Michel Heymann Collection

On December 7, 2022, Michel Heymann donated to the European Institute of Jewish Music a collection of archives covering almost fifty years of activity as a hazzan in Haguenau, Mulhouse and in Luxembourg. The collection is distinguished by its richness and diversity, illustrating the transmission of the Ashkenazi cantorial tradition in the Rhine Valley over more than a century.

The collection comprises several thousand pages of mainly handwritten scores, some of which have never been published before, as well as several hundred hours of audio and video recordings.

These documents attest to the vitality of Alsatian hazzanout and Michel Heymann’s commitment to preserving this musical heritage.

Notable documents include a score of La Marseillaise (the French national anthem), published in Alsace-Lorraine in 1918, and the program for a synagogal ceremony celebrating the return of Alsace to France. It also includes a rare photograph of Rabbi Isaïe Schwartz, Chief Rabbi of France, taken in 1942.

Several collections of handwritten musical notations illustrate the transmission of this liturgical repertoire in the Jewish communities of the Rhine Valley. Of particular note is the notebook of Bertrand Joseph, Michel Heymann’s teacher, in which many of the melodies of the festival cycle are precisely transcribed. This notebook contains many of the melodies of the festive cycle, transcribed with precision. Another remarkable document is the Gesangbuch für Emil Jacob from 1899, which stands out for the quality of its handwriting and its state of preservation.

The collection also includes an important set of sound archives, mainly recorded during concerts in which Michel Heymann took part, sometimes in collaboration with renowned hazzanim. These recordings testify to the precision, sensitivity and mastery required to perform the liturgical repertoire of the Alsatian rite. They are an invaluable resource for anyone wishing to study or learn about the cantorial art of the Rhine Valley.

The most important discovery in this collection is an unpublished manuscript by Bernard Böchner, a major figure in Alsatian hazzanout. As a choirmaster, Böchner often transcribed the melodies of the Rhine Valley rite to facilitate their interpretation by the hazzanim. Numerous isolated handwritten scores in the collection also appear to be by his hand. Author of the Schirë Dovid collection, he recorded the main liturgical tunes of this tradition. The found manuscript contains Pessa’h melodies that do not appear in the printed edition, suggesting the existence of an unpublished draft second volume.