Current Trends of Liturgical Music in the Ashkenazi Synagogue

• Published in: World of music Vol. 37; no. 1; pp. 59 - 72
• Main Author: Schleifer, Eliyahu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel, Switzerland Florian Noetzel Verlag 01-01-1995; Barenreiter Kassel
• Subjects: Art music; Cantors; Composers; Jewish chants; Jewish music; Jewish peoples; Music composition; Prayer; Sacred music; Synagogues
• ISSN: 0043-8774

The Ashkenazim—the Jews of Western and Eastern Europe whose ancestors settled around the River Rhine during the early Middle Ages—share an old tradition of synagogue chants. Many of them immigrated from Germany to the Eastern European countries, where they united with the local Jews and formed new communities that absorbed the Ashkenazi tradition. Thus two distinct Ashkenazi cultures were developed in Eastern and Western Europe. During the last fifty years, the Ashkenazi sacred music has undergone important changes which were caused by the demographic upheaval that followed the Holocaust, by the establishment of the State of Israel and by modern ideological developments. The destruction of the Jewish communities of Western Europe brought on a major decline of Western Ashkenazi tradition of synagogue chants and it is now almost extinct. The establishment of the State of Israel influenced the modern synagogues to change their Hebrew pronunciation and to introduce a new "Mediterranean" style in their music. The ordination of women as cantors in the Reform and Conservative movements has caused some changes in the music as well. The liturgical music of the Ashkenazi synagogues developed to high standards great virtuosity during the second half o the 19th century and continued so until the 1960s. Since then, however, a major tendency towards popularization has been felt in all of the denominations of the Ashkenazi Jews: Orthodox, Conservative and Reform. Even Hasidic music has been influenced by pop music. This common trend has raised debates among liturgical scholars, cantors and musicians. While some deplore the deterioration, others see it as a positive trend, making the synagogue more viable for future generations.