The
organ is a relative newcomer to Jewish liturgical music, and its
participation is generally limited to accompanying services in the Reform
tradition.
Despite
the intricate and opulent use of instrumental music in the liturgies of
the First and Second Temple (as documented in Chronicles I and II and the
Talmud), following the Second Temple’s destruction in 70 C.E. no attempt
was made to reinstate this musical practice. On the contrary, instrumental
music was banned from the Jewish liturgy to symbolize mourning over the
Temple. This is reflected in passages from the Talmud: “from the day the
Temple was destroyed, there has been no day without a curse” and “when
the rabbinical court [Sanhedrin] ceased to exist, song ceased from the
places of feasting.” (M. Sotah IX, 12, 11) Indeed, an extremist view
states that no one should even smile until the Temple and its sacrificial
rite are restored. But this exclusion of instruments from the synagogue
did not reflect a negative attitude towards them by the Jewish
authorities; rather, instrumental music was an essential part of the
sacrificial rite and as such held no place in the newly evolving synagogue
liturgies that developed after the Temple’s destruction.
The
organ was adopted to accompany singing during synagogue worship as part of
the reformed liturgical practices introduced in Germany in the nineteenth
century. The choice of the organ was clearly taken from the mainstream
culture of Christianity, as were other aspects of the early Reform
movement: Shabbat was observed on Sundays and much of the Hebrew service
was translated into the vernacular. Perhaps more significantly,
synagogues were considered to be modern Temples in their own rights,
without the emphasis on restoring a lost sacrificial rite. It was in
this frame of mind that man Jewish congregations n Germany and eastern
Europe installed impressive organs in their Temples, leading to a
flowering of musical composition for cantor, choirs, and organ.
During
the twentieth century, there has been a backlash against the more
assimilationist facets of the early Reform movement, and this has led to
ambiguous views of the organ and its role within modern Jewish liturgical
practice. The very sound of the organ reeks of the Church to those who are
not knowledgeable of the fine tradition of Jewish music written expressly
for the instrument. As a sort of compromise between this fundamental
“distrust” of the organ and the need for an instrument to support
singing, some Temples have opted to buy pianos (at a fraction of the cost
of an organ), while others have resorted to synthesizers and electronic
imitations that at best fall very short of the finesse and subtlety
available on the organ. Only the largest and wealthiest congregations have
maintained the liturgical use of the instrument at the high standard with
which it was first introduced to Judaism. Yet despite the rather sad
current state of the organ within the Reform movement, a wealth of superb
music has continually been composed for cantor and organ, as reflected in
the repertoire heard here.
This
recording reflects my desire to honor the long tradition of Jewish
liturgical music for the organ with a two-fold purpose: to educate those
who would spurn the instrument on grounds of assimilation, and to make
known to a wider listening public the many gems of musical expression that
have been inspired by the Jewish liturgy. The organ has the greatest
variety of sounds and pitches of any single musical instrument, and it is
ideally suited to leading a congregation in worship, whether it be in
majestic praise of God or in quiet contemplation of the divine.
The
vast palette of timbres necessary to convey the many styles of music that
Erik and I have included here is amply furnished by the Murray Harris
organ at Stanford University. Constructed in 1901, this specimen of one of
America’s greatest organ builders has survived two major earthquakes (as
well as the often more damaging vicissitudes of changing aesthetics!) to
remind us today that a beautiful instrument never becomes obsolete, only
misunderstood or neglected. It is my hope that this recording will foster
interest in the fine repertoire of Jewish liturgical music for the organ
so that it will be understood and cherished.