 253-8523. Many
thanks for your patience and support.
-Jack Chomsky
A Jewish Dancer in Exile:
The Yiddish Art Songs of Joseph Dorfman
by
LAYA Harbater SILBER
I
The Yiddish art form did not flourish in Israel during the first quarter-
century of the state's existence. The lack of creative development in this
are, as in others concerning Yiddish, was due, in large measure, to the
hostility harbored by Israel's founders to what they viewed as the language
ofthe u galut."
In the last fifteen years, however, young Israeli Hebrew linguists have
come to the realization that Hebrew's own continued viability is attribut-
able in no small measure to Yiddish, that the former language has been
much enhanced by the idioms of the latter. Evidence to this effect abounds:
in 1983, a symposium of renowned Hebrew authors was held in Bet
Hatfutzot todiscuss te rejuvenation of Yiddish in Israeli literary life; artists
such as Ami Maayani ~ not a Yiddish speaker ~ have composed Yiddish
art song cycles: 1 and in 1985 and again in 1987, the Tel Aviv Museum
hosted two major performances of Yiddish music.
One major contributor to one aspect of that music- the Yiddish art
song - is Joseph Dorfman, the Russian immigrant director of Tel Aviv
University's Rubin Academy of Music? In his adaptation of Peretz
Markish's poem cycle, "Tzu A Yiddisher Tentzerin" (To A Jewish
Dancer), Dorfman has written a quintessential work of Jewish music. For
not only do Dorfman' s three art song cycles incorporate, on a recurring and
consistent basis, motives and rhythms traditionally associated with Jews
and Judaism. Even more significantly, the Jewish character of the song
cycles derives from Dorfman' s successful marriage of Markish's poem-
so suffused with themes of Jewish suffering and hope- and musical score
which magnifies the poem's uniquely Jewish message and evocative
power.
LAYA HARBATEK SILBER, conductor and musicologist, received her doctor-
ate from Columbia University Teachers College (May, 1983). She is a member of
the faculty at Bar-Man University, Ramat G an, and the Jerusalem College of
Women.
II
Before embarking on the musical analysis of Dorfman's art songs, it
is instructive to consider briefly his personal history and that of the poet
whose work he has adapted. Indeed, it is this author's view that thedegree
of unity achieved between Markish's poem and Dorfman's music is better
understood after such a consideration of their respective backgrounds.
Peretz Markish (18951952) was a central figure in modem Russian
Yiddish literature. As a modernistic Jewish poet he dealt, at an early stage
in his literary career, with the clash between the shtetl and the revolution-
ary, post- World Warl world. He became editor of the "Literarishe Bleter"
(1924-1925) and was one of the founders of "DieChaliasua" (1924-1925)
and was one of the founders of "Die Chaliastra" ("The Gang"}, an
organization of expressionist, avant-garde Yiddish writers. Markish
wrote prolifically during the 1920's and 1930' s_- in prose, in poems and
for the theater ~ and continued to do so during the years of the Second
World War.
Of Markish it has been written: "He is half in love with the chaos of
the early twenties, drawn to the idea of a new life but also to the actuality
of destruction." 3 Within months of the German invasion of Poland,
Marksih foresaw the looming potential devastation of his people, yet
remarkably - if not contradictorily - he retained a sense of optimism about
the ability of that people to survive and even flourish, to emerge, phoenix-
like, from the ashes of the coming disaster.
That sense of optimism was certainly sorely tested, not only by the
cataclysmic events befalling his people in Eastern Europe, but also on a
narrower, more personal plane. During the years of the Soviet-German
alliance, the Russian authorities, in deference to their allies, forbade the
publication of Markish's Yiddish works, including theoriginal version of
the poem that is the subject of this article? Later, with Stalinist repression
of Jewish culture on the rise, Markish was arrested and his family sent into
exile, and- in 1948- the Yiddish publishing house in Moscow wasclosed
and Markish's writings confiscated.
Finally, on August 12, 1952, Stalinism's "actuality of destruction"
overpowered any hope or expectation of a "new life;" Markish and some
twelve other Yiddish writers and artists, were executed.
And yet, if Markish's brutal fate suggests that his optimistic outlook
was quixotically naive, the lives of Joseph Dorfman and of other Russian
immigrant artists force us to reconsider that judgement. For Dorfman has
not only "revived" Markish in an artistic sense; his life story, and that of
other immigrants, have in no small measure vindicated Markish' s vision
of Jewish survival and reawakening.
Dorfman was born into a Yiddish-speaking Odessan family on
August 3.1940. His great uncle was a hazzan and composer of Jewish
music,5 and his father sang the Jewish liturgical and folk songs from
memory. With such a background, it was inevitable that Dorfman would
become well acquainted with Jewish music, and that the strains of those
early influences in his life would resound in his later musical composi-
tions.
Dorfman' s professional training included the study of piano with
Maria Starkova and theory with Alexander Kogan at the Odessa
Conservatory (1958-65). He continued his doctoral studies under the
tutelage of Henrich Litinsky at the Gnessin Institute in Moscow (1968-7 1).
where he completed his doctoral thesis on the chamber music of
Hindemith. Both Kogan and Litiisky were Yiddish-oriented and strong
proponents of the perpetuation of Jewish culture, and they encouraged
Dorfman to give expression in his compositions to Jewish musical themes.
Thus was reinforced the single most significant factor in Dorfman' s
musical development: his close contact with the Jewish National School
of Music. The philosophy of the composers of that School became the
primary stylistic influence on Dorfman' s music.
Dorfman reached a position of considerable prominence in Soviet
musical circles, as soloist and conductor of the Odessa Philharmonic
Chamber Orchestra, teaching theory, composition and piano at the
Gnessin Institute, and becoming a member of the Composers' Union in
Odessa. But in the early 1970's it became increasingly clear to him that
the Soviet authorities ~ despite having shed the ugliest elements of the
Stalinist era ~ remained intent on preventing the spread of Jewish culture,
and would not long tolerate his development as a "Jewish" composer. This
point was driven home to him by Litinsky, who earlier encouraged
Dorfman' s pursuit of Jewish music but now advised him to redirect his
interest to Russian music or the music of another ethnic group.
Had Dorfman yielded to that advice, he would, in effect, have suffered
the artistic, if not personal, fate of Peretz Markish. Instead, Dorfman took
advantage of the one window of opportunity presented by the relative
liberalization of the Russian Government, and unavailable to Markish: he
8
applied for emigration to Israel. In 1973, that permission was granted. It
is, therefore, no surprise that Dorfman ~ freed of the Soviet Union's
cultural shackles-- subsequently found himself drawn to a man whose life
struggle was so relevant to his own, and whose poetry bespoke an essential
message borne out by Dorfman' s personal experience.
Peretz Markish wrote his 40-poem cycle, "Tzu A YiddisherTentze-
tin" in 1940, shortly after the German invasion of Poland. From the group
of young Polish Jewish actors and dancers performing at that time in
Russia, Markish first learned of the atrocities being perpetrated by the
Nazis. As he later wrote his wife, Markish was deeply influenced in
particular by a nineteen-year-old dancer who he saw as "a symbol of my
people."6
That dancer became the inspiration for the central character of
Markish' s poem cycle, her resilience in the face of unspeakable horror
symbolic of the determination of her nation to survive all attempts at its
annihilation. The work describes the dancer's flashing steps, at once
brilliantly graceful yet acutely painful. The grief image ("der troyer")
pursues the dancer's soul throughout the cycle; it is ever-present in her
dance, but she is never engulfed or defeated by it. Dancing is her destiny,
a condition of her existence. And so she dances on, thereby ensuring her
very survival.
The poem cycle is thus distinguished by its unusual, two-faceted
imagery ~ Judaism as a dancer, the exile its persistent and agonizing
pursuer ~ by its thematic unity, and by the variety of colors Markish
employs to paint those images throughout the forty poems of the cycle.
These central images of Markish' s work are similarly translated by
Dorfman into two themes, which serve both as small scale "leitmotifs" or
"mottos" and as raw material interwoven throughout the entirety of
Dorfman' s three song cycles.
The original and complete Yiddish version of Markish' s poem cycle
was first published in 1976, in Israel, alongside a Hebrew translation.
Dorfman' s three song cycles, written for alto and piano, were composed
in 1985. 7 The first of those cycles comprised of settings of the first, second,
third, fifth and sixth poems of Markish' s work, is analyzed in this article.
The second and third song cycles are based on later poems in Markish' s
work, and are not analyzed herein. The second, a musical drama, focuses
on the brutality of the Nazis. The third is a musically lyrical treatment of
love, nature and hope.
The first and last poems in the cycle are presented below in their
entirety in English translation. The others will be briefly summarized.
IV
Poem No. I (Song No. I)
"Such flashes of lightning -- your legs are lifted
In your wedding dance, so nimble, so timid,
As though darting knives send their blessings
And their strangled blades -- their cry.
Your robe in swirling pleats is tossed
In billowy whirls of swelling waves,
As though some wind was chasing you, attending
and beguiling and enchanting you with a spell of grief.
And there is a mountain, an abyss, and snow,
And on the peak -- over the abyss, you struggle
Pray do not fall -- 1 adjure you with the pain
Of a wanderer through a prolonged exile.
There is something that in their dance your legs conceal
But in their silver nakedness their anguish is so dazzling
As though darting knives send their blessings
And their strangled blades -- their cry." 8
Dorfman's second song, entitled, "der Weg Tzu" ("The Way To"),
depicts the wandering, landless Jew. The second song is set to Markish's
second poem, in which a pursuing wind compels the dancer to perform in
the alien exile symbolized by freezing cold and burning heat. No
mitigation of the dancer's pain is possible for, as the poem state, that pain
is a part of her very being.
The cycle's third song, entitled "Shikzal" ("Destiny"), is set to
Markish's third poem, which describes the futility of Jewish existence in
foreign lands. In this poem, Markishencourages the dancer toembrace her
grief, since the source of that grief ~ the journey through the exile ~ is
likely to be with her for quite some time. The poem is a near prophetic
prefiguring of the Nazi atrocities which would soon follow.
10
The fourth song is set to Markish's fifth poem and is entitled, "A
Tsigele" ("A Goat"). This poem recreates the life of the shtetl, and basic
elements of that life — a goat, a tree, an axe and a home — serve as
metaphors for the Jewish people. The goat is tied to a tree with no roots;
the tree, in turn, survives despite the threat posed by the axe; the axe
constitutes a constant danger to the home as well; and the home represents
the safe haven from tormentors for which Markish so longingly dreams.
The fifth song in the song cycle is entitled "Hartz" ("Heart"). The
sixth poem of Markish's poem cycle provides the setting for this song:
Poem No. 6 (Song No. 5)
"All around, extinguished was the bright light
And only from your white knees did it shine
When you entered in your cloudy wedding dress
When your sorrow tore itself away.
So tears itself a startled bird, somewhere
on a mountain peak, detecting its pursuers,
Where did you hear your pursuers' footsteps?
My heart, it dropped as if sawed off.
At night my door opened quietly-
Rest, she stood at my threshold with a rucksack
Approaching me she said: I come to bid farewell
For I am going and will not return again.
Quiet fell upon the room. I asked her:
Why do you take this rucksack with you?
She glanced at me, without looking:
Your heart, I took it with me along my journey."
More than any other single factor, it is the choice of compositional
techniques that explains Dorfman's success in achieving a unity of his
music and Markish's text. This article will briefly note some of those
techniques.
One such technique is Dorfman's free usage of scales, meters,
rhythms, melody and tonal centers, which run in parallel with Markish's
11
comparably free usage of rhyme and poetic rhythm.? Indeed, it is in the
employment of this technique that Dorfman's (and, similarly, Markish's)
modernism finds its fullest expression, for the structure of Dorfman's
songs ~ like the form of Markish's poetry — is not, in and of itself,
particularly innovative.
To illustrate: within the individual songs of the cycle, Dorfman uses
different notes as tonal centers; those centers share no classically func-
tional relationship. He describes the tonal scheme of the song cycle as a
whole as follows:
"There is a method to the scale structure which is
based on a constant descent. Each tonal center is
lower than its predecessor by use of enharmonic
switches." 10
Dorfman's first song focuses on b-flat. The second song centers on
a, the third song on a-flat, the fourth on g-sharp, and the fifth onf. Thus
the framework of the entire cycle is a fourth (an interval which, not inci-
dentally, is an important one in eastern European hazzanut).
A second important technique employed by Dorfman (and briefly
noted earlier) is the expression of the dancer's motive and the exile theme
as small scale "leitmotifs" ("mottos"). Both "Leitmotifs" are introduced
in the first song and reappear throughout the cycle:
Example 1: Dorfman (1986:1-2 mm. 1-13)
fl»«,o ()*£o)
12
Dorfman describes the dance motive as a cabaret:
"For me, perhaps in my imagination, I saw a cabaret,
a European cabaret with the waltzes of Berlin,
Warsaw, Moscow, and dances of the twenties and early
thirties." 11
The dance theme is the clearest element of the whole piece, both
tonally and metrically. It uses b-flat and e-flat as tonal centers —
specifically, utilizing b-flat Ahava Rabba and e-flat Mi Sheb&ach (Ukra-
nian Dorian) modes. Dorfman views the piano, not as a mere instrument
of accompaniment, but rather as an independent entity of a standing equal
to the vocal part.
Accordingly, the dance theme is comprised of three elements ~ the
vocal line and the two piano parts, i.e. the accompaniment, and the linear
bass line (which functions as an independent second voice). The vocal line
consists of a rising major third and descending half-step -- reminiscent of
the Eastern European liturgy -- and is followed by descending minor and
then augmented triads, very dancelike in their rhythm and skips. The
linear bass line is a descending ostinato (mm.5- 13) on the Ahava Rabba
mode. Theaccompaniment consistsof a tripletchordal pattern resembling
a stringed instrument. This chordal pattern first appears unaccompanied
in measure 4, and is followed by the entrance of the base line. The
"leitmotif repeats throughout the cycle (except in the fourth song) with
numerous variations in all of its three aforementioned elements: the vocal
line changes due to the musical adaptation of the Yiddish texts; vertical
counterpoint techniques are employed in the accompaniment, thus creat-
ing new harmonic sonorities; a switch to the major modes emphasizes
dramatic effects: and the linear ostinato bass is sometimes doubled at the
octave and sometimes a pedal point.
As noted, the exile theme ~ an ostinato ~ is similarly introduced in the
first song:
Example 2: Dorfman (1986: 3-4 mm. 25-40)
13
The repeating scalar motion in both voice and piano represents the
constant wandering of the Jewish nation through the exile. The composer
describes his tonal approach as typical of the Russian school, which uses
a given scale or mode as a base and then departs from it. Dorfman generally
uses "Jewish" modes in this piece as a springboard for his own scales. This
ostinato is Dorfman' s original eight-tone scale from c-flat to c (mm. 25-
26; 33-36) and is based on the Ahava Rabba mode.
Characteristic of this "wandering theme" is the canonic imitation
between the piano and voice, their lines interwoven in an ascending
pattern.
Word painting is yet a third technique employed by Dorfman. His use
of musical-textual imagery gives life and expression to the Yiddish poetic
text:
Example 3: Dorfman (1986: 7-9 mm. 82-106)
14
&S*^
a u i'. mmm mm *
- ^r-hr
K 1 >J JlTifcU
FVK 1**6- O-tftW-JK- KW VAHOL
The absence of tonal and metric definition suggest the spell cast in
Markish's first poem by the pursuing grief. The example above consists of
a rising trilled fourth, recitatives in the vocal line, and short, sudden,
accented, staccato chords, all conveying a sense of confusion. The trill is
not new; it has, in effect, already been introduced in the single trilled f-
natural of the first measure (see Example 1). Applying word painting
techniques, the composer sets "s'iz a barg" (it is a mountain) and "un oyfn
shpitz" (and on the peak) in ascending higher register passages (mm. 89
and 95) and "an opgrunt" (an abyss) in a descending lower register
passage.
Word painting is also evident elsewhere in the cycle: the pounding of
the heart is a recurring example. This motive is found in m. 88 and then
in mm. 95 and 100-104 of Example 3 above, and it appears again, with
variations, in the second, third and -- as illustrated below -- fifth songs:
Example 4: Dorfman (198653 mm. 43-45)
*- r
The heart motive is most pronounced in the fifth song (above ex-
ample), since that song depicts the climax of Markish's poem and,
accordingly, represents the climax of the song cycle as well.
15
VI
Dorfman's allegiance to the Jewish Folk Song Society at St. Peters-
burg is demonstrated by his usage of Jewish themes and modes. The
leitmotif itself is modal; numerous passages are based on Jewish modes;
the cadences are mostly plagal, echoing the hazzanut tradition; and both
clear statements of, and allusions to, Jewish themes abound in several
songs in the cycle:
U*t« tr-toi)
Example 5: Dorfman (1986: 25-26 mm. 1-16)
The vocal line of the above example (taken from Dorfman's third
song) is derived from the Kol NMre. It is most clearly stated at the
beginning (mm. 4-H). while fragments of it are discernible throughout the
song. This material also consists of the same intervals as the'leirmotif".
(The accompaniment again employs the heart pulsation technique dis-
cussed above.)
The Jewish folk song motives are most pronounced in the fourth song
of Dorfman's cycle:
16
Example 6: Dorfman (1986:35-36 mm. 3-12)
The Ahava Rabba mode is employed throughout the above example,
The rhythms of both the accompaniment and the vocal line are hassidic
dance rhythms ~ JJ~J , syncopations, ornamentations and short
trilled notes.
The second theme of the fourth song is derived from the Yiddish folk
song "Gevolt Vu Nemt Mir" and from other Yiddish songs which employ
similar motives: the rising octave, falling Ahava Rabba tetrachord, and
single trilled notes.
The fifth song, as well, provides yet a further illustration of Dorfman' s
application of Jewish musical tradition; indeed, the entire song is, in effect,
a recreation of Jewish liturgy. Sections derived from the Biblical Cantil-
lation are also present in the cycle, as illustrated in the following example
~ the concluding motive of the Eastern European Ashkenazic chant of the
Pentateuch:
Example 7: Dorfman (198653 m. 42)
pm§m
MHNT1>4
\'%r *
17
Similarly, the primary motives of seconds (mm. 2-5) and fourths
(mm.7-8; 10-11, the chant-like quality, the grace notes, and the ultimate
cry as the fifth song concludes are all classically associated with Jewish
prayer.
VII
A full panoply of technical musical skills is evident in the song cycle
analyzed above. The orchestration reflects a profound understanding of
the piano's colors and timbre. The compositional techniques are sophis-
ticated. The scales are highly original. And the methods and rhythms are
fully consonant with the underlying text.
By applying those skills toward the adaptation of a Yiddish poem
written by Peretz Markish, Joseph Dorfman has performed a particular
service for Jewish music. He has taken classic elements of that music ~
dance rhythms, hazzanut chant, Jewish European folk music, Chassidic
dances, and Biblical and liturgical themes ~ and has woven themseam-
lessly into the poet's text. Thus he has made an important contribution to
the Yiddish Art Song and has created a truly integrated work of Jewish
music; a work, moreover, that stands as a tribute to a martyred poet-
dreamer from a composer who realized the dream.
18
FOOTNOTES
1. Maayani composed two Yiddish art song cycles: Jiddishe Lieder,
Song Cycle No. 1 for Soprano/Baritone and Orchestra (Tel Aviv,
1973); and Jiddishe Lieder, Song Cycle No. 2 for Mezzo-soprano and
Orchestra (Unpublished, 1974)
2. Dorfman is also Professor of Composition and Music Theory at the
Rubin Academy, Secretary of the Israel Composer's League, and
Musical Director of the concert series, "Twentieth Century Music."
He was Visiting Professor at Columbia University's Columbia-
Princeton Electronic Music Center in 1979 and at the Frankfurt
Hochschule fur Musik and Darstellende Kunst in 1984. During the
last ten years he has composed works for solo instruments, chamber
ensembles and symphony orchestra, as well as electro-acoustic and
live-electronics music, ballets, opera and oratorio. His compositions
have been performed in concerts, festivals and radio productions in
Israel, Europe and the U.S.A.
3. A Treasury of Yiddish Poetry. Ed.: Irving Howe and Eliezer
Greenberg (New York: Schocken Books, 1976), p.46.
4. It was published in Russian in 1960 with significant changes from the
original text.
5. Leib Shapiro (1880-1920).
6. This information was provided by Esther Markish, the widow of
Peretz Markish, in the course of a personal interview conducted in Tel
Aviv on May 15, 1988.
7. The premier performance of the first cycle took place in December
1985, and of the secondcycle in May 1987. Both premiers were in Tel
Aviv, sung by Mirai Zachai, and played by Jospeh Dorfman. The
cycles have not been published.
8. English translations by Ruby Cassel.
9. A particular Markish innovation was the use of assonances in Yiddish
poetry. See, for example, in Poem No. 1 of the poem cycle discussed
in this article: "azelche" (stanza one, word one) and "gevelbte"
(stanza two, word one).
19
10. Joseph Dorfman, personal interview, Tel Aviv, May 17, 1988.
11. Ibid.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Elias, William Y. 1980. "Dorfitian, Joseph," in Stanley Sadie, ed.
The New Grove D ictionary of M usic andM usicians.
London:Macmillan. 5;575.
Harbater, Laya. 1983. "Yiddish Art Song: A Comparative Study and
Analysis of Selected Works of Three Composers Representing Russia,
America and Israel." Unpublished Doctor of Education Dissertation. New
York:Teachers College, Columbia University. 283 pp.
Howe, Irving and Greenberg, Eliezer. 1976. A Treasury of Yiddish Poetry.
New York:Schocken Books.
Idelsohn, Abraham Z. 1967. Jewish Music in its Historical Development
New York:Schocken Books.
Markish, Peretz. 1976. TzuA Yiddisher Tentzerin ("To a Yiddish
Dancer*')- lsrael:Massada Publishing House.
Pomeranz, Alexander. 1962. Di Sovietishe Harugey Malchus. ("The
Soviet Martyrs"). Buenos Aires: Yiddisher Visnshaftlecher Institute-
YIVO.
Schulman, Elias 1972. "Markish, Peretz" in Cecil Roth, Ed. Encyclope-
dia Judaica. Jerusalem: Keter Publishing House. 11; 1005.
Shmeruk, Chane, ed. 1969. A Shpiegel Oyf a Shteyn ("A Mirror on a
Stone"). Tel Aviv:Di GoldeneKayt, Farlag, Y.L. Peretz, pp. 373-512,
751-6.
Yaffe, Mordechai. 1963. "Markish, Peretz." in L.exican fur der Nayer
Yiddisher Literatur ("Biographical Dictionary of Modem Yiddish Litera-
ture"). New York: Yiddishe Cultur Congress (Congress for Jewish
Culture). 5: 523-28.
20
Review of
Chosen Voices: The Story of the American Cantorate
by Mark Slobin
Reviewed by: BRIAN J. MAYER
In judging Mark Slobin' s Chosen Voices: The Story of the American
Cantorate, one should carefully consider the title and the preface of the
book. If the reader comes to this text with expectations of finding an
exhaustive historicalor musicological analysis of the topic, then thereader
is bound to be disappointed However, this groundbreaking inquiry into
a previously ignored subject, coupled with the author's frequent recom-
mendation that more research be done, make this effort a worthwhile
study. It is the First book of its kind, and every hazzan should read it and
know its contents, and in turn recommend it to congregants.
This work does not pretend to be more than its tide suggests. On page
xi, the First page of the preface, Slobin, a professor of music at Wesleyan
University, explains his choice of the word "story"over "history." He says
that "there is more to the cantorate than a history" and that we must also
consider the "aesthetic and psychological factors that shape the world of
the sacred singer..." The author cautions that this lone volume cannot
possibly fill a void in Jewish scholarship which has accumulatedoverthree
hundred years. "In the course of three centuries, no one has ever attempted
a comprehensive history of this significant Jewish- American institution.
To do so in the late 1980's is asking too much of any one book, so the
present effort must be understood as a preliminary study of a complex,
fascinating, and neglected topic."
Slobin organizes his work into three parts, "The Cantorate in Ameri-
can History," "The Cantorate and the Workplace," and "The Cantorate and
the Music." In the preface, he describes his approach as being a "balance
between ethnography, sociology and musicology." While ChoseiVo/ces
addresses these sciences, Slobin states that his book is simultaneously
intended to be "accessible to nonspecialists." There are, indeed, several
portions of Chosen Voices which provide information to a lay audience.
And since this book is, as Slobin admits, a "preliminary study," those
sections which are geared toward the laity may not be terribly revealing to
hazzanim. It is precisely this method which not only gives the book its
strength, but also leads to the disappointment mentioned above.
BRIAN J. MAYER is Hazzan of Temple Emanu-EI, Providence, Rhode Island,
and a member of the faculty of the Cantors Institute of the Jewish Theological
seminary.
21
I am reacting to Chosen Voices as a hazzan in the field who, like the
numerous hazzanim illustratedin this study, wears many different hats. As
a teacher of congregantsas well as cantorial students, I find certain sections
of the book important reading for both groups, As a hazzan and doctoral
student in sacred music, I find some of it personally enlightening, particu-
larly chapters two and three which deal with the history of the American
Cantorate from colonial times through the Second World War. But there
are also portions which strike me as stating the obvious or being sparse in
detail, reactions which come from my hope that Chosen Voices would be
the thorough authoritative history of the American cantorate.
An example of this book's survey approach is found in the first
chapter. It presents a short synopsis of the cantorate in general Jewish
history as a backdrop of the American developments. The brevity of this
account leaves me feeling teased. While I would fell comfortable recom-
mending this chapter to a congregant, I could not send a cantorial student
to this section without offering a supplement. For example, one glaring
shortcoming is the treatment of the western and central European cantorate
of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Although the author
admits that we know disproportionately more about the star hazzanim of
eastern Europe (page 22, no. 5), he further adds to the imbalance. He
reduces the contribution of the Germans, Austrians and Hungarians to less
than two pages while focusing the remainder of the chapter on eastern
Europeans. If this historical section is intended to be brief, then it does not
serve Chosen Voices' function of being a sourcebook, a purpose which is
expressed in the preface (p. xii). In the case of western and central
European hazzanut, footnotes, which are described in the preface as being
the place for dealing with "theory, "would have been particularly valuable
in providing cross reference material.
In recognizing that this opening historical digest is not intended to fill
a gaping hole in Jewish scholarship, namely the writing of a scholarly
history of the entire cantorate, I do recommend this chapter for lay people.
The outline under the subheading "The rise of the cantorate" admirably
provides the important points of development from the destruction of the
Second Temple through the Middle Ages. This unit includes references to
keva and kavanah, a useful discussion of the terms shliah tzibbur and
hazzan, and a recapitulating list of historical points which continue to be
relevant in today's cantorate. The following subheading, "The hazzan in
Ashkenazic expressive culture," makes a good case of how "the cantorate
fits into a broad cultural pattern,... the most general of Jewish patterns
(being) the primacy of sacred text."
22
Another section which I would recommend, especially to congre-
gants, is the eight chapter. The quotations from Mintz (pp. 172-3)
beautifully articulate fundamental characteristics of Jewish prayer. Ironi-
cally, as Slobin comments, Mintz does not give credit to the hazzan for his
or her contribution to the scene. Such an oversight hearkens back to
Slobin' s preface where he describes the complete shunning of the hazzan
in Jewish sociology. These passages are well highlighted withSlobin's
remarks concerning the interpretive nature of hazzanic prayer and the
"duality of the hazzan' s situation" with regard to simultaneously being a
professional and personal worshipper.
Similarly, the preceding chapter, which lays out a typical cantorial
work week, would be beneficial for those congregants who still assume
that hazzanim "merely sing on Shabbos". This unit would also be helpful
for prospective hazzanim in order to set realistic professional expecta-
tions. Given the stereotype about the hazzan' sjob description, I appreciate
the flow from the seventh to the eighth chapters, identifying the full range
of cantorial duties before focusing on the specifics of conducting of
service.
Another case where specialists may be left wanting more depth is the
third chapter and its succeeding "Interlude." In dealing with the history of
eastern European cantors from 1880-1940, comprehensive biographical
sketches of the period's famous hazzanim with historical dataandanalysis
are not found. Tbe" Interlude" flirts with whatl would have liked Chosen
Voices to be, but such a reference source is clearly not the author's intent,
and in the context of these chapters, does not fit. I imagine that the
autobiographical information collected in the "Project" could be culled
into an important reference source. It would be wonderful to have more
of this data available in the form of oral history with scholarly assessment.
We need a thorough study of this age alone; one chapter cannot be expected
to meet such a demand.
Nonetheless, for lay people, the three sketches of the "interlude"
provide an anecdotal flavor and reinforce the sociological and historical
points of the preceding chapters. For all readers the second and third
chapters are informative and colorful. Chapter two is a wonderful
collection of citations demonstrating the roll and the status of the early
American hazzan. The contemporary accounts taken from Jacob Marcus'
The Colonial American Jew: 1492-1776 and from Isaac Leeser's various
publications of the Occident, paint the best picture available to date. I was
23
fascinated by the experience of the lone clergyman encumbered by an
overbearing laity, developing into one who shared the pulpit with star
preachers, and finally being overwhelmed by the preeminent emergence
of the rabbi. Particularly interesting is the comparative counterpoint with
the Protestant church (i.e. page 3 1 and footnote no. 3). At the end of the
chapter, Slobin reminds the reader that "we are aware of only the tip of the
iceberg in trying to assess the evolution of the nineteenth century
cantorate," but in exposing that limited portion, he provides important
bibliographic sources for future study, and in general heads us in the right
direction.
In chapter three, the spotlight is on the phenomenon of the star hazzan.
The temptation here might be to focus strictly on the New York scene, but
Slobin also fills out the story with examples from "the provinces" like
Rochester, Detroit and Kansas City. Interspersed with this material is a
portrayal of the fledgling professional organizations which is quite useful.
This chapter also aptly reflects the changes in the immigrant population
and its needs in the synagogue. The development of the Reform, Conser-
vative and Reconstructionist movements, and the cantorial presence in
each setting, are briefly mentioned in their respective responses to a
transforming community. A particularly poignant quotation comes from
Lawrence Avery(p. 71). whose strivings towardthe "real musical world"
summarize a myriad of socio-religious issues.
Still another section which may not meet the expectations of the
cantorial specialists is the part of Chosen Voices which deals with recent
history. One of the fundamental facets ofthis book is its portrayal of an
evolving cantorate. The opening of chapter four deals with the growth of
professionalism at large and how this phenomenon manifested itself
particularly in the American cantorate. Not being a sociologist, I cannot
evaluate this material from the view of a scientific insider, I would be
curious to read a sociologist's review of Chosen Voices. But from a
cantorial insider's perspective, I am reacting to the mixture of surprises
and banalities. Certain details about attempted foundings of schools were
enlightening, e.g. the quotes from Mose and Goldfarb (pages 95 and 109.
respectively). But much of it was the recapitulation of recent history
which, forhazzanim, is common knowledge. Nonetheless, I applaud the
fact that this information on the development of the various schoolsand the
professional organizations, has been put into print and is now accessible
to nonspecialists.
I recognize that Chosen Voices is not meant to be a platform for any
24
of the movements. Yet as a teacher at the Cantors Institute at the Jewish
Theological Seminary, I felt that certain current aspects of the seminary's
cantorial training were overlooked. For example, in the discussion about
hazzanim and rabbis as co-clergy, there are some refreshing comments
from rabbis, Henry Schorr and Alexander Shapiro (pp. 146-47) make
model statements toward sensitive cooperation. The anonymous rabbi
(R.K. p. 150) who calls for collegiality and sees "the image of a Cantor as
a teacher of Judaism" makes another reconciling step. I wish, however,
that the notion of the hazzan as a teacher of Judaism and as an educational
and pastoral teammate of the rabbi had been underscored. This model is
the foundation of the curricular and spiritual approach of the present
Cantors Institute.
Another oversight with relation to the education of hazzanim at the
Cantors Institute connects back to the aforementioned concentration on
eastern European hazzanut. This focus, which is apparent throughout the
book, overlooks a major contemporary influence on the American can-
torate. Professor Max Wohlberg, who is appropriately referred to in
Chosen Voices as the doyen of American cantors, is a central European.
Hazzan Wohlberg has supervised the training of over a hundred Cantors
Institute graduates to whom he has taught a deliberate hybrid of western,
central as well as eastern European traditions. The curriculum at the
Cantors Institute, as a whole, tends to reflect this trend, a significant
musicological point which is not mentioned in Part III (The Cantorate and
the Music) nor anywhere else.
One piece of information which I would not want to be accessible to
lay people is the salary levels mentioned on page 99.1 do not object to such
information being made public, but if specific numbers are mentioned,
they must be dependable. Though I am aware that the author's point is that
a hazzan' s calling does not generate out of strictly monetary incentives, the
inclusion of outdated figures is likely to serve as an inaccurate benchmark
in future considerations. For a book published in 1988 to say that only the
"largest and most generous synagogues" pay "up to perhaps $60,000" puts
the research of this issue in question, especially when first-year graduates
of the Cantors Institute are commanding salaries higher than the stated
ceiling,
A most interesting aspect of Chosen Voices is the comparison of the
cantorate with the status of Christian clergy. The postwar boom in
cantorial professionalism is underscored by its parallel in the host culture.
I particularly enjoyed the citations(pp.l07-08)from the works of Scott and
25
Michaelson and Slobin's comment that "it took Jews an extra century to
catch up with this Protestant model. , , " Likewise, the quotes from Martin
Marty's Protestantism are extremely applicable to the Jewish context and
are welcome demonstrations of how our own realm does not develop in a
cultural vacuum.
This cross-cultural comparison with Christianity rings clearly. The
foci of spiritual reawakening and the inclusion of women into the clerical
ranks are aptly seen as reflecting greater American trends. The role of
hazzan in addressing the baby boomers and their children is broached in
the foreground with the ever-resonating debate over which kind of music
should be taught at Camp Ramah. In the background, the even more telling
discussion is illuminated by David A. Roozen's study of the contemporary
church environment (pp.1 16- 17). Slobin makes the following citation
which sums up the scene: "Many churches and synagogues have tailored
their programs to attract this age group. But Dr. Roozen cautioned that the
group, once engaged, was also changing the way the houses of worship do
business."
The ensuing survey of the role of women in Reform and Conservative
synagogues, as well as thediminutionof the cantorate in Orthodox circles,
accurately rounds out the recent sociological picture. My one concern
involves the somewhat rosy description as to why hazzanim are not
engaged in Modem Orthodox congregations (p. 128). The issue is not so
clearly one of "ideology based on nonhierarchical group feeling," for the
Orthodox rabbi is still hierarchically hired and functioning. The desire to
have laymen lead the dawning is, at least in part, due to an altered aesthetic
expectation, one which leaves little room for a professionally trained
hazzan. This change in tastes is alluded to in a footnote (p.132, no.20).
Unfortunately, Slobin's note does not explore the factors which contrib-
uted to the discarding of previous sensibilities.
Other items which relate to the contemporary cantorate are men-
tioned, but, unfortunately not expounded upon, although the author admits
that more research on these subjects should be done. Slobin raised pressing
issues which are valuable for hazzanim to contemplate. For example,
Slobin touches on the role of synagogue architecture and its effect onthe
cantorate (p. 171), e.g. the height of thebima, congregational access to the
Torah, which direction the hazzan faces while dawning. He also draws
attention to another area which needs more study, namely the "nature of
the Jewish- American-or, for that matter, any mainstream American-
worship experience" (p. 189, no. 5). In addition, the alarming footnote
26
(p. 190, no. 11) about synagogue presidents' perceptions of who is "really
in charge of structuring the service" should give hazzmim much to ponder.
A shocking seventy percent of the presidents responding to the Project's
questionnaire said that the rabbi is really in charge.
Still another issue, the use of choir and organ, is only briefly covered.
For the lay person as well as the hazzan, the discussions (p. 181, p.183)
were somewhat terse. Especially in the case of the organ, where strong
feelings prevail on both sides of the fence, the conflict over the use of
instruments in services should have received more attention. Whereas the
introduction of the organ in synagogues is dealt with historically (pp.45
56), the only contemporary update appears in short form (p.220). In my
own congregation, I know how divisive the issue of the organ continues to
be, and despite nearly sixty years ofcontroversy, it remains inflammatory.
Before evaluating the final part of Chosen Voices, "The Cantorate and
the Music," I want to question the anecdotal style of much of the book.
Slobin suggests in the preface that the resonance of contrasting quotations
and comment should lead the reader to one's own conclusions. Although
I agree that there is value in providing individual statements to illustrate
a point, there are occasions when the quotations outweigh the quantified
evidence. Furthermore, much of this material is anonymous.
For example, with regard to cantorial/rabbinic relations, (pp. 146-51).
I must respect the anonymity promised by Abraham J. Karp's study which
collected comments from rabbis about hazzanim. But the continuous use
of anonymous quotations, particularly those from hazzanim, is frustrating.
With so much of this material concentrating on contemporary matters, I
wish I knew who was speaking. I would like the opportunity to consider
the source in evaluating a comment, and in certain cases, to pursue the
point further. The portrait is sometimes so undefined that I doubt the
picture's clarity. I am left wanting to see the data in statistical abstracts to
better understand hazzanic/rabbinic perceptions.
As for the preface's explanation that "readers will weigh the various
accounts to make their own judgements," my reactions can only take me
a limited distance. I want to know what hazzanim as a whole are thinking.
Again, why not supply the data along with some identified illustrations?
I suppose the answer to my question again lies in the preface where Slobin
explains that he is writing a story. But, if as he also states, this book is
intended to be a sourcebook (p.xii), then the use of anonymous citations
without quantified evidence misses a golden opportunity for providing
27
Jewish scholarship with desperately needed reference material. Perhaps
an in depth interview with three non-anonymous hazzan/rabbi pairs might
have been more constructive.
Part III of Chosen Voices switches the focus from cantorial profes-
sionalism to the music of the synagogue. Chapter nine, "The Music of
Participation," offers a reasonable overview of how the issue of congrega-
tional participation rose to the fore. Yet I am uncomfortable with
identifying the issue only in the terms of current understanding, that the
need to participate is a recent phenomenon. Slobin reiterates this concept
citing that the Young Israel movement opted for ba' al& tefillah over
hazzanim and that the liberal movements, responding to lay pressure,
replaced formal imposing services and "adopted informal^ongregation-
ally active modes of worship, emphasizing simple songs of American and
Israeli youth" (p. 196). I don't deny that these developments took place.
However, what is often not considered, and is only alluded to in Slobin' s
book (p.214). is that the previous generations did participate, albeit in a
different way. The traditional daveners were attached to the nusah and
would readily respond to the natural outgrowth of nigunim Missinai
tunes, motivic nusah fragments, as well as liturgical responses satisfied the
need to participate.
I suggest that a different view be taken to understand the
transformation of congregational needs. That which has changed is what
Raymond Smolover, leader of the American Conference of Cantors, calls
"musical theology." Smolover observesthat the music by which we pray
expresses, consciously or unconsciously, our perceptions of God. For
example, Sulzer and his peers imagined a majestic and elegant Heaven,
with an Almighty force which was emancipated and cosmic. On the other
hand, for many of the eastern European hazzanim, the Divine was always
imminent while simultaneously being just beyond a human's grasp.
Alternatively, for many contemporary Jews, spirituality is frequently
expressed around a campfire, implying an informal, intimate relationship
to a God that no longer has the power to intimidate. Each era's liturgical
music reflects the popular theology of the times. I would submit that the
congregational quest for musical and spiritual involvement stems from a
common human instinct, regardless of the era.
In illustrating the contemporary music of participation, Slobin fo-
cuses on two texts from the Shabbat liturgy, Lecha Dodi and Tzur Yisrael.
The examples of Lecha Dodi and the recapitulating comments (pp.200-
201) are well taken. Slobin demonstrates that while there are definitely
28
favored melodies and a degree of uniform practice, there is also an
appreciable amount of variety. It is interesting to see the results of the
survey and to find few surprises, that Sulzer's tune and a familiar
anonymous melody are the most widespread. I also appreciated the
inclusion of seasonal variants which round out the picture.
Continuing with the examples of Tzw Yisrael I object to the impli-
cation that this liturgical passage lacks a "colorful and datable history"
(p.201). I invite all, hazzanim in particular, to discover this text anew; to
marvel at its ancient Palestinian simplicity (see Joseph Heinemann,
Prayer in the Talmud, p.237); to compare the text of Rav Saadiah Gaon
with our text and with that of the Sephardim; to follow its development
through the centuries including the addendum of "goalenu" attached by
R. Meir b. Yitzhak, a.k.a Hazzan Hehagun; to compare it with thedifferent
variants that appear in traditional mahzorim for Shalosh Regalim; to
appreciate the drama of redemption which unfolds each morning and how
it differs from the same liturgical unit in the evening service. Furthermore,
there is extensive discussion in halakhic sources concerning the shliah
tzibbur's chanting of this portion adjacent to the silent Amidah. Different
minhagim have evolved which reflect the various halachic interpretations,
a survey of which would make an appreciable contribution to our under-
standing of the issues. Again, the brief reference in the foomotes(p.211,
no.l 1) only whets the appetite.
I am not sure how a lay person would respond to the discussion of the
Tzur Yisrael tune attributed to Zeidel Rovner (pp. 201-205). For the
insider, however, I find the point to be an overstatement of the obvious, and
the accompanying cassette only magnifies my impression. As for the suc-
ceeding discussion (p.207) on the merits of Sephardic versus German
tunes, it should be notes that Isaac Leeser's perceptions of the German
Minhag are not wholly accurate. Contrary to his belief, there is an
abundance of melodies which are not only "for the Hazzan", and are not
the type which "the congregation is neither capable of nor expected to join
in the singing." To cite just one example, I can think of no more engaging
yet accessible tune for chanting Psalms than the one which Lewandowski
transcribed for Uchu N'ran'nah. Although there is great stature and
beauty in the Sephardic model which Leeser lauds, to present Leeser's
understanding of the subject as the last word is unbalanced.
"The Music of Presentation," the tenth chapter, is a neat overview of
the wide range of compositions available for cantor, choir and accompa-
niment. The preliminary interchange outlines the parameters and nicely
29
juxtaposes quotations from Smolover, Putterman, Isaacson and Kula. The
following fourteen examples of Barchu with short explanations might be
useful for teaching an adult education class, exposing congregants to the
wealth of possibilities. The cassette would be quite serviceable for such
a session and thechapter itselfwouldbe good source from which to begin.
"The Music of Impro vision," the eleventh chapter, is the most
puzzling section of Chosen Voices. Slobin states that "Nusach is a tough
term to grasp" and tries to shed light on its meaning. In all fairness, the
author is aware that his present chapter is limited, and he recommends that
an entire volume be devoted to unpacking nusach (p.276, no.2). But in his
approach to this supposedly elusive term, he defines it with anonymous
quotations under subheadings without synthesizing or clarifying the
material. Thecitations from "scholarly authors of two standard sources on
Jewish worship" are relegated to the realm of footnotes (p. 276, no. 6),
presumably because they are not from hazzanim. If the intent is to let the
quoted material speak for itself, then the term nusach is doomed to appear
amorphous; such an indefinite potpourri only creates confusion. If the
purpose is to demonstrate how inarticulate some cantors are with regard to
their craft, then the point is, unfortunately, well made.
This hazy portrayal of nusach is musicologically unsatisfying, and for
a lay person, unnecessarily ambiguous. A serious student in the field
would be much better served by reading Werner' s4 Voice Stiff Heard,
while a more casual reader would benefit from a distilled version of the
same content. Unfortunately, Slobin' s treatment of Werner's dismissal of
the term nusach (p. 276, no. 3) may discourage readers from further
pursuing the great musicologist' s work on this subject. In context, Werner
objects to the term on semantic grounds, but proceeds with a formidable
presentation, albeit while substituting the term nusach with Minhag
Ashkenaz for nusach (see Werner, p. 48). I appreciate Slobin's remark (op.
cit.) that precisely because hazzanim use the word nusach, he has not
followed Werner's semantic lead. ButSlobin's method of exploring the
term misses the mark. Ironically, the very article in Encyclopaedia Judaica
which Werner calls "regrettable" is not cited in Chosen Voices'
presentation. Such an omission is hard to fathom given its clear, concise
depiction and the honored reputation of its author, Hanoch Avenary.
The analysis of the Ashrei for Selichot is in keeping with Chosen
Voices' representation of nusach. Of all the significant passages in the
liturgy, this Ashrei requires fewer musical specifications than most, thus
making it a difficult example for identifying uniform elements. Initiating
30
an inquiry into the nature of nusach based on a segment with so much
latitude is bound to render a nebulous impression. Even Professor
Wohlberg, in the classroom, describes this Ashrei as being simply in a
minor or slicha mode which incorporates the "instinctive" improvisation
referred to by Wohlberg on page 264.
There are numerous passages which could have served as much better
illustrations than Ashrei For example, the nusach for the evening Yamim
Noraim services perfectly illuminates the characteristics of nusach as
defined by Avenary, i.e. a fixed set of notes in a particular scale-like series;
"a stock of characteristic motives which undergo constant variation;" the
association of these elements with specific times of year and day. It also
includes an identifiable metrical tune usually applied to texts like Barchu
andM/ Chamocha.
Demonstrating the uniform elements in the music is helpful for deci-
phering whether or not a piece is "in the nusach." Slobin attempts to show
this uniformity by looking toward a crucial point in the chanting, the
cadence. Yet the only similitude he can establish is that his ninety-three
samples all end on the same note. To an outsider, this finding would seem
insignificant since nearly every folk song in western civilization also
cadences on the tonic. Although I appreciate the point Slobin is trying to
prove, this particular example is hardly convincing. An identical closing
motive or metrical melody would have strengthened the arguement. He
misses such an opportunity later in the chapter (p. 268) when he observes
that Wohlberg' s setting of Uvchen ten pachdcha, like all the others, ends
on the pitch "g." What he should have noted is that all of his examples close
with the required cadential motif. Only in footnote no. 17 does the author
even touch on this fundamental of nusach. In addition, a more detailed
glance at the nature of recitation tones and cadential tones would have
better clarified the term nusach in its musical sense.
As for thediscussion of improvisation, the comments on the words od
and yehalelucha are well stated (p. 263). The notions of text painting and
hiddur mitzvah are, unfortunately, understood by a dwindling proportion
of today's congregants and Slobin' s articulation of these features is
refreshing. I also applaud the author's refraining from a definitive usage
of modal terminology. His quoting of Werner is most pertinent consider-
ing how problematic and indefinite the terms can be(p. 277, no. 10).
In further examination of hazzanic improvisation, this chapter com-
pares various renditions of Uvchen tenpachdcha. After a brief analysis of
31
Adolph Katchko's setting, Slobin compares it to another version which
echoes some of Katchko's musical phrases. The author poignantly
remarks, "One learns from the masters, but is not bound by their approach,
as in the study of the Talmud" (p. 267).
Finally, Slobin looks at the role of improvisation in today's service.
He unearths a quote from a 1938 Yiddish source, by B. Shelvin, which
prophesies that "the prestige of a hazzan of the old school is declining" (p.
275). He juxtaposes it with impressions from the Project survey which
suggest that contemporary hazzanim are still pursuing "old-time skills."
My impression is that Shelvin' s grim outlook continues to ring true,
despite the efforts of today's hazzanim. If Shelvin is correct that congre-
gants can no longer "grasp the full meaning of an improvised [prayer],"
then current improvisations must be falling on deaf ears.
Although Slobin' s analysis does not draw such conclusions, he poses
a provocative question about the source of a contemporary hazzan' s inspi-
ration. Whereas in previous generations, the hazzan' s role was that of a
messenger, "'pleading with, or even threatening, God on behalf of his
congregation... Today, the inspiration is more likely to be personal, a
situation consonant with an age of comfort and the American stress on
individualism."
It is in such places like the end of chapter eleven that Chosen Voices
is best summarized. From his ethnographic and sociological perspectives,
Slobin responds to the issues with an eye toward the general cultural
pattern. He sees an amalgamation of Old and New World styles with the
American experience influencing a treasured European past, and from this
vantage point, the author accomplishes the goals set forth in the preface.
While this book may not be the historical text some would have hoped for,
it makes important contributions; as the author comments on his own
work,". ..while I have blazed trails and made clearings, I have not built
settlements." For hazzanim, this study provides them with a reflective
image of what they are consciously aware or instinctively know about the
contemporary contorate. For lay-people, it is an introduction to history and
issues which they can fmd nowhere else. Chosen Voices should be
stimulating for the respective readers and hopefully will initiate dialogue
and further research.
I am grateful to Slobin and all those who made the initial project and
the book possible for embarking on the right path. May this work serve
as the starting point for addressing the tremendous gap in Jewish history
and sociology in recognizing and understanding the role and contribution
of the hazzan.
32
HERBERT FROMM AT 85
by Samuel Adler
In a Commentary article in the year 1947 entitled "The Renaissance
of Jewish Music," the musicologist Kurt List wrote: "Herbert Fromm
alone seems to have found a bridge between contemporary and Jewish
music, and is the most gifted of specifically Jewish composers in our day. "
This year we celebrate the 85th birthday of Herbert Fromm who was born
in Kitzingen, Germany in 1905, and forty-three years after List's assess-
ment of Fromm I feel that anyone familiar with his work during these years
should still acquiesce with the 1947 judgement. Herbert Fromm has
continued to turn works of excellence and set the highest standards for
himself whether writing for the synagogue or the concert hall. His style is
as fresh as ever and the later works reflect an unending energy and inven-
tion that place him in the company of the octogenarian Giuseppe Verdi,
who wrote his final three masterpieces in old age.
As with many young German musicians ofFewish origin, Fromm had
a promising career as a composer, conductor, and pianist in his homeland.
After graduating from the State Academy of Music in Munich he accepted
positions at the Civic Opera in Bielefield (1930- 193 1) and in Wuerzburg
(1931-1933). With the advent of the Nazis in 1933 he was dismissed from
the opera and turned his attention to the organ and the music of the
synagogue. In 1937, he immigrated to the United States and accepted a
position as music director and organist at Temple Beth Zion in Buffalo,
New York After live very productive years, he assumed a similar position
at Temple Israel in Boston, Massachusetts, where he stayed until his
retirement.
One should never categorize any composer, least of all Herbert
Fromm. Though he has written a great many works specifically for
liturgical use in the synagogue and on biblical or other spiritual subjects,
Fromm is equally at home writing instrumental and secular vocal music.
SAMUEL ADLER is a distinguished American composer. He has been for many
years the Chairman of the Composition Department at the Eastman School of
Music. A prolific composer, he is devoted to Jewish music in general and to Jewish
liturgical music in particular.
33
His style was greatly influencedby his studies and later his friendship with
Paul Hindemith, but every work has his unique and individualistic touch.
When Ernest Bloch was asked if felt he was writing "Jewish music" he
gave a negative answer saying, "No, I don't write Jewish music; I write
music and I happen to be a Jew." In an article on Jewish Music in 1966,
Herbert Fromm commented in the following way concerning this ques-
tion:
In my own work I am dedicated to the task of form-
ulating musical ideas with as much plasticity as my talent
will allow me. My style may be described as a contemporary
polyphony, by no means atonal, but at times pushing the borders
of tonality toward their limits. Having steeped myself in Jewish
melos, both Occidental and Oriental, I am no longer consciously
striving for Jewishness. I have acquired an innate trust that the
pilot light is alive and will kindle the flame when I am calling
for it.
He has called for it many times and it has proven successful in
liturgical works as well as choruses with Shakespeare texts, in the three
complete Sabbath Services, the Atonement Music, the hundreds of shorter
synagogue works as well as the Violin and Piano Sonatas and the String
Quartets. Some of the most powerful expressions of his musical genius
appear in the larger cantatas based on Biblical as well as post-Biblical
sources including a work based on the writings of Benjamin Franklin
called "The Stranger," In 1945, Fromm won the first Ernest Bloch Award
for his "Song of Miriam." In 1967, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor
of Humane Letters from Lesley College. This award was an important
recognition not only for his musical achievements, but also for the three
hooks he has written. The first and second books, called The Key of See and
Seven Pockets respectively, show him to be a most astute observer of our
time, of places, and of people. These two volumes deal with an
immigrant's return to his native land as well as wonderfully articulate
vignettes of cultural and aesthetic activities in our time. All of his books
including the third called On Jewish M usic - A Composer's View are
interesting and stimulating reading for anyone interested in any artistic
endeavors in our time, whether the person is in an arts field or simply a
lover of great writing.
I count myself as one of only a handful of students of Herbert Fromm
and feel most fortunate to have been privileged to be the recipient of his
wise council and his keen observations on music in general and my music
34
in particular. Here is a man with exquisite taste and uncompromising
honesty. He always set the highest standards in his own music and,
therefore, demanded no less from his students and colleagues. Herbert
Fromm at 85 is as vital and creative as ever. All of us who love andadmire
him for himself as well as his great contribution to the music of our time
wish him continued good health and may happy and creative years ahead.
Goethe once wrote: "No blessing is equal to the blessing of work.
Only life-long work entitles a man to say: I have lived."
Indeed Herbert Fromm has truly worked artistically all his life and we
rejoice with him in proclaiming: He has surely lived a life of extraordinary
achievement.
35
Sabbath Morning Service (1947)
by Darius Milhaud:
An Analysis of the Origins of Thematic Material
in the Mah Tovu and Kedushah.
By Arnold H.SALTZMAN
When Darius Milhaud completed the Sabbath Morning Service
(Service Sacre, published by Editions Salabert) in 1947, he was already a
seasoned composer known for his craftsmanship as well as his versatility.
One can almost imagine him sucking breath into his overweight and pain-
ridden figure in order to set his wits to this massive task. Few composers
of great stature have attempted to universalize our service through
symphonic treatment. Ernest Bloch produced the great Sacred Service
(Avodath Hakodesh) with its highly romantic-impressionistic approach,
and while it is successful in its musical content and emotional variety, it is
becoming increasingly remote. It is a work of the past in its harmonic
vocabulary and Romantic in its overall conception, yet represents the first
great treatment of the service in this manner.
Milhaud was a member of a coterie of intellectuals (les Six) whose
mentor was the literary figure, Jean Cocteau, and whose musical father
was Eric Satie. This group rejected the romanticism of Wagner and the im-
pressionism of Debussy, and anything else which they thought too
dramatic and bombastiq " . ..valuing instead quietude, precision, acuteness
of auditory observation, gentleness, sincerity and directness of
statement..." 1 They sought to be both simple and direct with a more 'down-
to-earth' music. They were interested in jazz, folk songs and music of the
cabaret.
By the 1920's, Milhaud was the most creative and versatile composer
among his contemporaries in France, both highly skilledandprolific in his
output. 2 Grout states that he composed "with a facility rare in the twentieth
century, which recalls the days of Haydn and Mozart/"
Milhaud was a great composer, but besides this he possessed 'yichus'
(pedigree; ancestry). He was born in Aix-en-Provence, September 4,
1892, into a distinguished well-to-do Jewish family long settled in Aix.
Arnold H.Saltzman is Cantor of Adas Israel Congregation in Washington, D.C.
36
"His grandfather, Joseph Milhaud, organized the first synagogue in
Aix...and his father presided over the Jewish community there." In an
article which Milhaudpublished in 1938, he wrote with great pride about
the history of the Jews in Provence who settled on the coast long before the
Christian era. 5 In the context of reading his article, we cannot help lament
the immeasurable damage wrought by the Holocaust, which destroyed
hundredsof individualistic communities with unique histories andcultural
achievements. Milhaud writes about the Sephanlic liturgy's influence on
the art of music in Provence in idyllic tones:
. ..not a few of is chants bore in their melody the mark of
those ancient songs whose rhythm is as gentle as the soft
curves of the hills which border its horizon.6
The music of the Jews of Provence demonstrates the strong double
influence of Jewish liturgical music and French folk music. The only
musical document extant containing nuschaot, motif, trope and samplings
of the Comtadin liturgy is a book published in 1885 by Jules-Salomon
Cremieu and Hananel Cremieu under the tide Chants Hebraiques
(Zemirot L'Yisroel). I would not suggest to anyone that they rush out and
attempt to perform the liturgical examples set forth here; however, the
chants do at very least afford us a means by which we can see the musical
influence which they exerted upon Milhaud, and provide as well a glimpse
of a lost culture.
Mah Tovu
The Introduction: An Analysis
} [Editor's Note: Portions of the music for the MahTovu and Kedushah will
be found in the Music Section of the current issue for your convenient reference,
courtesy of G. Schirmer Music, North American representative of Editions
Salabert]
The opening chord has a special musical quality which gives this piece
immediate distinction. The Eb major has a doubled root and doubled third
leaving out the fifth.
The use of 3/4 meter and syncopated rhythms helps to lighten the
mood of this religious statement. The first nine measures are divided into
three phrases. The first of the three, choral-like in character, is chordal and
its bass line-Eb G Ab Bb-resembles a blues bass line. The second phrase
contains a disjunct melody of poignant character, with a blues-note (Eb vs
37
E[p in measure 5 at the climax of the phrase for stress, then further
emphasized in measure 7 'off-the-heat', forte and blue. Thedescending
melody alleviates the emotional tension but leads it to an unresolved semi-
cadence (m. 9). Phrase 1 is repeated (m.10), while phrase 2 is now on C
(before on F). At measure 16 we hear the opening chord again and realize
that it has been used in a very classical manner. It serves as an introduction
much the same way as a chord does in Haydn or Beethoven, and in
addition, serves as a form of punctuation giving the chord the power that
a theme has to unify.
When the choir enters in unison, we cannot help but wonder about the
musical line which has both the quality of being familiar while likewise
beingexoticandunusual. Little knowledge of Comtadin trope is available,
yet the intervals of trope sound familiar:
mm. 17-20
This example (Ex. 1) sounds like the merchah-tipchah in the
Lithuanian Haftarah Trope (Rosowsky):
Ex.2
Ex.3
In example 4, measures 21-24, one might conjecture it to be the outline
of a 'dargah' with the exotic and probably authentic Gb giving it a Jewish
flavor. Compare it with the following example (5) taken from Chants
Hebraiques:
Ex.4
t Yr f T g g e
mm. 21-24
Ex.5
P9* 87, Crsmtou ,
I could extend this, possibly inventing a trope for Milhaud's melodic
line, but I will not because Milhaud's melodic source is to be found in
several examples in the Cremieu.8
The entire MahTovu section is borrowed from the Yom Kippur Torah
Service. It mainly utilized the Mi Sheberach section. 9
pg. S7, mm. 1-3, Crwntou
mm. 1-3, milhaud
Another important theme is the 'three-note' conjunct ascending motif
found in Milhaud, m. 4, in the bass clef: This three-note motif may seem
unimportant at first glance. But closer inspection shows that it reappears
in m. 30-33, 55-56, 73 and 79-80. Clearly then, it is an important part of
the structure of the Moh Tovu.
Ex 8
i v f r f i
Ex.9
''■ I I i i'J-UL-J I ,i JI.W
L3 t mm. 1-3. CrtmlMj u
and is used as a cadential formula in Mizmor L'David, Ex. 9.
Measure 6 presents another 'three-note' motif which is the counter-
part 0fmeasure5 (t'); and has its origin in the forspiel of the MiSheberach:
Ex.10
mm. 5 A 6, milhaud
pg. 86, mm. 2-3, crtmtou *******
while measure 5 in the Milhaud is merely the opening theme (Ex. 3) at the
octave.
At the entrance of the Cantor (also called L' Officiant, in Cremieu) we
are presented with a more Stravinskian melody, consisting of disjunct
intervals and which on the surface, seem unlikely to be derived from the
Cremieu. However, once again there is the apparent ingenuity of the
composer in transforming something common and familiar into some-
thing unique and refreshing. Taking the opening two measures of the Mi
Sheberach (Ex. 12), he transposes the Bb in measure 2 down an octave
thereby creating a more modemmelodic contour:
Ex. 121
PA. 86. mrrLl-^Cwntau
m. 30, milhaud*
39
The choral response (mm. 43-47) to the Cantor is based on the minor
opening motive and finishes in major, suggesting both the Ashre (No. 89)
which follows Mi Sheberach, and Shirat Hay ami
Ex.14
Ex.15
pg. 88, No. S9 t LB, mm. 2-6. (This follows s ssctlon In minor)
p.128, No, 9. mm. 1-4
At this point a new theme is presented which is the seed from which
the Kedushah will germinate:
Ex, 16
mm, 52-53. Mllhiud
This is derived from both Shirat Hayam (ex. 15), and from the Ashre
on page 167 in the Cremieu:
Ex.17
p. 167, L. 4-5, mm. 1-6, Crsmlsu
The M ah Tovu is based in its entirety on thematic material found in
Chants Hebraiques. which have been carefully worked into this touching
and profound statement of faith.
The Kedushah
The Kedushah is a bit of a shock for many of us with Ashkenazic
backgrounds. Written in 3/4 meter and having the quality of a Provincalian
Folk Dance, the music is foreign to us. This is not tradition, or is it?
Perhaps the Ashkenazic music of the Kedushah which we know represents
another form of the galut for us. The mood here seems wrong for the
Kedushah. We're not accustomed to such an energetic dance movement
in the context of a solemn religious moment. However, we cannot dismiss
Milhaud's composition as extreme or eccentric, because it was the way the
Jews of the Provence did their service. This was their tradition and
therefore it has equal validity with our own tradition.
The theme of the opening, Example 18, is one of joyous exultation:
40
Ex.18
mm. 295-2W. MUhaud
It has its origin in the Ashrei (No. 89-90) of the Torah Service for Yom
Kippur, and in the Keter of the Musaph of Yom Kippur. Both the
introductory passages and the opening statement by the Cantor are based
on it. This then is used in a similar manner to the main theme of the Mah
Tovu. It functions in a binding manner, unifying the sectional texts of the
Kedushah with its flowing melisma. It is significant that the theme seems
to have its origin in the trope as practiced in this area of the world. Look
at tevir, gershayim, t'lishaw g'dolaw andzarka:
Ex.19
Garthaylm
p tellsha gadotah
Arnold Sattzman
One finds tremendous similarities between Milhaud's melody and the
trope. Undoubtedly, many of the Chants Hebraiques originated from
trope. This lends weight to the validity of this collection.
The feeling of gradually building tension is captures in the accompa-
niment to Kadosh, Kadosh Kadosh. This, too, is borrowed from the Keter.
The melody of the chorus suggests Shirat Hay am of Shacharit Yom
Kippur. With the next section reference is made to Keter again. At measure
403-404 in Milhaud, the accompaniment hints the choral theme ofMah
Tovu, and provides a contrasting slower section for Cantor. The balance
of the movement is similarly based on Keter. I would like to mention a last
thought on the use of dance-like feeling in the Kedushah. When the
responses of Kadosh, Baruch and Yimloch are done they use less dance
feeling whereas the dance figure is found in the orchestra which plays the
wordless response of our feelings.
Conclusion
On first hearing, the Milhaud Service probably strikes most listeners
as very modem, even jazzy (and unquestionably, jazz did play a big part
in influencing the composer). However, a careful analysis of the thematic
material reveals a firm grounding in traditional Jewish music. Milhaud
was highly influenced by his musical background, yet his genius de-
41
manded taking the chant and working it in order to make themes which
bear the distinguishing characteristics of the composer.
[Editor's Note: The vocal score of Milhaud's Service Sacre is available
through Hal Leonard Music Publishing (No. 50413770). Contact your
local dealer. For orchestral part rental, contact G. Schirmer at (914) 469-
2271.1
FOOTNOTES
1. Aaron Copland, The New Music 1900- 1960. (New York: W.W.
Norton & Co., 1968), p. 87.
2. G eorge G rove, G rovers D ictionary of M usic and M usicians, 5th Ed.
(New York: St. Martin's Press, Inc., 1955), p. 759.
3. Donald Jay Grout, A History of Western Music. (New York: W.W.
Norton & Co., Inc. 1960), p. 626.
4. Gdal Saleski, Famous Musicians of Jewish Origin. (New York
Bloch Publishing Co., 1949), pp. 118-1 19.
5. Darius Milhaud, "La Musique Juive auComtat - Venaissin". Musica
Hebraica Vol. 1-2 (Jerusalem, 1938)p. 18
6. Ibid.
7. Jules-Salomon Cremieu, Chants Hebraiques. (Aix, 1885).
8. Ibid., p. 87, No. 88.
42
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Austin, William W. Music in the 20th Century. New York: W. W.
Norton & Co., Inc. 1966.
2. Beck, George. Darius Milhaud: etude suivie du catalogue chronolo-
gique complet. Paris: Heugel & Cie, 1949.
3. Bimbaum, Philip. Daily Prayer Book. New York: Hebrew
Publishing Co. 1949.
4. Copland, Aaron. The New Music 1900-1966. New York: W.W.
Norton & Co., 1968.
5. Cremieu, Jules Salomon and Cremieu, Mardochee. Chants
Hebraiques. Aix, 1885.
6. Grout, Donald Jay. A History of Western Music. New York: W.W.
Norton & Co., Inc. 1960.
7. Grove, George. Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th Ed.
New York: St. Martin's Press, Inc. 1955.
8. Indelsohn, A.Z. Jewish Music in Its Historical Development. New
York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc. 1929; reprint third ed., New
York: Shocken Books, 1975.
9. Milhaud, Darius. La Musique Juive au Comtat-Venaissin. Musica
Hebraica, Vol. 1-2 (Jerusalem, 1938): 18-20.
10. Milhaud, Darius. Notes Without Music. New York: Alfred A.
Knopf, 1953.
11. Milhaud, Darius. Sabbath Morning Set-vice. Paris: Salabert, 1947.
12. Saleski, Gdal. Famous Musicians of Jewish Origin. New York:
Bloch Publishing Co., 1949.
13. Stuckenschmidt, H.H. Twentieth Century Music. Translated by
Richard Deveson. New York: McGraw Hill Book Co. 1969.
14. Young, Percy. The Choral Tradition. Hutchinson Publishing Group
Ltd., 1962; reprinted, New York: W.W. Norton & Co., Inc., 197 1.
MUSIC SECTION
OFFICE DU SAMEDI MATIN
Sabbath Morning Service
I - MA TOVU
/ - MAH TOVU
r- r "PARTIE
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51
PURIM KIDDUSH
This Kiddush was written for the HtstS' udat Purim on Kibbutz
Hanaton (1985, 5745). All sources have been footnoted, with
several pertinent explanations given in notes /-4.
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FOOTNOTES
1. The Jewish Agency (which built the first infrastructure of Kibbutz
Hannaton).
2. Abbreviation for Tnua Kibbutzit M'ukhedet (United Kibbutz
Movement) with which Hannaton is affiliated.
3. "The Conservatives," specifically referring to Hannaton settlers but
generally referring to the Movement as a whole. Every year before
the High Holiday warnings are published by Israel's religious es-
tablishment that it is forbidden to pray in Conservative synagogues
or, at least, one does not fulfill a mitzvah by doing so.
4. Songs of Songs 1:12, 13. During the year preceding the establish-
ment of Hannaton, Garin Nitzan (founding garin of olim, immi-
grants) published a newsletter called "Kol Hator."
5. Erev Shabbat liturgy.
6. Joshua 2: 1-2.
7. Exodus 15: 1-2.
8. Esther 1:1.
9. Melody after Kuhlau.
10. Tisha B'av liturgy.
11. Jonah 7:6-7.
12. High Holiday liturgy.
13. Zmirah for Shabbat.
14. Daily liturgy.
15. Genesis 38.
16. Yom Kippur liturgy.
17. Exodus 20:13.
18. Proverbs 31:10-1 1. Melody by B.Z. Shenker.
19. Esther 1:10-11.
55
K\ £tt~ SHoMtfitv
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dt
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Submitted by Cantor Israel Goldstein - "A transcription from a Maar/V
concert recorded live by my father, given at the Bialastocker
Synagogue on the east side of New York, November 1951. 1 am
reasonably certain that this piece was improvised at the moment of
performance/'
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