Cantors Assembly Journal of Synagogue Music

J O U R N A L

OF SYNAGOGUE

MUSIC

March 1979 / ADAR 5739

Volume IX

Number 1

CONTENTS

Haftabah fob the Off-Key Singer
BAR/ BAT Mitzvah Instruction :
A New Approach

Lottie Hochberg 3

Martin Leubitz 13

A S'lichot Happening Robert Strassburg 17

The J ewish Choral Tradition: Antiquity Linda Horowitz 19
The Influence of SALOMONE ROSSI'S Music:

PART II
To Gebshon EPHROS:

IN LIEU ofaKaddish

Dan Chazanoff 26

Max Wohlberg 33

DEPARTMENTS

An Open Letter To Our Readers

Review of New Music

Twelve Songs, by Lazar Weiner

Ladino Songs, by Richard Neumann

Maariv: Evening Devotion, by Herbert Fromm

Don Harran 35
37

JOURNAL OF SYNAGOGUE MUSIC, Volume IX, Number 1

March 1979 / Adar 5739

tor: Morton Shames

itor : Samuel Rosenbaum

editorial board: Jacob Borkin, David Brandhandler, Joseph Gole,
Morton Kula, Abraham Lubin, Benjamin Z. Maissner, Saul Meisels,
Morton S. Shanok, Abraham Shapiro, Moses J. Silverman, Pinchas
Spiro, Max Wohlberg.

business manager: Yehudah Mandel

the cantors assembly: Kurt Silbermanti,- President;
Morton Shames, Vice President; Abraham Shapiro, Treasurer; Bruce
Wetzler, Secretary; Samuel Rosenbaum, Executive Vice President.

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

Copyright © 1979, Cantors Assembly

HAFTARAH FOR HE OFF-KEY SINGER

LOTTIE HOCHBERG

Since her senior year at Brooklyn College, where she was a music major,
Lottie Hochberg has been doing research on the multifaceted problem of
off-key singing and has been giving remedial ear training to musically-deficient
people, including Bar Mitzvah students. This article is a skeletal preview of
a book well in progress.

"If only the floor under me had opened so that I could go
through it, it would have spared me the torture of having to chant
my Bar Mitzvah Haftarah!" Sol, an off-key singer, at the age of 22
still vividly remembered the cold sweat chilling his body on that
hot J uly Shabbat (before his synagogue was air-conditioned).

"Each lesson with the rabbi was an ordeal for both of us. The
rabbi, realizing that the problem was musical, eventually enlisted the
cantor's help. The cantor at least called to my attention the fact
that the notes moved up and down. But no matter how I tried to
follow his melody my chanting never got to sound right. When my
grandfather periodically asked to hear me chant, instead of his face
brightening up with pleasure and approval, his eyes registered dis-
appointment!"

The Bar Mitzvah was not originally given the privilege of chant-
ing the Haftarah in order to torment him when he comes of age.
Learning the Haftarah cantillation is a very important part of his
rightful Jewish musical heritage. The period of training should be
one of pleasurable growth. And chanting the Haftarah at the syna-
gogue service should be a highpoint in the life of every Bar Mitzvah.
Therefore looking into the problem of off-key singing and helping
the musically deficient student becomes imperative for us.

An infant's first musical ear training comes from his or her
mother's lullabies. The family's singing of Z'mirot on Shabbat also
contributes considerably to a child's musical development. The
infant's first practice comes during the babbling period when he tries
to imitate the speech sounds that he hears from his elders. If, as
speech develops, the child learns to lower his pitch at the end of a
statement, and raise his pitch when asking a question (except one
that starts with "how," "what," "when," "where," or "why"), then
he has the basic musical development necessary for learning to sing
correctly. Along the way, if he hears singing at home, he experi-
ments by singing short melodic motives to himself and when he is
among people with whom he feels comfortable. Singing with phono-
graph records (or tapes), radio, or television is nowhere near as

effective as singing in the presence of live, loving humans, because
the mechanical objects are unable to pat the child on the shoulder
and tell him how well he is singing or how good he sounds, or sug-
gest that he repeat what he has sung and the song will sound better.

Some definitions are in order. The word monotone means one
tone. Related to singing, it refers to a person who sings strictly on
one tone. Inasmuch as speech sounds are actually composed of over-
tones in various parts of the tonal range, cal I ed farmants, 1 only a
person who in his early infancy was unable to hear speech sounds
enough to be abl e to i mitate them when babbl i ng, and therefore
could not learn to speak, may be considered tone deaf. Anyone who
has learned to speak expressively, therefore cannot rightly be called
a 'monotone' or tone deaf.'

Language development and musical development are highly
correlated. We use the same breathing muscles and lungs, some
vocal cords and other muscles for speaking and singing. Both have
rhythm but the rhythm in singing is usually more prominent than
the rhythm in speech. In both speaking and singing there is tonal
range and inflection. The total range in speech is shorter than in
singing. While in speech, pitch changes are so small and gradual
that they are hardly noticed by someone with an untrained ear, in
singing there are definite pitch changes in many variations which
form melodies.

In off-key singing one or more of several aspects of correct sing-
ing may go wrong. The individual may mismatch when singing with
vocal or instrumental support. With his immature high-pitched
voice he may not be ableto match his teacher's mature deeper voice
because hearing the two different registers may confuse him. He
may be able to match initial tones and in fact follow well when
singing with support. But when singing without support he may go
astray, either by singing the wrong notes and intervals in the right
direction, or sometimes by changing the direction in a melody. He
may sing in the right direction but may slightly diminish or augment
intervals, showing that he does not feel the relatedness of the tones
in a melodic motive. He may, for the most part, sing correctly, but
somewhere along the way change an interval, and as a result modu-
late to another key.

The off-key singer may or may not hear himself go off, he may
say he has no memory for music. He most likely considers himself
the world's worst singer. From having heard adverse criticism about
his singing all of his life he is sure that he has a horrible voice, but
this is often not the case.

There is no unmusical child. The music must be drawn out from
within him.

What are some of the causes of off-key singing? If a small
child is ever told (especially repeatedly) to stop singing and does,
he also tends to stop listening to music. Then whatever musical
discrimination he has developed up to that time begins to deteriorate
from ncnuse2 Some children have above-normal or super -sensitive
hearing and are confused because they hear more in musical tones
than those with so-called normal hearing. In fact, if the music be
only moderately loud, untrained people with super-sensitive hear-
ing may hear a jumble of sound.3 Inasmuch as our ears become
attuned to the instrument we hear mostly, an out-of-tune piano
may be a cause of off-key singing. Many children come from homes
where all singing is loud. Such people usually say, "If it isn't loud
it isn't singing." Any forcing, whether habitual or for effect, may
cause a singer to go off pitch.4 Upper-chest breathing may result
in a hoarse, raspy, and inflexible voice which is difficult to control.
Insufficient breath support often causes the pitch to drop.5

To call a child whose singing is defective a 'monotone' or to tell
him that he is 'tone deaf is not only false but also harmful. Many
people, both children and adults, do not understand the intense
emotional sensitivity of a young child. When negatively criticized
he develops an "I'm no good" attitude which spreads to other areas
of living and learning. A child who thus becomes apprehensive
about himself as a human being and about his ability to learn usually
has great difficulty allowing himself to sing freely, right or wrong.
He may breathe as if he's being chased by a monster, may have
poor posture, or may try to sing with his mouth almost closed.

What does training the off-key singer for Bar Mitzvah involve?

He should be given the opportunity to talk about his singing
experience. If he has been criticized he should ventilate his feelings
about the criticism. He need to be shown how he has been wronged,
even though his critics meant no harm. He needs to be treated with
patience and understanding, an overdose of honest compliments, re-
assurances, and encouragement. He needs to be shown truthfully,
that there is much about his singing that is right, even before he
starts training. For instance, if his voice sounds pleasant (and only
if it really does), if he matched a given first tone, or if his direction
was right, he should be told about it. And he should be told that
these are very important aspects of correct singing. Gradually his
self-confidence will be built up.

In addition, the training involves replacing the missing links
in his musical development. For example, he may have to learn the
difference between up and down; to feel the difference between
larger and smaller melodic intervals; and the difference between
sameness and difference. He must develop good communication be-
tween his 'headquarters' and vocal cords and breathing mechanism
in order to match tones, to sing from one tone to the next, and to
phrase properly. Development of auditory imagery — the ability
to hear or image music mentally when it is not present physically —
in this case at least the tropal motives, is important, especially be-
cause the Bar Mitzvah chants his Haftarah without accompaniment.
To accomplish all this, remedial ear training should be geared to
improving attention and concentration.

This article is being written in terms of teaching individual
students. If, however, you have two or more (up to about ten)
musically deficient Bar or Bat Mitzvah candidates in training at
the same time, if they can be brought up to the same level of
training, they will benefit from working together as a group, even
though each may have a different combination of singing problems.
There are several advantages. They can see that they aren't the
only ones who have difficulty singing and they have a ready, sympa-
thetic audience. They often find that hearing other people's mis-
takes is easier than hearing their own and this sharpens their atten-
tion and musical listening. They tend to identify in a positive way
with other students who succeed.

The teacher should prepare himself with information on musical
acoustics, physiology of hearing and hearing problems; the nature
of attention, concentration, and listening; physical handicaps which
may affect speech and hearing; breathing and breathing problems;
posture and relaxation; vocalization and voice problems; and of
course, a knowledge of how to teach Haftarah cantillation in such
a way that even though he may encounter difficulty, the experience
will be enjoyable and fulfilling for both teacher and student.

As soon as a bright youngster who feels free enough to ask
questions, asks, 'You've been telling me to listen; what am I sup-
posed to listen to or hear?' you know that in addition to knowing
trop you must have at your finger tips information on musical
acoustics.

A twelve-year-old usually has some interest in science. To re-
inforce this interest with a review of definitions of sound, noise,
tone, and other pertinent facts will help him feel that he's on
familiar territory, will give him a satisfying feeling of growth, will

motivate him to sing, and will stimulate musical thinking. A good
way to start is to ask him questions which will draw out from him
as much musical knowledge as you think he might have. For in-
stance, he should know that the aspect of nature that both of you
are 'dealing with' is sound, and he should know at least part of its
definition. Do not give him the answer you seek or let him get
away with "I don't know." Calmly but firmly tell him that you
wouldn't ask him any question he couldn't answer. Give him time
and encouragement to think. Of course he should be complimented
for each of his contributions to your discussions.

Your student should also know the two main types of sound
we hear — noise and tone. An easy way to demonstrate production
of sound by vibrations is to pluck a taut rubber band. There are
oscillograph tracings of sound waves which show the irregularity
of vibrations of noise and the regularity or periodicity of the waves
that produce tone.6 The same source shows that soft tones are
simpler and therefore easier to hear than loud tones. Especially
because your student may have super-sensitive hearing, you should
play and have him sing softly at the beginning of training. You
might suggest to all of your students that when they listen to music
on the radio, television, or whatever, they should have the music
tuned softly and they will hear it much more clearly than if it were
loud.

You do not have to discuss the physiology of hearing with your
student. The only aspect of hearing that you should talk about,
however, is the danger of developing a hearing loss as a result of
being close to loud sounds such as exploding fire crackers or listening
to rock music for several hours at a time.7 Sixteen -year-old rock
fans have begun to show a reduction in hearing acuity equivalent to
that of 65-year-old people. Now that there are "junior discotheques,"
where invariably the music is as loud as that of a rock band (115
decibels), we must warn our students and their parents of the
potentiality of developing not only a hearing loss but also other
physical ailments such as high blood pressure and heart disease from
hearing the noise.8 They may forget our advice when the rhythm
and bright lights beckon. But we will know that we have done
our duty.

You should know as much as possible about the physiology of
hearing and hearing pathology for a variety of reasons. You may
have to prove to a student that he isn't deaf. For example, here is
what happened to one boy. There were times in his early childhood
when his mother would call him in from play. Being deeply en-

grossed in the game with his friends, and wanting to finish it, he
would go right on playing without responding to his mother. The
next thing he heard was, "Louis, you must be deaf!" This happened
often enough for him to become convinced that he WAS DEAF,
and then he began to think, 'Why bother listening?" Louis was so
positively convinced by his mother that he was deaf that when he
was in the first grade in elementary school and a group hearing test
was administered to his class, he copied the answers from the boy
sitting in front of him. There is no doubt that other unresponsive
children have been repeatedly and convincingly told by their parents
that they were deaf.

You may one day have to calm a student who has become dis-
turbed by the startling discovery that he hears two different pitches
— one in one ear and another pitch in his other ear, when only one
tone has been sounded. This anomaly is known as diplacusis or
double hearing. It may occur because of an upper respiratory in-
fection and disappear when the infection is healed. 9 But there are
other types of diplacusis, one of which may be due to a brain tumor.
Therefore, should the double hearing last much longer than your
student's cold, an examination by an ear specialist is in order.

A partial hearing loss should be no deterrent to learning to sing
correctly, as long as you speak or sing loudly enough for this student
to hear you. In fact people who wear hearing aids have learned to
sing well.

But a hearing loss, other physical handicaps, emotional prob-
lems, or precociousness may affect a child's ability to pay attention.
Some very bright children stop listening at a very early age. Ruben,
a brilliant child, showed good musical discrimination when he lis-
tened. But he didn't always listen. Asked whether he pays atten-
tion to his teacher in school, he said, "No. I don't like her so why
should I listen to her?" Actually, there is so little taught and so
much review in the lowest grades in elementary school that a
precocious child doesn't have to pay attention all the time. He will
learn the necessary material with very little attention.

All of us, at one time or other, have anticipated test questions.
Some people have a real knack for anticipation, but in musical dis-
crimination it is an important source of error. 10 Anticipators may
hear and sing a melody accurately. But because they don't listen
intently, they don't always judge tonal direction correctly. Guessing
is easier than listening because listening requires more effort than
guessing. They and others who are not anticipators, may observe
the movement of their teacher's face when they are supposedly lis-

tening for direction. Therefore, the teacher must train himself not
to move his facial muscles or head in the direction of the tones.
A few books that have a page or two of discussion and suggestions
for helping children who sing off-key suggest allowing the child to
move an arm with the melody, so that if the direction is up the arm
will move upward, etc. But a child who is old enough to anticipate
will move his arm or head in the direction he THINKS the melody
is going, which is not necessarily the right direction.

We must be careful not to pass judgment when a student has
sung something before he himself judges his own singing. When a
student sings correctly, because of his insecurity, he may occasionally
think that he went off. If he did go off, the student must hear his
mistakes accurately in order to correct his singing.

Recording the student's voice during lessons is inadvisable for
two reasons. First, the off-key singer may come to you believing
that his voice sounds bad, and because tape recorders usually distort
the voice, he will "be sure" that all of his critics have been right.
Second, your student must get into the habit of listening to himself
so that he becomes able to hear himself WHILE SINGING. If he
knows that he can listen to a tape later he won't bother listening
while he's singing during the taping.

There is another aspect of listening. When you sing a two-
syllable word such as43)^, on one tone, your student may hear
each syllable on a differ&* tone. He may say that the tone of "C*
was higher than the tone of &3, or vice versa. Either answer may
be interpreted as indicating vely keen hearing. The reason he has
heard two tones, however, is that he listened to the speech formants
instead of the fundamental of the sung tone. The ee of & has
a higher formant than the u of £ 3. If he heard lG> -higher than
^31, he at least heard that the twoformants were different._ He
should be told that he listened to the speech sounds rather than to
the fundamental (the definition of which he should already have
learned) of the sung tone. This happens when a student feels tonally
insecure, yet is very much interested in and therefore listens only
to the words of songs he sings. Practice can overcome this wrong
listening habit.

Listening can be improved in several ways. After you have
discussed the difference between noise and tone, possibly at the
second lesson, you might ask him to write a list of tonal sounds he
hears during the week, such as automobile horns, factory sirens,
door chimes, etc. I n order to be sure that he understands the assign-

10

merit, ask him for the example. In case of doubt as to whether a
sound be noisy or tonal, he may also write a 'doubtful' list. One
yeshivah student brought in a list of forty tonal sounds. His Bar
Mitxvah teacher began to hear an improvement in his cantillation
within two weeks.

To improve directional discrimination you will play or sing two
tones, starting with possibly a perfect fifth. Decrease the interval
size gradually and include perfect primes. Your student should
always sing the tones you have played or sung. Even if he doesn't
match he will invariably sing in the right direction. This will give
him an opportunity to feel kinesthetically what is happening in his
throat and to hear whether he has sung up, down, or same. If his
answer be wrong, there is a possibility that he anticipated your tonal
direction rather than listen to either you or himself. He may find
it emotionally painful to listen to himself if he has experienced
much harsh criticism. After he has sung correctly or given a correct
answer, always remember to tell him how musical or smart he is.
This will be balm for his insecurity. Never reprimand a student for
his mistakes. Be sure to let him know that his errors will actually
help him by making him more musically alert.

The increased effort that intense listening requires may bring
on fatigue, mental blocking, and/or tension. A well-timed humorous
anecdote will delay the onset of fatigue and break the mental block-
ing. The laughter will serve to relax your student much more easily
than simply telling him to relax. Therefore, never feel guilty about
taking the time for a brief story."

Singing requires a higher degree of attention than only listen-
ing, and writing requires a still higher degree of attention than
singing. If your student hasn't yet learned musical notation, he will
be very happy when you teach it to him. His learning of the Haf-
tarah cantillation will be more thorough if he himself writes (from
dictation) the notation for each new tropal motive, as well as the
variations of the cantillation clauses, than if you do it for him. He
will thus provide himself with visual pictures of the cantillation.
At the beginning slower tropal motives, as in the Silluq clause, will
be easier for him to write and learn to sing than faster ones.

Educators have found that the more sense modalities we involve
in teaching, the more effective is the instruction. Remedial ear
training for off-key singers, as outlined above, activates the auditory,
kinesthetic, and visual senses. Combined with understanding, pa-
tience, and persistence on the part of the teacher, student, and

parents, the method leads to a spiritually and musically enriching
Bar or Bat Mitzvah Haftarah cantillation.

NOTES

1. Ludwig Hermann cited in Richard Morris Ogden, Hearing (New York:
Harcourt. Brace & Co., Inc., 1924). p. 80.

Carl Stumpf cited in G. Revesz, Introduction to the Phycology of
Music, trans. G. I. C. deCourcy (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press,
1954), p. 48.

2. Carl E. Seashore, Psychology of Music (New York: McGraw-Hill Book
Co., Inc., 1938). p. 6.

3. Ibid., p. 4.

4. J ames Bates, Voice Culture for Children (New York: Novello & Co., Ltd.,

1907). pp. 59-60.
5 Ibid.

6. Otto Ortmann, "What Is Tone-Quality?" Musical Quarterly 21 (1935):
445.

7. Hallowell Davis and E. P. Fowler, J r. "Hearing and Deafness," in Hearing
and Deafness, ed. Hallowell Davis and S. Richard Silverman, rev. ed.
(New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, Inc., 1960). p. 106.

8. Jane E. Brody "Protecting Yourself From Harmful Noise, New York
Times, 17 J anuary 1979, p. C8.

9. Ernest G. Wever, Theory of Hearing (New York: J ohn Wiley & Sons,
Inc., 1949), p. 357.

10. Franklin Orion Smith, 'The Effect of Training in Pitch Discrimination,"
"Psychological Monographs, 16, no. 69 (1914), 69.

11. Herman S. Schwartz, The Art of Relaxation (El mhurst, N.Y.: Sessions
Publishers, 1954), pp. 66 and 67.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING

Bartholomew. Wilmer T. Acoustics of Music. New York: Prentice Hall,
Inc i 1942.

Beatty, Hugh G. 'Cleft Palate and Cleft Lip." Otolaryngology. 4, 1960,
chap. 6

Borchers, Orville J . "Vocal Timbre in its Immediate and Successive
Aspects." Music Teachers National Association Proceedings. 36, 1941.

Cardwell, Viola E. Cerebral Palsy — Advances in Understanding and
Care. New York: Association for the Aid of Crippled Children, 1956.

Culver, Charles A. Musical Acoustics. New York: Blakiston Co., 1951.

DeWeese, David D., and Saunders, William H. Textbook of Otolaryn-
gology. St. Louis: C. V. Mosby, 1960.

Flagg. Marion. Musical Learning; A Guide to Child Growth. Boston:
C. Birchard & Co., 1949.

Fletcher, Harvey. Speech and Hearing. New York: D. Van Nostrand
Co., Inc., 1929.

Froding, C. "Acoustic Investigation of Newborn Infants." Acta Otolaryn-
gology. 52, 1960.

Gordon, Ira J ., and Combs, Arthur W. 'The Learner: Self and Percep-
tion." Review of Education Research. 28, 1958.

12

Grant, Parks. Music for Elementary Teachers. New York: Appleton-
Century Crofts, Inc.. 1960.

Hall. I. Simson. Diseases of the Nose. Throat, and Ear. Edinburgh and
London: E. and S. Livingstone, Ltd., 1959.

Hartman. Gertrude, and Shumaker. An", eds. Creative Expression. For
the Progressive Education Association. New York: John Day Co., Inc., 1932.

May, Elizabeth. "Music for Children with Cerebral Palsy." American
J ournal of Physical Medicine. 35. 1956.

Miller, D. C. The Science of Musical Sounds. New York: Macmillan
co.. 1937.

Mills, Wesley. Voice Production in Singing and Speaking. 4th ed. Phila-
delphia: J . B. Lippincott Co., 1913.

Munn, Norman L. Psychology. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1946.
Chap. 20 — "Hearing."

Murphy, Albert T. Functional Voice Disorders. Foundations of Speech
Pathology Series. Englewood Cliffs, N. J .: Prentice-Hall, Inc.. 1964.

Mursell, James L. Human Values in Music Education. New York:
Silver, Burdett & Co.. 1934

Principles of Musical Education. New York: Macmillan

co., 19 3 7.

_The Psychology of Music New York: W. W. Norton &

co.. 1937.

Education for Musical Growth. Boston: Gin" & Co.. 1946.

Nadoleczny, Max. "Disorders of Speech and Voice." in The Diseases of
Children, ed. M. Pfaundler and A. Schlossmann. Philadelphia: J . B. Lippin-
cott Co.. 1914, Supplement Vol. 7.

Negus. V. E. The Mechanism of the Larynx. St. Louis: C. V. Mosby
Co.. 1929.

Nichols. Ralph G. "Ten Components of Effective Listening." Education.
75, no. 5. 1955.

Perlstein. Meyer A., and McDonald. Eugene L. "Nature, Recognition and
Management of Neuromuscular Disabilities in Children." Pediatrics. 11,
February. 1953.

Schoen, Max. The Psychology of Music. NewYork: Ronald Press Co.,
1940.

The Understanding of Music. New York: Harper & Bros.,

1945.

The Asthmatic Patient. Boston: Asthma Research Foundation, Inc. 1.
no. 3, 1 October 1955; no. 4, 15 October 1965; 2, no. 17. 1 May 1967.

Warfleld. Frances. Keep Listening. New York: Viking Press, 1957.

Weiss, Deso A. Cluttering. Foundations of Speech Pathology Series.
Englewood Cliffs, N.J .: Prentice-Hall. Inc. 1964.

13
BAR/ BAT MITZVAH INSTRUCTION: A NEW APPROACH

MARTIN LEUBITZ

Martin Leubitz is a graduate of the Cantors Institute of the Jewish
Theological Seminary of America end is the Hazzan of Congregation Beth Am

of Cleveland. Ohio.

Perhaps one of the greatest enemies of education, whether it be
secular or religious in nature, is that of boredom stemming from
either method or content, or both.

In the area of religious instruction, and more specifically, in
the study of skills necessary for Bar/Bat Mitzvah, the many congre-
gational schools have seen the "destruction" which this enemy has
left in its path, namely, lack of motivation, lack of a complete edu-
cation, and finally, the souring of what should be a most successful
and meaningful experience in the life of the youngster and his/her
family.

It is with this in mind that I am exploring a new avenue of
Bar/Bat. Mitzvah instruction. As many are aware, the micro,
processen or mini -computers are popular today, showing up in many
homes as well as in small business. Students are geared towards
this type of stimulus, being constantly involved with computer-
games and computer-assisted learning in the public schools. The
idea of using computers, in testing and in standardizing curriculum
is nothing new. However, using a computer to teach is relatively
new and exciting. I hasten to add that by no means can, or should,
a computer be substituted for the one-to-one contact of teacher to
student. This "people contact" is an absolute must. It is beyond
the scope of this paper to discuss this point, and, further, I feel that
educators are in agreement with it already.

What then can the computer do that I , as a Hazzan, cannot do?
After all, it knows nothing other than what it is programmed to
know! To answer this question completely requires that we examine
the capabilities of one of these little machines. Although there are
many different mini -computers on the market today, I will confine my
remarks to the APPLE 1 1 computer. This is because of the very
nature of the task that I expected it to be able to do.

The APPLE II computer has both graphics and tone-capabili-
ties. This means that it is capable of projecting au image (anything
I program) on a television screen. It will keep that image on the
screen for as long as I wish. That image can also be stored in

14

memory to be recalled at any time in the future. It will display the
image either in black-and-white or in color, depending on whether
or not we are using a color television. The other, and probably more
important to a Hazzan, is the APPLE'S capability of producing
(electronically) any note of the scale in a range of approximately
four octaves. Once again, the tones are not produced by a recording
tape. Each tone must be given to the computer, one at a time, giving
both the frequency and duration of the sound to be made. There
is a certain amount of preparation and tedious work involved, but
the final product is more than worth the time spent. Each note
then is placed in the memory of the computer by half-steps, thus
converting each chromatic to a number. In addition, we can use
the value of 255 as that of the duration of one whole-note. Then,
by simple arithmetic, we can divide and sub-divide to have our
"electronic wizard" able to "sing" rhythmically.

Let us leave the technical aspects for a moment, and turn to
the area of Bar/Bat Mitzvah tutoring. As we all know, there is a
certain procedure for learning the Haftarah. As a Hazzan, I insist
that the Ta' amei Ha'm/kra be mastered before the individual student
and I proceed with his/her portion. In addition to haying the young-
ster become familiar with the tradition of the tropes, we are con-
cerned with holding that child's interest in the synagogue. We are
desperately looking for ways in which we can kindle a love for the
synagogue which will manifest itself by the student's active involve-
ment in conducting services and returning after the Bar/Bat Mitzvah
to celebrate the anniversary of the event by chanting the same
Haftarah. It is especially meaningful for the student to be ableto
chant another Haftarah, applying his skills with the tropes to a
different portion.

One more area needs to he focused on in the area of pedagogy
within any school. This is the problem of the slow learner. The
more repetition this student can have, the more secure her or she
will be when asked to stand before family and friends and conduct
the various portions of the service.

Finally, let us not forget that we can make this enjoyable. The
old "honey versus vinegar" addage still holds true today. What is
needed, I feel, is perhaps for us to explore the different brands of
"honey" on the market!

And this is where the APPLE II enters!! I am finding that it is
not only efficient from the standpoint of accuracy, but it has a
certain quality which is intriguing to both student and adult. It
provides immediate reward and immediate correction of errors. It is

patient and provides hours of learning and enjoyment. It is moti-
vation!

The reader must keep in mind that although my area of work
at the present time is confined to that of the Bar/Bat Mitzvah,
other areas of J ewish study are being explored by the Institute for
Computers in J ewish Life, headed by Dr. Samuel Spero in Chicago.
Hopefully there will be a network of people in synagogues inter-
acting with computer programs applicable for the J ewish Day School
and/or congregational school.

The computer can be used in a classroom, having one student
at a time come up before the class and respond to the computer,
or it can be used privately by the student at his/or convenience.
For the present I am working with the latter, having my students
schedule time during the week to use it.

What actually transpires in this "dialogue" between student
and computer? In the case of the Bar/Bat Mitzvah program, the
student is first asked for his student number and individual pass-
word. The student number helps me to control the use of the com-
puter. (I may want to limit its use to one group, or I might, want
to know how a particular student fared.) I can then go to the
computer and determine how a student scored with a certain part
of the program. Next, the student is shown a list of the trope,
each having its own identifying number. The computer asks the
student, "How many tropes would you like to see?" The tropes can
be requested in any order, and as often as desired. For example
if a student would like to hear the first eight or ten tropes of his/her
own haftarah, he simply requests them in that specific order.

After the tropes have been viewed and played a number of
times, the computer will change to a short quiz in which the tropes
will be played and then asked to be identified. If the student is
correct in his response, the computer will acknowledge with a cheer-
ful "beep" and will keep track of the number right. If the answer
is wrong, the student will receive a rather unpleasant "buzz". He
will then hear the trope "chanted" again. This time the computer
will show the correct response and then move on to the next question.

A game awaits those who have done rather well on this little
quiz, complete with color graphics, sounds, and a lot of fun!

How are we doing as far as results? It really is too early to
know for sure. I have only been at it for a few months. However,
judging from the enthusiasm and local publicity, I have, at the very
least, made many people aware of the significance of the Ta'amei

16

Ha'mikra. It will be some time before I can assess the true educa-
tional value of my little "Hazzan Sheini".

To the critics of computers and the like being used in J ewish
education, I offer but one comment. If I am able to interest only
a few of the ever-g&wing number of youngsters totally "turned-off"
by the whole process, then it will be worth the many hours of work.

Because these mini -computers are programmed in the BASIC
language, it is possible for someone with absolutely no background
(such as myself) to be productive with it.

One more important point is that the computer can be pro-
grammed by the older students for the younger ones, thus keeping
them involved with J udaica. Of course, the computer has found
other uses around the synagogue, from an administrative point of
view, but we all expect that from a computer!

I would be most anxious to answer questions and/or correspond
with those who are interested in the above.

The beauty of this, I feel, lies in the bringing together of one
of the oldest forms of musical notation with one of the newest forms
of technology.

A S'LICHOT HAPPENING

Robert STRASSBURG

Dr. Strassburg is a well known American composer and a member of the
faculty of the California State University of Los Angeles.

On the evening of September 23, 1978, a singular event took
place at the University Synagogue in Los Angeles, California. Under
the direction of composer Michael Isaacson his "S'lichot: A High
Holy Day Setting" was given an impressive premiere involving Can-
tor J ay Frailich, a double quartet of voices, seven instrumentalists
including flute, viola, cello, bass, harp and two percussionists, with
Rabbi Allen Freehling as the reader. The work was handsomely
commissioned by the University Synagogue, to its great credit, and
performed under the finest circumstances.

In the experience of the writer, rarely have the prayers of
penitence recited before the Days of Awe been given such an organic
setting. Usually, the S'lichot service, designed to prepare one's
thoughts and feelings for the High Holy Days, contains a potpourri
of musical styles focusing mainly on cantorial soli with significant
support by the choir. Musical idioms vary greatly within the course
of the service and, with the exception of the creative efforts of
composer-cantors Ephros, Alter, Davidson and a few others, the
overall effect is one of fragmentation and disunity.

Isaacson's motivation for writing the new work is traceable to
the year 1971 when he was asked to review Cantor Charles David-
son's "Hush of Midnight" S'lichot service for the Journal of Syna-
gogue Music (Vol. Ill, No. 4). As a result he was stimulated to
create a S'lichot service that would meet his own idea of what a
midnight "hush" should be like. Preparation during the six years
that followed included attendance at traditional S'lichot services in
Rochester and in Fredonia, New York, as well as in Cleveland and
in Los Angeles.

During this period he examined a wide assortment of S'lichot
scores and styles. He became convinced that what was needed was
a service that would combine new compositional procedures affording
him freedom of expression while at the same time creating the
appropriate mystical mood.

Isaacson has achieved this throughout his hour-length work by
using in part or in whole, misinai melodies and traditional S'lichot
prayers richly integrated with freshly conceived vocal and instru-
mental textures. He effectively makes use of such devices as whisper-
ings, controlled ecstasies, sounds and silences in an effective manner.

18

His compositional vocabulary embraces dodecaphonic tone row and
structured aleatoric procedures without distracting the listener with
the originality of his approach.

By using the traditional order of the S'lichot prayers interspersed
with contemporary religious poetry, and by writing congregational
melodies that the worshipper can sing and remember, such as his
gentle "Lishmoa El Hannah" and his lyrical "AvinuMalkenu" with
its subtle and numerous transformations, he sustains the listener's
attention without the stress that often attends a new and somewhat
exotic experience. There is a subtle blending of Western and Eastern
musical styles, not unlike that found in Isaacson's earlier Sabbath
Eve Service "Hegyon Libi; The Meditation of My Heart" written in
1970 for cantor, two-part choir, string quartet and organ.

The composer's imaginative use of motives derived from the
Kol Nidre melody, and his direct quotation of the high holy day
Musaf Kaddish further enhances and enriches his service by the
familiarity and emotional relevance of these time-honored nuschaot.
The rabbinical readings, at times, stand alone; but when they are
treated to special instrumental settings, are done so without their
colorful timbres distracting the listener from the import of the mes-
sage being delivered.

Most effective, is the manner in which Isaacson brings his
S'lichot service to a close. As the lights are dimmed in the sanctuary,
the rabbi, cantor, choir, instrumentalists, and finally the conductor
make their farewell one by one. A single percussionist remains,
playing a subtle postlude very softly and gently on a set of tuned
flower pots, as the congregation departs in the silent meditation of
the midnight "hush" created by the composer in a most sensitive,
sentient and mystical manner.

Dr. Isaacson has produced a challenging worship service rooted
in Ashkenazic tradition that invites the test of time through multiple
performances by enterprising cantors and rabbis who would like to
offer their congregations a new and vital experience. His work fills
a void in the modern high holy day literature, renewing the hope
that the very promising movement for the advancement of J ewish
music that started in the 30's will gain momentum in the years
ahead.

THE JEWISH CHORAL TRADITION: ANTIQUITY

Linda Horowitz

Linda Horowitz is the Director of Music at the Westlake School in Los
Angeles, She is a graduate of Scripps College in Claremont and holds a
Masters Degree in Music from California State University at Fuller ton in
choral conducting. She wrote her thesis on the history of Yiddish choral music.
She is also Director of Special Music Programing at Temple Israel, Holly-
wood and is a member of two girl chorales in Los Angeles.

During this century, many scientific, historical, and comparative
studies have been made concerning different aspects of sacred and
secular J ewish music. Yet in the area of J ewish choral music little
investigation has taken place. Though the J ewish choral tradition
dates back to Biblical times, very few musicologists or conductors
are familiar with the extensive J ewish sacred and secular choral
literature. This situation is chiefly due to the lack of research in
this area and an unfamiliarity with thej ewish languages — Hebrew,
Ladino, and Yiddish.

Though, at present, no single text exists on the subject of
J ewish choral music, scattered bits of information can be found in
the many books offering a general introduction to J ewish music.
An excellent guide to materials available on all aspects of J ewish
music is Alfred Sendrey's Bibliography of Jewish Music' Sendrey,
a noted J ewish musicologist, author, and conductor, has also recently
written one of the most informative and comprehensive texts on
J ewish music during Biblical times. In Music in Ancient Israel,
Sendrey attempts to present an authentic picture of ancient musical
life in Israel by first providing a systematic survey of biblical refer-
ences to music. The following discussion of choral activity in biblical
times is based chiefly on material presented in Music in Ancient
Israel and in an earlier work by Sendrey, David's Harp,3 a popular
treatment of the same material for those unfamiliar with J ewish
music.

The history of J ewish choral singing was first recorded through
oral tradition. Old Testament writings, historical discussions by
Greek, Roman, and early rabbinic writers have also provided us
with information about early J ewish choral activity. Some of the
first Biblical references to choral singing occur in I Samuel 18: 7;
21:11; and 29:5. From these passages we learn that singing women
anti phonal I y greeted Saul and David after their victory against the
Philistines by singing "one to another," using the secular text, "Saul
has slain his thousands and David his ten thousands."

20

When David, King of the tribe of J udah, decided to establish
a permanent home for the Ark of the Covenant in J erusalem, a
sacred J ewish musical tradition was begun that has continued until
present ti mes. In I Chronicles 6:1-33, the chronicler has listed the
names of those Levites that David put in charge "of the service of
song in the house of the Lord," and the entry in I Chronicles
15:16-24 provides us with the first description of sacred musical
activity in its preTemple stage. The chief Levites, following King
David's instructions, appointed three young singers, Herman, Asaph,
and Ethan to be the principal soloists and leaders at the musical
service. Eight additional singers were chosen to sing while accom-
panying themselves on harps and six Levites also sang while play-
ing lyres. Seven priests were appointed to blow the silver trumpets
and Chenaniah, "leader of the Levites in music," was given the duty
of directing the musical forces and instructing all Levitical singers.

The next development in sacred J ewish music occured when
David began plans to build a Temple in which to house the Ark.
Knowing that he would probably not live long enough to fulfill his
task, David placed his son Solomon in charge of the Temple's con-
struction and took steps to make certain that the sacred musical
service would be continued. First, David took a census of all Levites
thirty years of age and older and after finding 4,000 able to meet
this qualification, 288 singers were finally chosen to perform in the
future house of J ewish worship. The musical body was then divided
into twenty-four groups of twelve singers each with the children
(sons, though Sendrey believes that the daughters may have par-
ticipated as well) of the three original soloists (Ethan, Asaph, and
Heman) appointed as leaders of each group.

When Solomon completed the First Tempi e(ca. 980B.C.E.'),
a ceremony was planned for the dedication that included the par-
ticipation of over four hundred singers and musicians. When the
one-hundred-and-twenty priests were ready to blow their silver
trumpets, the twenty-four choral groups assumed their places and
"it came even to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one,
to make one sound to be beard in praising and thanking the Lord"
(2 Chronicles 5:12-14; 7:6). According to Sendrey, this quotation
may represent the first written example of favorable "musical criti-
cism." The intonation of the combined ensemble must have indeed
been praise-worthy if the 120 trumpeters and 288 singers sounded
"as one!".

For the next four hundred years, and until the destruction of
Solomon's First Temple in 586 B.C.E., the Levitical choirs performed

21

the music which accompanied the daily sacrifices. The sacrifice,
presented as a burnt offering or poured libation, was considered the
cental feature of the sacred service at the First and Second Temples
and the Levitical choirs were required to sing at the three daily
services which occured in the morning, at noon, and in the evening.
A minimum of twelve singers was required to attend and provide
music for each service. The Mishnah (Tamid 7: 3) provides us with
the information that a different psalm was used for each work day,
Sabbath, high holiday, and seasonal festival:

The psalm of the day was intoned as soon as the high
priest started to pour out the drink-offering. It was sung tra-
ditionally in three sections; between these the singers and in-
strumentalists made a break, two priests sounded the sacred
trumpets and on this signal the people prostrated themselves
for adoration. 5

Sacrifices were not limited to the daily service, however, and
private offerings also had to be accompanied by Levitical singing.
The performance of the sacrifice and the singing of the Levite choir
were so interrelated that with the passage of time the choir pro-
viding the musical portion of the sacrifice was called todah, the term
used for the sacrifical thank-offering itself.

On the Sabbath an additional choir may have doubled the
musical forces used in the services; for services performed during the
major festival seasons of Passover, Weeks, and Tabernacles, the
number of choirs was probably further increased. Though no specific
information regarding the rotation of the Levite choirs is to be
found in the Bible, Sendrey conjectured that the choir groups prob-
ably "rotated on a three-week basis, the three daily services being
provided by the same group, with two further groups jointly taking
care of Sabbath ceremonies.6

From a Talmudic description of Temple music at the beginning
of the Common Era,7 we learn that singers entered the Levite choir
at the age of thirty after a five-year apprenticeship, Choristers gen-
enerally served for twenty years, "retiring" around the age of fifty
when the voice began to deteriorate. Sendry argues, however, that
five years of training would have been insufficient for a position that
required the memorization of an orally instructed vocal heritage,
and in all probability a potential Levitical singer began his or her
training for the sacred musical service as a child. Though there is
no Biblical mention of children participating in the Levite choral
groups, later rabbinical writings support Sendrey's theory. Accord-
ing to Rabbi Eliezer ben Jacob (1st century C.E.), — the children

22

did not help to make up the required number, nor did they

stand on the Platform; but they used to stand on the ground

so that their heads were between the feet of the Levites; and

they used to be called the Levites' tormentors*

From another rabbinical source we learn that the children "did

not join the singing with harp and lyre, but with mouth alone to

add spice to the music." We do not know what musical form the

"spice" took when added to the Levitical song, but Sendrey does

theorize as to the nature of choral singing in ancient Israel.

Beginning with the assumption that all music of antiquity, and
specifically of the Orient, was monophonic, Sendrey suggests that
early Hebraic melodies appeared to have been based largely on a
pentatonic scale. Though the Oriental influence was documented by
Idelsohn (one of the first musicologists to investigate the Jewish
musical heritage) in his historic research on Hebraic melodies.
Sendrey notes that qualities associated with the performance of
much Oriental music (exaggerated nasal quality and a pronounced
vocal tremolo), were not employed by Levitical choir members.

While it is generally accepted that the music of ancient cultures
was monophonic, 9 Sendrey suggests that the Hebrew musicians had
knowledge of the harmonic intervals of the fifth and possibly the
fourth (as shown in stone and wall carvings of neighboring cultures)
and very well might have employed them in the accompaniment of
traditional melodies. Though Sendrey offers no substantiation for
his harmonic idea, this practice may account for the "spice" added
by the children's choir.

Attempting to determine the use of dynamics in ancient Hebrew
choral singing, Sendrey once again turns to the Bible and rabbinic
literature for information. According to Sendrey, an erroneous con-
ception regarding dynamics has prevailed as a result of interpretation
based on mistranslated or misrepresented Biblical passages. For
centuries scholars have held the opinion that early Jewish music
was loud and raucous, based on such passages as 2 Chronicles
15 : 12-14, 20 : 19; Psalm 22: 6; 1 Maccabees 3: 50, 3 : 54, 4 : 24, 4: 39-40;
and 9:46, but Sendrey points out that these passages usually refer
to calls for help or cried pleas and not actual singing. The fact that
the Levite choir was accompanied by soft instruments, lyres and
harps, provides additional basis for Sendrey to assert "that the
outstanding feature of art-singing in ancient Israel has been euphony
and refinement." 10

Saminsky, in Music in the Ghetto and the BMell points out
that the leader of each of the twenty-four choral groups actually

23

performed the role of a choral conductor in an ancient and simple
form by lowering or raising the hands "in order to remind the choir
of the melodic ups and down." This cheironomic practice of ac-
companying the performance of the sacred text with hand move-
ments indicating the direction of the melodic line has its origins in
both the Egyptian culture, as shown in wall paintings, and in the
Greek culture, which developed the name, cheironomy, for the prac-
tice. Eventually, the conductors' gestures to the Levitical choristers
were graphically rendered above or near the Biblical text and called
ta'amin. These signs or accents were adopted from other Mediter-
ranean cultures and were used to determine the proper intonation
and musical rendering of the melodic phrases or tropes. Musicolo-
gists argue as to when this practice originated (between 500-800
C.E.?) but all sources agree that ta'amin represent the cheironomic
gesture of the Levitical choral conductor. The use of ta'amin did
not completely end the practice of directional hand signals and
they continued to be used by Palestinian precentors as late as the
eleventh century.

Sendrey believes that cheironomic hand gestures were not the
only way in which instructions were transmitted from the Biblical
conductor to the Levitical choristers or from one generation to the
next. The placement of terms and phrases as superscriptions and
subscriptions on the psalms may be additional aspects of the Biblical
conductor's "score." Sendrey suggests that the Levite conductors
no doubt developed a musical terminology that could indicate such
things as the melody to be chosen for a psalm the use of soloists,
and accompanying instruments, and these terms or symbols were
placed in the headings or subscriptions to the various psalms. Gradu-
ally the meaning of these instructive terms became forgotten or
misconstrued and by the 3rd c. B.C.E. "translators of the Septuagint
(Greek version of the Old Testament) ... no longer understood
these terms, and thus were compelled to take them over phonetically
from the original Hebrew."12 Sendrey points out that the early
church fathers no longer understood the mysterious terms of the
tops and bottoms of Psalms and unable to give them a "rational
interpretation" they instead provided meanings filled with "all sorts
of moral, allegorical, and mystical implications." 13

Sendrey, in Music in Ancient Israel (p. 138), presents his own
list of words referring to musical performance. Terms specifically
related to choral participation include: mizmor, which "indicates
an accompanied psalm to be sung by the precentor, or in which the
precentor and chorus sang in a responsial form; shir, which "is the

24

specific name for a song of praise most performed by the choir alone;"
and maskil, which Sendrey believes stands for "a song of praise of
a special kind, possibly sung by a soloist with occasional participa-
tion of the chorus."

Additional terms connoting choral activity are: la-menazzeah,
"for the precentor," a phrase indicating that "in such a psalm sub-
stantial solo-passages with or without participation of the chorus,
have been assigned to the leader in song;" al'almot, a specific in-
struction for the accompaniment of the psalm with high-pitched
instruments and perhaps an indication that the "psalm might have
conceivably been sung by a women's or boy's choir;" and al hashe-
minit which probably indicated a male choir accompanied with
larger low-pitched instruments."

Sendrey's interpretation of al'almot with its suggestion that
women may have participated in the Temple choir is a particularly
controversial topic among authors on Biblical music. Research done
by Idelsohn on the subject led him to believe that female participa-
tion in the Temple chorus could not be substantiated. Sendrey,
however, believes that the lack of direct references to women as
Temple singers is a result of suppression on the part of priestly
chroniclers in a purifactory zeal and for him "there is no doubt that
women, too, participated in Levitical music or at least in its early
period.""

The obscuring and eliminating of references to female Temple
singers was not totally successful, however, and Sendrey points to
several remaining vestiges of biblical passages that hint at the
existence of Female singers in Temple services, 2 Samuel 19:36;
2 Chronicles 35:25; Ezra 2:65; Neh 7:67; and Eccles 22:8. The
lack of specific references to female choristers in the Levitical choir
prevents the quick acceptance of Sendrey's hypothesis; but if female
members were allowed, the range of tonal colors available for use
in the sacred service would have been increased."

When Solomon's Temple was destroyed in 586 B.C.E., talented
J ewish musicians were taken east to Babylon as captives. There
they struggled to keep alive their religion and guard their musical
liturgy against alien musical practices. In 529 B.C.E., the Persian
King, Cyrus, conquered Babylon and out of respect for the ancient
religion he allowed the J ews to return to J erusalem. Upon reaching
the holy city the J ews quickly set about building a new Temple in
which to praise their God. In the Second Temple begun in 638
B.C.E. and completed in 516 B.C.E., the Levitical singers once

26

again assumed their choral duties and J ewish sacred music continued
to flourish for the next four hundred years.

When the Second Temple was destroyed in 70 C.E., the re-
maining J ewish leaders suppressed all secularism and as a sign of
national mourning, all instrumental and vocal music was forbidden
(Cit.7a). Most authorities believe that the vocal portion of this
rabbinic ban did not apply to synagogal music and during the first
centuries of the Common Era all that remained of the once-high
are of the Levites was the chanting of the prayers and canti Nation
according to the ancient melodic modes.

NOTES

1. Sendrey, Alfred. Bibliography of J ewish Music. New York: Columbia
University Press, 1959.

2. Music in Ancient Israel. New York: Philosophical Library,

1969.

3. Sendrey, Alfred, and Mildred Norton. David's Harp: The Story of Music
in Biblical Times. New York: The New American Library, 1969.

4. B.CE. or Before the Common Era is the J ewish term for what is com-
monly referred to as B.C.

5. Sendrey, Alfred. Music in Ancient Israel, p. 175-6.

6. Sendrey, Alfred and Mildred Norton. David's Harp. p. 49.

7. The term Common Era refers to the period generally known as A.D.

8. Sendrey, Alfred. Music in Ancient Israel, p. 171.

9. It is believed that ancient musical cultures also practiced heterophony
(two musicians play or sing a melody and one of them elaborates upon it)
and magadizing (a melody performed in octaves).

10. Sendrey, Alfred. Music in Ancient Israel, p. 255.

11. Saminsky, Lazar. Music of the Ghetto and the Bible. New York: Bloch
Publishers, 1934.

12. Sendrey, Alfred. Music in Ancient Israel, p. 112.

13. Ibid.

14. Sendrey. Alfred. Music in Ancient Israel, p. 490.

15. Female participation in the Levitical choir would also provide an historical
precedent for the present proliferation of female cantors and choral direc-
tors in Southern Californian synagogues.

THE INFLUENCE OF SALOMONE ROSSI'S MUSIC:
PART TWO

Daniel Chazanoff

(A continuation of an article on the subject published in

Vol. VIZ, No. 4, October 1977.)
The first products of this new, more intimate music that
we call chamber music are to be found in the works of
Salomone Rossi . .

Paul Henry Lang

Music in Western Civilization, p. 367

This is the eighth in a series of articles on the music of Salomone Rossi
by Daniel Chazanoff. Dr. Chazanoff' s studies on Rossi were made possible by
a research grant from the National Foundation for J ewish Culture.

The author has had twenty-five years of experience as a teacher, per-
former, conductor and administrator. His accomplishments are currently listed
in three international and two national biographicals.

FATHER OF THE TRIO SONATA
To fully comprehend Rossi's contribution in the realm of instru-
mental music, one needs to be aware of the many musical trends
which existed simultaneously at the beginning of the 17th century —
and their fusion in his works. In the words of U I rich, 'The first
half of the seventeenth century is perhaps, the most confused and
complicated of all periods in music history."l The reasons given
are:*

1. the continued presence of the old polyphonic (meaning con-
trapuntal or many-voiced writing) style. Measure number
five of Rossi's first trio sonata entitled "Sinfonia Prima,"
illustrates this; note the independence of the three string
parts." £X ,

27

the emergence of the new monodic (homophonic) style (this
is also referred to as the basso continuo or figured bass
which formed the beginning of chords to accompany a single
melodic line). In measure number nine of the same work
by Rossi we encounter an example of block-like vertical
chords in the three string parts*

ex. a

the appearance of instrumental music with a vocal style in
some cases (vocal compositions were also freely transcri bed
to be played on instruments). I n the opening two measures
of Rossi's "Sinfonia Prima" all three string parts are scale-
like in character and narrow in range, indicating a vocal
orientation. 5

the appearance of instrumental music with a well -developed
instrumental style (this meant a widening range of sound
as the virtuosity of players and instrument quality im-
proved). "Sinfonia 27" (originally published in Rossi's
"Rook II, 1608," is number 12 in that collection) has a range
of three octaves plus a perfect fourth. 6

EX-lf

C above the treble staff would be played in the third
position on the violin. Corelli, at the end of the 17th cen-
tury, believed that the violin should not be played above
the third position because it did not sound well there. Con-
sidering that this sinfonia was written about 75 years before
Corel I i 's statement, it is ahead of its time,
instrumental music which combined instrumental and vocal
styles. The combination of skips (instrumental style) and
steps (vocal style) is found in measure number 9 of "Sinfonia
3" of 1607 in all three string parts.'
Eli -

6. the lack of uniformity in labelling the forms or different
names given to the same kind of form: sinfonia, concerto,
canzona, and sonata. The reader should be aware that any
work sounded on instruments at the beginning of the 17th
century was a sonata. Therefore the term sonata was a
generic term interchangeable with any form written for in-
struments. During Rossi's time, sonatas were written for
small groups of instruments. The solo sonata did not come
into being until the latter half of the 17th century.

7. stylistic differences in the same form when written for a
larger or smaller group of instruments. For example Rossi's

29

five part string works sometimes contain sustained bass line
parts compared with greater interplay between the bass and
the upper two string parts in his three part string works,
i. the presence of two diverse formal styles, the sonata and the
canzona. According to Ulrich, the canzona and sonata styles
were most clearly differentiated around 1610 as seen in the
chart which follows: 8

CANZONE STYLE SONATA STYLE

1. Largely of homophonic texture.

2. Rhythmic diversity was not great. 2. Greater rhythmic diversity —note

values range from a half note to a
sixteenth.

3. Melodies contained short, motive- 3. Lengthened melodic phrases, four
like phrases with repeated notes or eight measures to achieve
in evidence. melodic expression.

4. Narrow melodic range. 4. Greater melodic range.

5. Definite rhythmic beat was typical 5. Primarily expressive — lacked the
and duple meter usual. regular pulse of the canzona.

6. Not greatly concerned with instru- 6. Nature of instruments taken into
mental medium, i.e., music for account, i.e., phrasing marks and
music's sake whether vocal or in- writing.

st ru mental.

7. Equality of voices typical of 7. Inner voices less important,
counterpoint.

We can see from the chart, that the canzona derived its char-
acteristics from the 16th century Renaissance while the sonata be-
came a 17th century Baroque phenomenon. Rowen articulates the
difference in saying that the canzona fused fugal methods with dance
techniques while the trio sonata was not steeped in counterpoint.
The rivaling alternation or dialogue between two melodic instru-
ments in a simple setting of thirds and sixths prepared dissonances
interspersed with imitative figures was the stylistic principle of the
trio sonata.9 If any similarity between the canzona and the trio
sonata can be found, it is in the contrast between imitative and
chordal sections.10 For example Rossi's "Sinfonia Prima" (1607)
opens with an imitative section in duple meter followed by a dance-
like chordal section, in triple meter, resembling a galliard.

9. the corresponding musical forms partake of one style some-
times and of others at other times; these were interchange-
able.

30

A word of clarification becomes necessary here. The trio sonata
was born in Rossi's "First Book of Sinfonias and Galliards," dated
1607. While the collection was written for stringed instruments, it
was for viols rather than violins. This writer has established J une 2,
1608 as the first time that Rossi used violins rather than viols, when
his first composition for the stage was performed. It was not until
1613 that he specified violins rather than viols in the writing of
chamber music. This was the final step in establishing the violin as
the performing medium of baroque string music in Italy.

Finally, acoustics were i mportant in determining the size of
ensemble and its timbre during the early baroque. At that time, the
term 'da camera' "... meant any kind of music not destined for
a church or opera use, and thus stood neither for a form nor a
style."" In earlier articles, this writer pointed out that Rossi's
religious music was confined to the 33 psalms entitled, TheSongs
of Solomon for 3 to 8 voices. Hence, he used no instruments, follow-
ing tradition, in writing music for the synagogue. During the same
period, however, Giovanni Gabrielli wrote sonatas and canzonasfor
single and double brass choirs (used antiphonally) as choirmaster
of St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice. Rossi's involvement with opera
came about as a result of his close relationship with Claudio Monte-
Verdi; who was the first great composer of opera; he wrote a prelude
for one of Monteverdi's early music dramas. At the same time,
Rossi organized the large body of instruments, using violins rather
than viols, which Monteverdi conducted from the keyboard in the
performance of his early operas at the Mantuan Court. The trio
sonata, then, evolved from Rossi's ability as both a string player
and composer. I n a functional sense, the trio sonata came about as
the result of a need for a more intimate kind of music at court using
fewer players to entertain royalty in a 'da camera' (chamber) setting.

The emancipation of instrumental from vocal music was, there-
fore, a gradual process which saw a great deal of experimentation in
wavering between old and new concepts. In moving from the late
Renaissance to the early Baroque, composers of the period made
use of a variety of techniques involving texture, timbre, structure
and style; Rossi 's trio sonatas were i nnovati ve i n the case of al I four
musical components.

Bukofzer, a leading authority on the musical baroque, credits
Rossi with the establishment of the trio sonata, the classic medium
of baroque chamber music.12 It appeared in the "First Book of
Sinfonie et Gagliarda" for 3 to 5 voices, dated 1607.13 While the
texture was homophonic, the works in this book used viols accom-

31

panied by a chittarone (bass lute). It was in his 'Third Book of
Variation Sonatas," dated 1613, that Rossi specified two violins and
basso continuo (a keyboard) as his instrumentation. 14 Rossi's in-
fluence is seen in the cultivation of the trio sonata by the composer,
Marini in his publication entitled Affeti Musicali, dated 1617.15 Other
composers of the period who foil owed the trend in Italy included
Belli, Riccio, Turini, Merula, Bernardi, Grandi and Frescobaldi.16
By the middle of the 17th century, English composers were also
writing trio sonatas. One notable example is a collection entitled
Twelve Sonatas for Two Violins and a Base, with a Throrough Bass
for the Organ or Theorbo by J ohn J enkins. It was published around
1653.17

The term trio sonata may cause some confusion. Traditionally,
it consists of four elements, i.e., two upper voices to be played by
violins, a bass line for a melodic instrument (usually a cello) and a
chordal instrument to fill in the harmonies (generally a keyboard) .18

Rossi's influence continued during the second half of the 17th
century in the works of the great Arcangelo Corel I i (1653-1713),
who wrote both the sonata da camera (chamber sonata) and da
chiesa (church sonata) among his trio sonatas.19 They were written
for two violins, violone (between a cello and double bass) or theorbo
(a kind of archlute) and organ.20 It is interesting to note that the
slow-fast-slow-fast pattern found in the sonata da chiesa first ap-
peared in Rossi's "Sonata detta La Moderna" of 1613. This writer
also suspects that Corelli used both the style and instrumentation of
thetriosonata in still another way. It was in the "Concerto G rosso"
that Corelli contrasted the tutti (all) and the concertino (the small
chamber grouping within the large orchestral group). If any place
of origin can be found for the concertino, it is in thetriosonata.
U I rich corroborates this in saying ". . . although violin style was
not perfected until the end of the century in the sonatas and con-
certos of Corelli, its evolution began in the variation sonatas of
Salomon Rossi as early as 1613." 21

But even later than Corelli came Antonio Vivaldi (c.1669-1741),
whose opus 3 contained 12 concerti grossi. Two of these, opus 3,
number 2 in G and number 11 in D, contain the instrumentation of
thetriosonata in the solo parts while two others, number 5 in A
and number 8 in A, retain two violins in dialogue all characteristic
of Rossi's trio sonatas.

With the growth of concert halls during the latter part of the
17th century, concert music was no longer confined to court circles.
Yet, while the concerto grosso made use of a relatively large orches-

tra, it retained an early baroque tendency in the use of the con-
certino for acoustical contrast. This had its origins in Rossi's first
instrumental experiments of 1607.

FOOTNOTES

1. Homer Ulrich, Chamber Music, (New York: Columbia University Press.
1943). p. 55.

2. Ibid.

3. Fritz Rikka and Joel Newman, Editors. Sinfonie, 1607-1608, (Bryn Mawr.

Pennsylvania. Mercury Music Corp., 1971). Volume III.

4. Ibid.

5. Ibid.

6. Ibid.

7. Ibid.

8. Ulrich. op. cit., p. 59.60.

9. Ruth Halle Rowen, The Emergence of the String Quartet, (New York:
Unpublished Master's Thesis. Columbia University), p. 49-50.

10. Alex Harman end Milner Man and His Music, (London: Barrie and
Rockliff, 1959). p. 294.

11. Paul Henry Lang, Music in Western Civilization (New York W. W.
Norton and Co.. 1941), p. 366.

12. Manfred T. Bukofzer. Music in the Baroque Era, (New York: W. W.
Norton and Co., 1947). p. 53.

13. Ulrich. op. cit., p. 62.

14. Ibid.

15. Bukofzer. loc. cit.

16. Ibid.

17. A. Hyatt King. Chamber Music, (New York: chanticleer Press, 1946).
p. 24-25.

16. Nicholas Slanimaky, Editor. The International Cyclopedia of Music and
Musicians (New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1956, Revised Eighth Edi-
tion), p. 1162.

19. Rowen, op. cit., p. 56.

20. Ibid.

21. Homer Ulrich, Symphonic Music (New York: Columbia University Press,

Second Printing, 1955), p. 10.

ID GERSHON EPHROS:
In Ueu Of A Kaddish

MAXWOHLBERG

It is difficult to reconcile oneself to the thought that never again
will I hear his soft, mellow voice on the telephone. Life has become
impoverished by his departure.

While he was the gentlest of men he was also the most militant
in behalf of the pure and the more beautiful in J ewish Music. Re-
calling the numberless conversations we have had, two revealing facts
seem to emerge:

1. The preponderant number of them concerned the music of
the Synagogue and the Cantorate.

2. Since not a scintilla of malice found shelter in his saintly
character, he never spoke ill of anyone. While an occasional dis-
agreement on some minor matter was unavoidable, one instinctively
knew that his reasons were on the side of the artistic, the esthetic
and the truth. Similarly, in his music, it was evident that he cease-
lessly plodded for perfection, eschewing the vulgar and the common-
place.

Oddly enough, he was both an idealist and a realist. Fully
aware that comparatively few would accept and perform some of
his more recent compositions, he, as an honest man, would not com-
promise his sacred art for he believed with a perfect heart that in
time the Tightness of his efforts would be recognized and his work
would meet with approval.

It is no exaggeration to declare that Synagogue Music is finer
because there lived in our midst a humble and blessed man whose
name was Gershon Ephros. He was industrious to the end. New
ideas, untried ventures, novel possibilities crowded his ever-youthful,
fertile mind. His multi-faceted works deserve serious consideration,
study and analysis.

Dr. Max Wohlberg is Professor of Nusah at the Cantors Institute of The
J ewish Theological Seminary.

34

A friendship of half a century has come to an end and it is
painful to admit that Gershon Ephros is with us no more. In truth,
the dearly beloved, gentle soul is forever with us. I feel his warm
handshake, his fond embrace. I see his understanding, delicate smile.
I sense his closeness and I hear his cautious comments.

We thank the Lord for the privilege of having been in his
presence, for having been exposed to the nobility of his personality
and for having shared his dreams for our sacred profession. The
loved and the pleasant are not parted by death.

Dear Gershon, we loved you in life and your blessed memory
is a most precious heritage. As you leave us, a part of us goes with
you.

AN OPEN LETTER ID OUR READERS

Dear Reader:

I am pleased to announce the first publication of a new series
entitled ISRAEL STUDIES IN MUSICOLOGY. It will serve as the
official organ of the Israel Musicological Society. The intention is to
print the best in recent Israeli and European-American musical
scholarship and to work, as far as possible, for an increased under-
standing of intercultural relationships. ISRAEL STUDIES will be
issued as an annual. The job of its editing will be shared in rotation
by the various academic institutions its represents. The first volume
was prepared by the J ewish Music Research Center at Hebrew Uni-
versity as a birthday offering to Edith Gerson-Kiwi and Hanoch
Avenary, two of the pillars of Israeli musicology. Volume II, sched-
uled for publication in the fall of 1979, is currently being prepared
by Bar-Man University, Ramat-Gan (Editor: Bathia Churgin).

The Israel Musicological Society was founded in 1956 and re-
organized in 1968. Since the inauguration of musicology as an
academic discipline in the universities of Israel — starting from the
mid-'sixties Departments of Musicology were opened successively at
Hebrew University, Tel-Aviv University and Bar-Man University —
musical scholarship in the country has taken vast strides forward.
Research is pursued intensively today by a large number of scholars
— musicologists, ethnomusicologists — of the older and younger
generations; they work in areas that cover a wide span of the subject
matter of present-day Eastern and Western musical inquiry. The
launching of a journal of the Society comes as the fulfillment at long
last of the hopes of our scholars to have a vehicle of communication
of their research to the outside world. At the same time it was made
possible by the achievements of these same scholars in the academic
and scientific domains. It marks a milestone in the short, but event-
ful history of musicology in Israel. More than ever it commits us
to the pursuit of the high aims for which our Society was founded.

As a new periodical however ISRAEL STUDIES IN MUSI-
COLOGY has all the problems of a newly born child. It must be
carefully nurtured and assisted in its development. The first volume
was put out against great financial odds and almost in defiance of
those who said that we would never be able to do it. But now that
it is out, our immediate concern is to guarantee its survival. And
survival means financial support. Only through such support will,
the continued publication of ISRAEL STUDIES be assured.

36

I am turning to you, dear Reader, to assist us in our venture.
Yearly dues for members of the Society, entitling them to their copy
of ISRAEL STUDIES, have been set at $10. But I hope you will
find it possible to assure us of an even stronger measure of your
support by pledging a larger sum as a patron or sustaining member.
Checks may be made payable to the Israel Musicological Society,
according to the address P.O.B. 503, J erusalem, Israel. The Society
looks to all friends of Israel and of musical scholarship for your help
at this crucial moment in its development.

Yours sincerely,

Don Harran

Chairman,

Israel Musicological Society

REVIEW OF NEW MUSIC

'Twelve Songs" for Solo voice with piano accompaniment, by
Lazar Weiner; Translations by Samuel Rosenbaum, Transcontinental
Music Publications, New York.

Lazar Weiner is a composer of musical distinction who has made
enormous contributions to the field of Jewish music. His latest
collection of art songs, entitled 'TWELVE SONGS," was recently
published by Transcontinental Music. These are art songs, set to
selected Yiddish poems by some of our finest poets, and freely trans-
lated into English by the gifted Samuel Rosenbaum. The book is
a compilation of songs dating from 1936 to 1977.

Between language and music there exists a very close, if not
inseparable, relationship. This relationship is always evident in the
chordal harmonies, the rhythmic patterns and melodic motifs of each
era in which the composer is creating. In this collection, Weiner
reveals a modern harmonic approach. He has embellished the vocal
lines of his songs with a rich garland of improvisations, individual
in character.

These are not the simple and straightforward songs of the con-
ventional type. Rather, Weiner has chosen to employ atonal skips,
diatonic motifs and arbitrary rhythmic patterns. His chordal se-
quences are often dissonant and lean heavily on chromatic sequences,
parallel 4ths and 5ths, and pentatonic patterns. Throughout, his
songs reveal a sensitive feeling for color. There are passages of poetic
beauty, meditative calm, as well as harsh and fiercely turbulent
sections. Whether haunting, or powerful, or built on liturgical
melodic patterns, one feels Weiner is always searching for an ex-
pression of the soul of his people.

Perhaps the best analysis of Weiner's music can be summed
up by his own remarks: "Vocal music was the primary love in my
life, which is the reason why I dedicated most of my life to this
genre. Poetry, particularly Yiddish poetry, took second place in
my life. I chose poetry written by the finest contemporary poets,
and my aim was to recreate word and mood into sound. The subject
matters that intrigued me were: life, justice, and problems of people
seeking justice and righteousness. I am not interested in sentimen-
tality per se, seven though I have written some love songs. My aim
was to recreate words and mood into sound. My tools are form,
rhythm, harmony, melodic lines, and the marriage of text and sound.
I never aimed to write melody for the sake of melody."

38

The pieces in 'Twelve Songs" cannot be termed Zieder because
the Lied was the flower of romantic music, and Weiner spurns senti-
mentality. Rather, they are "art songs," in the style, perhaps, of
a Lukas Foss, and will require the talents of a highly trained singer
and an equally virtuoso pianist. They are finely structured and im-
pressive in their well -developed sense of sound and melodic treat-
ment of the voice, in which the folklore element often plays an im-
portant part. However, it is in his accompaniments to the songs
that Weiner clearly demonstrates his disdain for conventional har-
mony, and one sometimes wonders if the contemporary clashing
chords are not an intellectual excursion rather than an emotional
experience.

How should an accompaniment be written? Should it be indis-
solubly linked with the epoch of its birth, and subordinated to the
vocal line, or should it remain an unfettered expression of the times,
looking for new sensations and stimulations? Here Weiner has
obviously developed his own style — austere, stark, polytonal and
polychordal. Like Charles Ives, he apparently feels that dissonance
best portrays the modern pulsating American life. And like Ives,
Weiner too, excels in impressionism. Like Aaron Copland, his musi-
cal style seems to have been molded by his Russian heritage, his
contact with French music of the twenties, and the American folk-
song. And like Lukas Foss, who also seeks to adopt the American
idiom into his works, Weiner shows the influence of Hindemith at
many points in his compositions.

The twelve songs are finely etched cameos, many of short dura-
tion, and might best be performed in their entirety as a song-cycle.

The first one, "Mayn Shprakh" is a rhapsodic paean of praise.
Set to the stirring words of J . Papernikov, it reaffirms his strong
identification with theYiddish language. "I will continue to sing
my song in Yiddish for so long as I know that somewhere someone
longs to hear it," says he. Above the steady reiteration of a triplet
motif in the accompaniment, the song rises in intensity to an im-
passioned espousal of theYiddish word. Constantly the triplets
continue, emphasized by a sequence of dissonant chordal progres-
sions of 7ths, adding heightened excitement, until one can almost
sense the beating of the human heart, or perhaps the pulse, even,
of our Yiddish language.

"Baym Bentshn Licht," which Weiner dedicated to his two
mothers, is a serene tone poem, subdued and mystic. Samuel Rosen-
baum's translation of J oseph Rubinstein's words says:

"My mother cries as she blesses the Sabbath lights.
I cannot make out the words.

I see only the tears as they roll gently down her cheek.
As I watch, a candle is showered in tears.

A candlestick sobs as she, the flame shedding burning team."
A radiant glow rests over this song, which is laced with Weiner's
penchant for diatonic progressions. This is not a melody that per-
sists in your mind's ear. Rather, its sparsely etched lines remind
one of the school of "minimal painting" used by some of the artists
of today.

The melody line of " Mit Mayn Zeydn," (Yiddish by M. Yung-
man), is reminiscent of prayer chant. It conveys an aura of the old
synagogue and conjures up visions of talmudic scholars deep in study.
The melody is liturgical in flavor and in feeling. The accompaniment,
with its descending arpeggios, creates a Debussy-like impression of
tonal mysticism, and is truly a palette of lovely sound.

3. Mit Mayn Zeydn

fo(Iikecha ntin g>(J=a

"Der Held," is the story of a war hero who served in the army,
only to lose his hand and his home, for the dubious reward of three
medals. Written in 1936, during the upheavals in Europe, Weiner
uses 7th chords to point up the bitterness expressed in Roisenblatt's
words. Always one hears the same query: "I z dos dir noch veinik?"
"/sthat not enough?" One can feel Weiner's indignation at the
injustice of war as the song gathers momentum through the use
of harsh chordal patterns.

"Farbaygeyer," "Passerby," is set to a poem by Rajzel Zych-
linska. It is enigmatic and contemplative, an abstract tonal picture.
One could almost call this song "images in sound." Its gentle quality

41

reminds one of the abstract colorations in a Frankenthaler painting.
The meditative calm is enhanced by a series of atmospheric arpeg-
gios, this time ascending, and generously besprinkled with soft
chormatic tonal intervals.

m

-j» n i j~3

^^

r

The sixth song, "Din Zaynen Di Vent," by the same poet, is
slow, somber and hauntingly beautiful, with a supportive accompani-
ment which sympathetically embellishes the quiet brooding of the
vocal line.

'Thin are the walls

In the house where I live ...

Often I hear my neighbor talk in his sleep —

Deaf sounds, incomprehensible,

As if from a grave . . .

I, alone, lie awake and wait ..."

Zychlinska's next poem, "Ich Hob Dich Shoyn Lang," is another
sensitive and impressionistic tone poem from Weiner's gifted pen.

"Long since last I held you, my child,
So, empty are my hands ...
Long since last I heard your laughter,
So, silent is my life . . ."

Gently intertwined with the melody are parallel patterns of chormatic
notes.

7. Ich Hob Dich Shoyn Lang

Slow and Gentle

=jT)JV fc f '

^ julJULX^jL^

43

"Arop UnAroyf" set to the words of H. Leivick, ("Up and
Down"), is a fine, well -structured song, easily "singable," with an
accompaniment quite supportive of the melody. Slow and sustained,
it expresses in eloquent fashion the stirrings of the soul and the
hopelessness of life.

'A Afet#«" might just as easily have been called "A Tale."
J acobGlatstein relates the story of a J ew sitting lonely and forlorn.
As he thinks upon the approaching Sabbath, he philosophizes in
song, and gains strength and hope for a brighter life ahead. He
becomes rhapsodic as Queen Sabbath approaches, and the song grows
with excitement until it reaches a dance-like section of rhythmic
agitation, climaxing finally on a high A flat. It is of greater length
than many of the other songs, and includes recitando and canti Na-
tion motifs that give it color, variety and pace. The accompaniment
captures and enhances the spirit and character of the words. The
song is a little jewel.

"Vu Zennen Di Yidn," text by Itzik Manger, is an interesting
composition. "Where are they, those J ews who once believed in
God? — the mothers who faithfully kindled Sabbath lamps, and
wept over prayer books and at graves?" Expressive and poignant,
the song captures the anguished feeling of the text. Weiner utilizes
the additional ploy of "sprechstimme" interspersed within the mel-
ody, to develop the gripping tension expressed by the poem. The
juxtaposition of melody line and spoken word makes for a novel
musical fresco which is both exciting and austere.

45

"El Khanun," song #L1, text by Kadya Molodowsky, is strongly
influenced by prayer modes. The use of chant in the beginning
transports the listener into a religious mood. The accompaniment
highlights the feeling of bitterness and reproach against God for
His lack of solicitude for the J ewish people. "Merciful God, pick
yourself another people for a while — we are sick of death and
dying ..." The song is a powerful indictment of God's harsh
treatment of the J ewish people. The dramatic quality of the song
is increased by a high tessitura, and at the climax the artist is
singing a high B flat against a chord containing a B natural and
an A flat! One almost wants to wince at this uncompromising
approach.

The last song, "Di Dame Mitn Hintl," 'The Lady with the
Little Dog," poem by Molodowsky, is quite a departure from
Weiner's other songs. Here we have a charming story, all sunshine
and light; piquant, imaginative and humorous. Weiner employs his
many techniques to good avail, and they highlight the words with
their descriptive sounds. His bold harmonies and his piano chord
clusters, sometimes achieved through elbows and forearms striking
the keyboard, his use of glissandi, and his clumped clusters of white
or black keys, become as much theatrical as they are musical. One
often feels percussion instruments at work.

^^&jgj7> r T1 - F =^^-^ 3 -; 7-^

^F=f=^=

^=: V* \ = t = — —

\l \> \> \>

47

Weiner's songs are art songs, put together with considerable skill
and imagination. They have form. They have craftsmanship. They
have beauty. They have color. But are they sophisticated expres-
sions destined to remain reserved for the elite few? Who is there
to sing them? And who is there to hear them? Alas, the murmuring
of Yiddish voices grows fainter day by day, despite Weiner's pro-
testations of faith. The average concert-goer, with few exceptions,
is more interested, unfortunately, in music that titillates and
entertains.

The problem, then, is to find an audience that can understand
and appreciate Weiner's "unorthodox" method of composition. But
this requires education. How does one get it? An audience unin-
terested in the creative activity of its own time is an audience of
museum-goers, not an audience of live ears. Music must be a living,
continuing art. It is a culture that must be nurtured.

There is a lot of old-fashioned bull-headed prejudice against
contemporary music. Many people condemn it without listening to
it. Listening is indeed the key. Not every song has to be a master-
piece, just as we don't demand that every book be a masterpiece.
The important thing is that the music have audience exposure. Of
one thing we can be sure — if new music does not get that exposure,
then the wellspring of creativity will dry up due to a lack of per-
formance outlets, and then there never will be any new "master-
piece."

I should respectfully like to recommend such a project to the
Cantors Assembly. I think the Assembly should sponsor a number
of chamber recitals of Yiddish folk and art songs in two or three of
the major cities throughout the year, and invite J ewish singers who
are willing to coach, to learn and prepare for these concerts the
J ewish masterpieces that are lying fallow and unheard all about us.
Perhaps these concerts could be preceded by an informative talk a
half hour before the program begins, such as is sponsored by the
Cleveland Orchestra, where illuminating remarks on some phase of
J ewish music could be presented. I feel very strongly that if this
is not done, the J ewish song will surely die, or descend to the level
of "Oif'n Pripetchik," rather than taking wing and growing.

No People can live in the present without looking ahead to the
future. Thomas Mann once said, "J ust as little as one can under-

stand the New and the Young without being at home in tradition,
just as sterile must the love of the Old remain if one closes one's
mind to the New which came forth from it with historical necessity."

I do not say that Lazar Weiner's music is the culmination of
our creativity, but I do say that we must hear what is going on in
the musical world, even if it may sound noisy or strange to some
ears. Let us beware of cocksure opinions; they are valuable only to
the one who expresses them. Music is not necessarily bad because
it is of a different and irregular nature. For audiences to have no
curiosity about new works, no spur to hot discussion concerning
them, is to encourage stagnation in art. Our present-day audiences
must approach a new work not with the expectation that it will re-
affirm previous impressions, but with the thrill of curiosity for what
a composer has to say that is new which they did not hear before.
Then they will find themselves enriched by a great artistic experience.

Viewing this musical offering of 'TWELVE SONGS" by Lazar
Weiner, one cannot help but be impressed by his creative urge. Nor
can anyone deny that the whole stream of J ewish music is enriched
by his genius. Lazar Weiner is the pre-eminent composer of J ewish
art songs today.

Ida Meisels is a talented pianist, arranger, pedagogue and composer work-
ing almost exclusively in the field of J ewish music, both secular and liturgical.
She has published almost three score felictous arrangements for chorus, solo
with piano accompaniment. She is the wife of Hazzan Saul Meisels of Temple
on the Heights in Cleveland. Together, they have given hundreds of concerts
and recitals of J ewish music for the last three decades to great critical and
popular acclaim

49

"Ladino Songs: Montanas Atlas" (High Mountains) voice,
flute and piano and "Ah, El Novio No Quere Dinero!" (Ah, The
Groom Wants No Money!) voice and piano or guitar. By Richard
Neumann, Transcontinental Publications, New York.

We are grateful to Richard Neumann for his continued interest
in the rich treasure of Ladino folksong literature. With the publi-
cation of two new settings he once again demonstrates his talent for
creating arrangements which retain the original Spanish character
of the melodies at the same time enhancing the overall effect of the
song. His accompaniments never get in the way of the singer.
"Montanas Altas" is a hauntingly beautiful song of unrequited love
with a distinctive Spanish flavor. The melismatic style is very much
suited to the Hazzan. However, the Hazzan should be careful not
to impose the liturgical style of the synagogue on this unique art
form. The flute obi igato drawn from the melodic material adds an-
other dimension to the overall effect.

The eight (8) measure section in 6/8 time consisting of a series
of parallel fifths in the bass is very effective writing which helps to
create an atmosphere of an earlier age. Mr. Neumann has wisely
arranged the piano accompaniment so that the song is still very
effective if a flute is not available.

Oh, "El Novio No Qere Dinero!" is a lively wedding song with
humorous overtones. It is a wonderful contrast to Montanas Altas.
The groom's lack of interest in a dowry and his desire to marry for
love must have been an unusual event in the Spanish J ewish com-
munity of yesteryear in order for this idea to be enshrined in a song.
The spirited Spanish rhythm in the accompaniment lends vitality
and thrust to the song making it a delight to perform. It is re-
grettable that we are not provided with an English translation of
either of these songs, particularly when they contain old Spanish
words which are no longer used in the modern language. Neverthe-
less, these songs are a welcome addition to the growing repertoire
of Ladino Songs thanks to Mr. Neumann's persistence and interest.

50

David Schiff — "Wedding Verses" for tenor (Cantor), soprano
and alto, by David Schiff, Transcontinental Publications, New York.

A young talented composer emerging on the J ewish musical
scene, David Schiff has written a charming wedding song utilizing
several short verses from Shir Hashirim, "DodiLi VaaniLo" and
"Hareini Et Mareaich, Hashmiini Et Kolech", and from Hosea,
"Veratstieh Li L'olam". It begins with a lovely refrain, "DodiLi"
written for three voices soprano, alto and tenor (Cantor). The re-
frain is of rhythmic interest with a recurring three measure pattern
in 3/4, 6/8 and 5/8 time. The solo portions are written in a free
unmeasured style with the slightest suggestion of the Shir Hashirim
mode.

While the publication suggests that the tenor part may be sung
by the cantor, it would appear to me impractical at an actual wedding
where the cantor is under the Hu pa, particularly since he does not
sing the melody in the refrain. However, the solo parts can be sung
by the cantor.

It is regrettable that the selection is so short in duration. This
writer would have liked to see the solo parts developed further.
They rather end abruptly. A careful study of this composition re-
veals a thoroughly schooled musician who has the tools to contribute
much to the J ewish musical scene.

Ben BELFER

Ben W. Belfer is the hazzan of Temple B'nai Sholom, Rockville Centre,
New York. He is also a member of the faculty of the Cantors Institute of the
J ewish Theological Seminary.

Ma'ariv: Evening Devotion, for Baritone, Reader, Chorus and
Orchestra, by Herbert Fromm, Transcontinental Music Publications,
New York.

"Ma'ariv" by Herbert Fromm is not the traditional tefillat Arvit
or evening service as found in the siddur, but a setting of three
prayers and a hymn (Adon Olam) for baritone, reader, mixed choir,
and orchestra. The orchestral part is also available in a keyboard
reduction by the composer in a vocal score.

The three prayers are taken from different services connected
with "evening", but do not have any traditional matbeah shel tefilla.
These are personal choices of Fromm, set to music in a kind of
cantata form. The first prayer used is the Ma-ariv aravim — the
first paragraph before the Sh'ma; the next one is Elohai N'tzor
(keep my tongue from evil); the third is the opening prayer of
Sh'ma Al Hamita (the prayer recited on retiring for the night). As
mentioned before, the hymn is a setting of Adon Olam.

The music is atonal, perhaps almost serial in style. All the
pieces convey a kind of serenity associated with night, rest, and
sleep. Perhaps that is the reason that these settings are wanting in
bringing forth climaxes. In its specific style and musical language
they are held together by a rhythmic pattern that is found in each
piece. The first 2-4 measures give that rhythmic motive that carries
the composition to its end. The settings are predominantly for
soloist, the choir being almost an echo with snatches here and
there.

The musical ideas are original with Herbert Fromm and one
yearns for some "J ewish" motives or phrases. On the other hand,
the psalmody characteristic and chromatic progressions portray a
style which is used in J ewish prayer, even though a kind of atonal ity
is found throughout. An overwhelming quietude seems to hover,
almost leading the total relaxation and possibly boredom. There is
some reawakening in the Adon Olam. Fromm uses the soloist and
choir alternately.

There is a question as to the practical use of this musical work,
especially the requirement of an orchestra. Perhaps the work can be
presented at mini-concert with other compositions programmed.
Ma'ariv by Herbert Fromm looks very well on paper, however, music
must be performed.

M orton Kula

Morton Kula isthe Hazzan of Adath J eshurun Congregation in Minne-
apolis, Minnesota.