Jewish Liturgical Music in the Wake of Nineteenth-Century Reform

The essay presents a fresh overview of the changes and continuities in Nineteenth-Century Europe synagogue music and hazzanut within a wider context of social change. The reforms associated with Salomon Sulzer are seen as a moderating influence in contrast to earlier radical reforms. The modest impact of Sulzer on Eastern Europe and the rise of the Chorshul are also considered. The essay concludes with an assessment of the attempt to obtain a musical synthesis of two musical cultures, Jewish and European.