Volume 7, Number 3 - Cantors Assembly

The past 100 years proved to be the golden era of hazzanut. Beginning
with Weintraub and culminating with the genius of
Nowakowsky. a rich age of hazzanic creativity took place. Although a
number of composers like Blumenthal, Sulzer. Zeidel Rovner,
Berkowitz, Henle, Wolf Shestapol. and others, saw fit to drink at times
from foreign sources, others like Nisi Belzer. Emanuel Kirchner, B.
Schorr, E. Gerowitch. B.L. Rosowsky, A.B. Bimbaum and Samuel
Alman, fashioned their compositions mostly in the Jewish idiom.
What is, alas, little known outside of our own circle is that a
number of our men have done yeoman work in the fields of historic and
comparative musicology. May I mention the numerous scientific
articles of Edward Bimbaum, his “Yudische Musiker Am Hofe Des
Mantua. ” He was indeed a scholar and a talmid haham. Joseph Singer
was among the first to analyze our synagogue scales in “Die Tonarten
Des Traditionellen Synagogen Gesanges. ” Naumbourg and Bernstein
have written scholarly articles. Aron Friedman has earned our
gratitude with his “Lebensbilder Beruhmter Kantoren, ” with his "Der
Synagogale Gesang, ” and with his “Die Musikalische Augestaltung
Der Schemoneh Esreh ” Too little known are the penetrating articles
of M. Deutsch, I. Lachman and E. Kirschner. Only slightly better
known are the numerous writings of Minkowsky, in Hebrew, Russian,
Yiddish and German. But it was A.Z. Idelsohn who achieved preeminence
in the field of Jewish musicology. A single-spaced typewritten
sheet would not be sufficient to list the titles of his volumes and his
articles. His ten-volume “Thesaurus” stands as the most imposing
monument in the pantheon of Jewish music. While the works of these
men are of permanent value, they remained strangers to our people.
Fame came, however, to our virtuosos, to the great exponents of
the cantorial art. Adored and beloved were the great Kashtan,
Bachman, Abras, Yeruchom, Razumni, Shlossberg, Sirota, Roitman,
Hershman, Steinberg, Rosenblatt and Kwartin. These were the idols
and, the latter, the best paid hazzanim in the history of our profession.
These men have spread the love of hazzanut throughout the Jewish
world. Their talents were not alike and their arts differed. Thus
Minkowsky describes Yeruchom as pleading with God; Nisi Belzer as
screaming to God, Shestapol hoped to God and Abras bawled Him out.
Baruch Karliner was the great improvisor, Bachman had the great
voice, Razumni had sweetness, Nisi Belzer, the temperament, etc.
Jews flocked to hear them, Congregations vied for their favor and in
their wake followed an era of creativity.
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