Re: Jacob Wasilkowsky?

[pinnolis <pinnolis...>]

Sam:
Very valuable. thanks, Judy

Quoting Sam Weiss <SamWeiss (at) bellatlantic(dot)net>:

> 
> 
> At 03:19 PM 10/22/03, medelman wrote:
> 
> Can anyone provide any biographical
> information on Cantor Jacob Wasilkowsky
> 
> (1886-1944)?
> 
> The following biography of Wasilkowsky appears in his book "Ma'ariv
> Chants for the Entire Year" compiled and edited by Moshe (=Macy)
> Nulman, published in 1965 by Yeshiva University.  Note the different
> birth and death years given here.
> 
> -S.W.
> 
> 
> JACOB LEIB WASILKOWSKY (1882-1942)
> 
> The gifted Eastern
> European synagogue composer Cantor Jacob L. Wasilkowsky, was given
> prominent recognition when about twenty selections from a manuscript
> prepared by him in 1906 were included in "The Thesaurus of Hebrew
> Oriental Melodies" (vol. VIII), written in 1927 by Abraham Z.
> ldelsohn, the foremost musicologist in the field of Jewish music of the
> early 20th century.
> 
> Jacob Wasilkowsky, the son of poor parents, was born in Swislicz, a
> province of Grodno, Russia. As customary in that era, his parents saw to
> it that he received a thorough Jewish education. In his twelfth year he
> was sent to the academy at Horodna, a nearby town, where he studied the
> Talmud and other Jewish subjects. It was in these formative years that he
> absorbed the deep Jewish piety and fervent emotion which later influenced
> his musical work. While in Horodna, he became quite popular because of
> his alto voice and was chosen to be the leading soloist in the choir of
> the noted Cantor Joseph Altshul (1840-1908), sometimes called "Yoshe
> Slonimer". From Horodna the young Wasilkowsky journeyed to
> Biyalistok and from there to Kalish, Poland, where he was appointed
> choir-leader to Cantor Noach Lieder.
> 
> Up to the age of fifteen Wasilkowsky had little formal musical education.
> He was admitted to musical circles only because of his gracefulness and
> his innate musicianship. His first experience with theoretical musical
> knowledge was in Warsaw, where he devoted all his time to musical studies
> and composition. It is here, too, that he met his wife, Sheena Esther
> Cantor, daughter of the famed hazzan-shohet, Nahum Kantor of
> Goniondz. Wasilkowsky's thirst for musical knowledge was still
> unquenched, and before he turned twenty he journeyed to Konigsberg,
> Germany, to study with Edward Birnbaum (1885-1920), distinguished cantor
> and musicologist. His musical development was furthered by his contact
> with Otto Fiebach, director of the Conservatory of Konigsberg.
> 
> Despite his success in his secular schooling, Wasilkowsky felt an
> "inner calling" to serve his people as cantor, choir-leader and
> composer. In the next few years, prior to World War I, he went through
> several job-changes as cantor; first in the United Synagogue of
> Manchester, England, and then in Shavel, a province of Kovno, Russia.
> After a long struggle during the war years, he finally came to the United
> States in 1920.
> 
> As a composer, Wasilkowsky is essentially a follower of the Eastern
> European synagogue style. His works, closely tied to Jewish tradition,
> are in the folk tune style. Undoubtedly, his most important contributions
> to synagogue music are his "Rinath Amcho" (1922) and
> "Rinoh Us'filoh" (c. 1924). Both are arranged for cantor and
> choir in 2 and 3 part settings. As early as the first quarter of the 20th
> century, Wasilkowsky envisioned the future of choral singing in the
> traditional synagogue of the Americas and his first attempt at 2- and 3-
> part settings set an example for future synagogue composers.
> 
> In his notation of "Ten Recitatives for the High Holidays,"
> Wasilkowsky again focuses on the future. Although these are elaborate
> recitatives, they omit the flowery embellishments and virtuoso cadenzas
> so often found in the recitatives of this period. They strive to enhance
> the service with musical variation of the nusah.
> 
> Wasilkowsky not only delved into music for the synagogue but, just
> like the paytan (poet) of the middle ages, he also composed shirim
> (poems) on various aspects of Jewish life. By virtue of these creations
> the appelation hazzan-maskil has been associated with his
> name.
> 
> In 1931 he wrote a collection of five Yiddish songs for voice and piano.
> Here, Wasilkowsky's texts speak of matters of one's personal longings
> ("Parnosoh"), love for Zion ("Vuhin"), immortality
> ("Kol Yisroel") and above all, piety ("Ani Ma'amin"
> and "Al Tiroh").
> 
> His unpublished scores for the Jewish theater and his general musical
> works are further evidence of his great versatility.
> 
> CANTOR MOSHE NULMAN
> 
> Assistant Director
> 
> Cantorial Training Institute
> 
> Yeshiva University
> 
> April, 1965
> 
> 
> _____________________________________________________________
> 
> Cantor Sam Weiss === Jewish Community Center of Paramus,
> NJ
> 
> 
> 
> 




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