JEWISH LITURGICAL MUSIC IN LIBERAL IUDAISM IN THE UK

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Audra McLaughlin
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1 But by 'traditional' I also mean those many items, commonly sung in synagogues, which are of indeterminate antiquity and unknown composership. A case in point is the Leoni' Yigdnl, 'Magnified be the living God, which goes back at least to the 18th century. According to the wellknown story, it was sung by Meyer Leon, known as Leoni, cantor of the Great A JEWISH LITURGICAL MUSIC IN LIBERAL IUDAISM IN THE UK. Rabbi John D. Rayner Introduction If ever a paper needed to begin with a disclaimer, this one does, since, far from being a musician or a musicologist, I am not even musically educatedl am, however, fairly familiar with what gobs on musically in the Union of Liberal and Progressive Synagogues (ULPS for short) and especially the Liberal Jewish Synagogue (US for short), and I have been helped by Cathy Heller- ]ones, LIS Director of Music, who will provide most of the vocal illustrations. What goes on in the ULPS is not uniform. Some of its congregations have a professional, some a voluntary Choir, some a Chazzan, in some it is all communal singing led by the rabbi or a single chorister, some do but some do riot use an organ. Thesé différences bbvioilsly affect the nature and range of their music. My focus will be on the LJS because, as the oldest constituent of the ULPS, it has largely influenced its sister congregations, and also because it has the resources to make the amplest use of thefivailable material. Here let me interject that Progressive Judaism has three advantages when it comes to music. The first is that it permits mixed choirs and organ accompaniment and is therefore able to use compositions written for, or most effectively rendered by, that combination. Secondly, its liturgical texts include many items which do not feature in the traditional liturgy and for which musical settings had therefore to be found or created. Thirdly, the freedom-toinnovate which characterises Progressive Judaism in other matters extends also to the choice of music, so that it feels able to draw its repertoire from virtually unlimited range of sources. The musical repertoire of the LIS falls into four categories which I will call Traditional, Classical, Folk, and Domestic. What I mean by these terms will become apparent Traditional By 'traditional' I mean, in the first instance, the cantillation of Scripture. Unfortunately that does not play a large part in Liberal Judaism, since we usually read both the Parashah and the Haftarah. Some of us, however, do cantillate the Parashah occasionally, so as to keep alive a venerable tradition; and for the same reason we always chant the last two verses of the Shema, So that you may remember all My commandments', in that style. [Illustration 1: L'ma an tizk'ru]

2 Synagogue in Duke s Place, one Sabbath Eve in 1770, when it inspired a visiting Wesleyan minister, Thomas Olivers, to compose the Christian hymn 'The God of Abraham praise. [Illustration 2: Yigdal (Leoni)] To the same category belongs a traditional Sefardi Adan Olam ('Sovereign of the universe') commonly known as 'De Sola' because of its association with David de Sola ( ), who was born in Amsterdam, served Sefardi synagogues in London and Montreal, and in 1857 published 'The Ancient Melodies of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews. Classical [Illustration 3: Adon Olam (de Sola)] By 'classical' I mean works written for synagogue worship by accomplished composers of the post-emancipation period. They were preceded, of course, by Salomone de Rossi of 17th-century Italy, and at the LIS we occasionally sing his Adan Olam and his Shir ha-ma'nlot (Psalm 126), but chiefly as a matter of historical interest, for to the modern ear his music sounds more obviously Renaissance than Jewish. So the 'classical composers we use are essentially those of the 19th and 20th centuries. Let me mention, in chronological order, those most commonly used in Liberal synagogues. Solomon Sulzer ( ) Solomon Sulzer was born in Austria in 1804 and appointed Chazzan of the New Synagogue in Vienna in He had a magnificent voice which impressed Schubert and Liszt. His compositions, inspired both by cantorial tradition and by contemporary Christian music, were published under the title Shir Tziyyon ('The Song of Zion') in 1838 and One of the best known is his Mi Addir, May God bless the bridegroom and the bride', from the marriage service. It begins: julius Mombach, [Illustration 4: Mi Addir] Julius Lazarus Mombach was born in Germany in 1813, came to London at the age of 15, became a chorister and in 1841 Choirmaster of the Great Synagogue, and also taught Chazzanut at Jews College. His compositions were published in 1881 under the title Ne'im Zemz roth Israel (The pleasant Melodies of Israel'). A good example is his Mechalkel, God sustains the living in love'. [Illustration 5: Mechalkel]

3 x Chaim Wnsserzug, Chaim Wasserzug was born in Poland in 1823 and eventually became Chazzan of the Great Synagogue in Vilna, where, it is said, crowds of up to 10,000 people, including many non-jews, would sometimes go to hear him, so phenomenal was his voice. In 1868 he came to England as Reader of the North London Synagogue, and in 1878 his liturgical music was published under the title Sefcr Shirci Mikdash ( Book of the Songs of the Sanctuary'). One of his compositions still used at the_ljs is hisha nerot halalu, 'We kindle these lights, for Chanukkah. It begins: Louis Lewandowski, [Illustration 6: Ha-nerot halalu] Louis Lewandowski was in Posen, also in 1823, and at the age of 12 went to Berlin where he spent the rest of his life as choirmaster, successively, of three synagogues. His compositions were published in two parts: Kol Rinnah ( The Voice of Rejoicing') in 1871, and Todah v'zimmh (Thanksgiving and Song') in His music, partly based on traditional modes, partly influenced by Mendelssohn, became extremely popular in Germany and, since the Hitler period, has been brought by Jewish refugees to other countries. One of his many brilliant compositions is his Hashkivenu, Cause us to lie down in peace'. Nth-Century Composers [Illustration 7: Hashkivenu] Among 20th~century composers occasionally heard at the LJS, let me mention only two. One is Ernest Bloch ( ) whose Avodat Hakodesh ( Sacred Service'), written in the 1930 s, is well known. The other is Max Janowski- ( ), whom I once heard conduct a concert of his instrumental and vocal works in Chicago in I was particularly impressed by his Sim Shalom, 'Grant peace', which I recommended to the Music Director of the LJS and has since become a favourite in many of our synagogues. It begins: Folk [Illustration 8: Janowski s Sim Shalom] Under the vague heading of Folk I include a large variety of popular songs, mostly non-liturgical in origin, stemming from the Zionist movement or the State of Israel, but also some written for what one might call informal liturgical use, especially by youth groups. Quite a few of these have found a place in the liturgical repertoire of the LIS and other ULPS synagogues. They include Dodi Li, 'My beloved is mine, from the Song of Songs (6:3, 4:9 et_c.).

4 [Illustration 9: Dodi Li] An example of a different kind is a haunting Tasim shalom, 'Grant peace', by the popular American Jewish folk singer Debbie Friedman, which has only just,joined the US repertoire. Here is the refrain: [Illustration 10: Tasim Shalom] Domestic My last category, which for want of a better word I have called domestic, consists of compositions written for the LIS by its own music directors. Of course some of them have also been adopted by other synagogues, and many more. deserve to be. Ivor Warren, To introduce the first, let me refer back to Chaim Wasserzug. He died of a heart attack on Brighton beach after his morning swim, th August, 1881, aged 60. On Friday, lst September, the [ewish Chronicle published a lengthy obituary, and the following day the Times, reported his death almost as lengthily but got its facts slightly garbled, for the penultimate sentence read: The late cantor, in conformity with Biblical and Rabbinical traditions, leaves 15 children'! Child Number Fifteen, who was then one year old, later changed his name to Ivor Warren and in 1912 became the first choirmaster of the LIS. He arranged or wrote most of the music for the prayerbooks edited by Rabbi Israel Mattuck in the 1920 s. His compositions include a Tzur Yisrael, 0 Rock of Israel', which is still sung in many synagogues. Israel Hoffman, [Illustration 11: Tzur Yisrael] Ivor Warren died in His successor, Israel Hoffman, was born in 1910 and in the 1930's had begun what promised to be a brilliant career as a virtuoso pianist; his concerts received rave notices in the papers. But then came the War and Army service, and afterwards he devoted himself to the profession of a school teacher but combined it with directing the music of the LIS. Among other things, he arranged or" wrote most of the music for the second generation of ULPS prayerbooks, beginning with Service of the Heart in Among his many remarkable compositions there is time to hear only one. It is Sheluch Or cha, 'Send out Your light', from Psalm 43. I[11ustration 12: Shelach Or'cha]

5 Hoffman's successor Yakov Paul also combined school teaching with directing the music of the LIS, having previously done the same for the Wembley Progressive Synagogue. Among other things, he arranged the music for the third generation of ULPS prayerbooks, beginning with Siddur Lev Chadnsh in 1995, and wrote a number of new melodies He retired only last year, to be succeeded by Cathy Heller-Jones, whom I want to thank once more for illustrating my talk. Second International Conference on Jewish Music City University, London 9 April 1997

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