Three Musical Ceremonies for Hôšanā Rabbah in the Jewish Community of Casale Monferrato (1732, 1733, 1735) (Hebrew)

Our main source of information as regards the musical events at the Jewish community of Casale Monferrato during the years 1732-1735 is based on Ms. Ginzburg 807 at the Lenin State Library in Moscow. The manuscript contains three musical scores for ceremonies on hos'ana rabbah. Each ceremony contained two parts; part A: a series of instrumental and liturgical pieces, and part B: a cantata or a cantata-quasi-oratorio, whose libretto was written especially for the occasion. The present article describes in detail the above mentioned manuscripts and concordant sources of the cantatas, it then probes into the questions of the authors of the texts, the place of performance and the initiator of the events.

The author of the libretti of two cantatas is identified as S.H. Jarach, whereas Joseph Hayyim Chezighin (G.V. Clava) who was believed to be the author of the texts and the composer of the music, is now regarded as the initiator of the events and probably also compiler and editor of the music. The events took place in Casale Monferrato on hosa'na rabbah of 1732, 1733 and 1735 and not in Vercelli in 1733, 1734 and 1736 as was formerly believed.

A detailed description of the music follows, in which the relationship of the music in part A to Tedesco liturgical melodies is examined. A special effort is made to identify the sources and the structure of the scores, since these may be regarded as pasticcio combinations.