By Michael Jolles
On January 2024, the new digital edition of Encyclopedia of British Cantors, Chazanim, Ministers and Synagogue Musicians: Their History and Culture was published. This well-researched encyclopedia presents a thousand pages on the history of British cantors.
The author is Michael Jolles, a medical doctor by profession. After a first paper edition of 871 pages in 2021, he decided to publish the Encyclopedia in digital format. This singular choice enabled him to update his work in 2022, 2023 and 2024. The author wanted the Encyclopaedia to become a “living book”, evolving to incorporate information provided by new contributors and his own research. Another special feature is that the complete work is now available as a free download on request to its author (see link at end of article).
In this impressive work, the encyclopedia proper only begins on page 200. The first part contains several chapters on the art of singing in general and its history in Great Britain in particular.
Part I – Prolegomena, background and analysis
This first section includes several chapters on the various synagogue functions related to singing and music and, more generally, to the proper conduct of services.
We learn, for example, of the educational role assigned to the cantor in many communities, over and above his liturgical function. Several paragraphs are also devoted to the synagogue and its layout. The reading of the Law and its cantillations through biblical accents (the Te’amim), the Shofar, sheet music and other subjects are also covered in a concise manner, with references at the bottom of the page for anyone wishing to delve deeper.
Do you know what a Shoosher is? It’s a participant in the synagogue service who emits loud Shhhh! sounds to silence the chatterers. Sometimes,” ironizes the author, ”the Shoosher causes more of a noise nuisance than the chatter he’s trying to silence!
A particularly interesting section concerns the musical theory of liturgical chant. It includes a list of musical modes known as Steiger (Shteyger) or Gust. The tunes adopted since time immemorial are called Nigunim mi-Sinai, referring to the imaginary tradition received at Mount Sinai. In this way, Jolles offers his readers the subtleties of a craft usually passed down orally, from master to disciple.
Another type of information contained in this section concerns the history of British synagogal music.
In a chapter entitled “The state of the cantorate”, the author presents a topography of the uses, people and publications relating to hazzanout (cantorial art) in England over the last sixty years. An entire chapter deals with the history of the migration of hazzanim to England. Established in Britain as early as the 17th century, the Spanish-Portuguese Sephardic rite attracted masters of this tradition from Europe and North Africa. In the 19th and 20th centuries, Ashkenazi hazzanim began to arrive from Eastern Europe. British Jewish communities welcomed many Jewish families fleeing persecution or epidemics. The misfortunes of some contributed to the musical richness of others.
Unusual events in the history of English hazzanout include ceremonies linked to the life of the royal family. In 1901, for example, services were held to commemorate Queen Victoria, who died on January 22 of that year. Special prayers were also written over the years to mark important dates in the life of the royal family.
Part II – Alphabetical index
The second – and most important – part of the book is an encyclopedia covering over 750 pages. It describes all the functions involved in synagogal music. The scope of the research is impressive: we discover the life paths of Chief Cantors and synagogue musicians, the careers of composers and arrangers, the names of choristers and their choirmasters, as well as the biographies of researchers and musicologists, rabbis and patrons and, more broadly, of everyone connected with the liturgical and musical life of synagogues.
With this book, the author set himself the mission of preserving the memory of all those who contributed to the musical life of British synagogues. While he is still researching and developing future digital editions of the book, it’s safe to say that his mission has been accomplished. What’s more, thanks to some 200 pages of introductions, the Encyclopaedia of British Jewish Cantors, Chazanim, Ministers and Synagogue Musicians: Their History and Culture is now an indispensable source for anyone interested in the various aspects of hazzanout.
To obtain a digital copy of this encyclopedia, contact the European Cantors Association by e-mail at :DownloadJollesEncyclopaedia@cantors.eu
