The Library of JTS Music Archives
AN INVENTORY OF THE SAMUEL ROSENBAUM COLLECTION
cataloged and annotated by
ELIOTT KAHN, D.M.A.
Edited by NAOMI M. STEINBERGER
The Library of The Jewish Theological Seminary
New York, 1999
This publication was made possible through the generosity of the Arthur Rubloff Residuary Trust.
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
COLLECTION
BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT
PROVENANCE
SERIES LIST (Search JTS Library catalog
for bibliographic records: http://catalog.jtsa.edu
SERIES DESCRIPTION
BOX LIST
INTRODUCTION
Samuel Rosenbaum was an extraordinary human being. I feel privileged to have been one of his close friends and one of the collaborators on his many artistic endeavors.
Sam was first and foremost a hazzan, no less than a true Sheliach Tsibbur. A Shabbat morning at Beth El in Rochester, N.Y. would prove to anyone that here was a man who could move a congregation to pray fervently. The temple reverberated with the singing of hundreds of people throughout the entire service. No choir was ever needed; there was not one congregant who did not respond to Sam's sincere leadership of the worship. Both of my daughters often reminisce about the high holidays when they first heard Sam chant the Hineni. They both claim it was the first time they had encountered the holy.
Sam was a man of letters. He was not a great poet himself; but he recognized great poetry and superb prose and used them for his excellent translations, as well as the libretti for the musical works he wrote in collaboration with a multitude of composers. Though he loved everything Jewish and Yiddish he was not at all parochial. Sam and his beloved wife, Ina, never missed a Thursday night symphony concert; read rapaciously every book of world literature they could get their hands on; and traveled here and far to see plays and art every chance they had. This made him a person who was always intellectually stimulated and, thereby, stimulating.
Sam loved life and he loved people. He was a leader and fought all his life to preserve the highest standards in his beloved profession, the cantorate. At the same time, he always gave of himself to spread the best in Judaism among all peoples.
This collection of works by Sam Rosenbaum and the many books and papers associated
with it will, I believe, show his deep love of life and living; his concern about
spreading the wisdom of Judaism; and his commitment to the best in art.
Samuel Rosenbaum was indeed an extraordinary human being, and I loved him and
honor his memory.
Samuel Adler
Perrysburg, Ohio
May 12, 1999
Aria [from Yizkor].
New York, N.Y.[?], ca.1973.
Holograph orchestral score, composed for tenor, Richard Tucker.
COLLECTION DESCRIPTION
The Samuel Rosenbaum Collection consists of the manuscript and printed writings of Samuel Rosenbaum as well as the manuscript and printed musical scores he composed, co-authored, or collected. In addition there are audio and video cassettes; reel-to-reel tapes; programs; clippings; brochures; a few letters; and organizational records all related to his work as executive vice-president of the Cantors Assembly.
The collection includes the six published books authored by Rosenbaum; typescripts of his forty-plus libretti for canata/oratorios on Jewish themes; typescripts of his lyrics for published choral (and solo vocal) music; typescripts of his unpublished translations of Yiddish poetry; and typescripts of his numerous presentations on Jewish music, liturgy, and Yiddish culture. There is a lifetime of manuscript and printed cantorial melodies and repertoire (Nusah) that were collected by Rosenbaum. These include holograph scores by cantors Jacob Beimel and Zavel Zilberts (1881-1949).
During his long tenure as Executive Vice-President of the Cantors Assembly (1959-1997), Rosenbaum maintained important records that chronicled the growth of this organization. The collection contains Cantors Assembly annual convention booklets, 1959-1996; Annual Reports of the Executive Vice-President, 1984-1986; 1991-1994; Executive Council minutes, 1979-1996; First minutes, 1947-1948; Unpublished Proceedings of the Annual Conventions, 1982-1995; and audio and video tape of important Cantors Assembly concerts, presentations, and interviews, 1975-1995.
Highlights of the collection include holograph scores and unpublished black-line prints by Yiddish theatre composers Abraham Ellstein (1907-1963) and Sholom Secunda; three letters and photocopies of some unpublished songs by Yiddish art song composer Lazar Weiner; unpublished black-line prints of scores, along with libretti, programs, clippings, and recordings of the twelve cantata/oratorios that Rosenbaum wrote with the above composers as well as Samuel Adler (1928), Charles Davidson (1929-), Morton Gold and Michael Isaacson. In addition, there are some scarce, published music items that Rosenbaum collected: an 1848 Jewish hymnal from Würtemberg, Germany ([Sefer Zemirot Yisrael]); the 1887 edition of 5 Israelitische Tempel Compositionen für den Sabbath, by Odessa choral director A. Dunajewsky; and two issues of the short-lived Yiddish magazine Di Idishe Muzikalische Velt un Teater Zshurnal (NY: 1923).
Yizkor: In Memory of the Six Million.
Oratorio by Samuel Rosenbaum (text) and Sholom Secunda (music). Rochester,
N.Y., 1973.
Program from videotaped and televised performance at Temple Beth El, Rochester,
N.Y.
BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT
Samuel Rosenbaum was cantor at Temple Beth El, Rochester, N.Y. for over forty years. He served as president of the Cantors Assembly of America from 1955-1958 and executive vice-president of that organization from 1959 until his death on March 24, 1997.
Rosenbaum was also an author, poet, librettist, and translator, as well essayist, editor, and collector of music. He published five books during his lifetime: To Live as a Jew (N.Y.: Ktav Publ., 1969); A Guide to Haftarah Chanting (N.Y.: Ktav Publ., 1973); A Yiddish Word Book for English-Speaking People (N.Y.: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1977); A Guide to Torah Reading (Hoboken: Ktav Publ., 1982); and Words about Music (N.Y.: Cantors Assembly, 1982). His sixth and final book, Mahzor 101: a Guide to the Prayerbook for the High Holy Days (N.Y.: Cantors Assembly, 1997), was published posthumously.
Many of Rosenbaum's oratorio libretti, Yiddish folk song translations, and original lyrics were set to music by America's most prominent Jewish composers. Two of his oratorios, The Last Judgment (1966), music by Lazar Weiner (1897-1982), and Yizkor: In Memory of the Six Million (1967), music by Sholom Secunda (1894-1974), were broadcast on national television. Yizkor was nominated for an Emmy Award in 1973. Rosenbaum also wrote and narrated four radio programs for the Sabbath and Jewish Holidays that were broadcast over WXXI-FM, Rochester, N.Y.
Samuel Rosenbaum was born in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, N.Y. on June 11, 1919. His father, a grocer, was a pious Ukranian Jewish immigrant who instilled in his son a love of Judaism, Jewish music, and the Jewish people. Young Rosenbaum attended the Talmud Torah of Williamsburg where, between the ages of 11 and 13, he was an alto soloist in the synagogue choir. Rosenbaum studied some violin as a boy and later switched to the piano, but he found his true calling officiating as a junior hazzan before 500 boys at his school's Sabbath services. By the time he was thirteen, Rosenbaum had already learned to chant the entire Sabbath service as well as the weekly Bible readings (sedroth) from his teachers David Pevney and Moshe Nathanson.
Rosenbaum received private piano and voice instruction (the latter probably from Leon Cortili) from 1933-1938. He attended Herzliah Hebrew Teachers College in New York City from 1937-1940. He must also have matriculated at New York University around this time because he received his B.S. in Chemistry, Pre-Med, from that institution in 1940.
Samuel Rosenbaum pursued private cantorial studies with Cantor Jacob Beimel (1880-1944) from 1938-1942. He served for a few years as cantor at a congregation in Queens Village, N.Y., probably during his four years of military service in New York City. He was discharged by the U.S. Army at the rank of sergeant-major and six months later, in 1946, he was appointed hazzan, or cantor, of Temple Beth El in Rochester, N.Y. Here he would serve with distinction for the next forty-one years. Rosenbaum continued his cantorial studies from 1946 until 1948 under Cantor Adolph Katchko (1887-1958).
Rosenbaum joined the newly-founded Cantors Assembly in 1947. In 1951 he was appointed the first editor of the Assembly's monthly publication The Cantors Voice. He served as secretary and vice-president before being elected president in 1955. In 1959 he succeeded the Assembly's founder David Putterman (1900-1979) and became executive vice-president. In 1965 Samuel Rosenbaum received both the Kavod (Honor) Award from the Cantors Assembly and the Solomon Schechter Award from the United Synagogue of America. He was managing editor and contributor to the Assembly's Journal of Synagogue Music from 1970-1997, as well as consultant to the Prayer Book Press in Bridgeport, Connecticut. In 1985 he was awarded the degree Doctor of Music, honoris causus from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.
Samuel Rosenbaum married Ina Levi. They had three children: Michael, born 1948; Judith, 1951; and David, 1955.
Note: biographical information comes from the Rosenbaum Papers (Biographical information, S.R.; Box 25, folder 9) as well as:
Mendelsohn, Solomon, chairman and co-editor; Jack Chomsky, editor. The Cantors Assembly: 50 Years Jubilee Journal. New York: [The Cantors Assembly], 1999.
PROVENANCE
After Cantor Rosenbaum's death, his family donated his papers to The Library of The Jewish Theological Seminary. A total of 51 cartons arrived at the library from July through September 1997. Within these cartons were the books and scores from Rosenbaum's personal library. Most of these were added to the JTS Library's circulating collection, and identified with special bookplates.
The published books and scores from Rosenbaum's library that were considered scarce became part of the present collection. Also included in the present collection are any published works authored or co-authored by Rosenbaum; archival papers; unpublished scores; and audio or video tapes that he created or collected. There were eighteen published items authored or edited by Samuel Rosenbaum in the library's circulating collection before the Rosenbaum Papers arrived. These, with the above, are now part of The Samuel Rosenbaum Collection.
The numerous subject files created by Rosenbaum have been kept in their original order and, unless noted, retain their original title. Other subject files marked with an *asterisk were created by this cataloger.
SERIES LIST
I. Archival Material, 1918-[1999]
1. Nusah
2. Yiddish and Secular SongB. Presentations, Essays, Notes by Samuel Rosenbaum
1. On Jewish Music, ca. 1966-1993; n.d.
2. On Judaism and Judaica, n.d.
3. On Yiddish Literature and Culture, n.d.C. Literary Writings by Samuel Rosenbaum/ Subject Files
1. Yiddish Poetry Translations, n.d.
2. Musical/Dramatic Texts, 1959-1996, n.d.
3. Assorted Writings, n.d.
4. Subject Files, 1918-1989, n.d.D. Printed Material, 1949-1997, n.d.
1. Programs, Temple Beth El, Rochester, NY, 1955-1985, n.d.
2. Programs and Clippings, 1964-1996
3. Brochures, Pamphlets, Photo Slides, Miscellaneous, 1949-1996
4. Dissertations, Journals, Essays, 1971-1997E. Cantors Assembly, 1947-[1999]
1. Subject Files, 1947-[1999]
2. Unpublished Proceedings of the Cantors Assembly Annual Conventions, 1982-1995
II. Scores With Music or Lyrics by Samuel Rosenbaum
III. Musical Scores Collected by Samuel Rosenbaum
IV. Audio Tapes Collected by Samuel Rosenbaum
V. Video Tapes Collected by Samuel Rosenbaum
VI. Books Authored by Samuel Rosenbaum
SERIES DESCRIPTION
I. ARCHIVAL MATERIAL, 1918-[1999]
1. Nusah
Boxes 1-5
Boxes 1-5 contain Nusah (Jewish liturgical music that employs traditional modes and melodies) that was collected by Rosenbaum. The Nusah is usually in sheet music format--either manuscript or printed. It includes some manuscript arrangements and liturgical compositions that were composed by Rosenbaum (Box 1, folders 1-2). The Nusah that was organized into ring binders by Rosenbaum (Nusah binders) appears to be working copies of the cantorial repertoire he used at Temple Beth El. (The High Holiday binders date from 1986--his last year officiating.) These binders were labeled by him according to religious holiday. The Nusah organized into folders by Rosenbaum (Nusah folders), he labeled according to sections of different services (i.e. Hallel). These contain several settings of different prayers, many copied in Rosenbaum's hand; they appear to be prayer melodies that he was contemplating using, or that he had used in the past.
2. Yiddish and Secular Song
Box 6
Box 6 contains many of Rosenbaum's hand-copied transcriptions of Yiddish songs for solo voice as well as his arrangements of Yiddish songs for voice and piano. Of special interest is a manuscript score of You've Got to Sit Down to Get Up In the World, a song with his lyrics, written for New York University's 1937 Varsity Show (Box 6, folder 4).
B. Presentations, Essays, Notes by Samuel Rosenbaum :
1. On Jewish Music, ca. 1966-1993; n.d.
Boxes 7-9
The entire sub-series contains typescripts of essays by Rosenbaum written for a variety of lectures and presentations at Temple Beth El, annual conventions of the Cantors Assemby, or conferences. In addition, some folders contain notes and research, perhaps for future topics.
Rosenbaum's essays on Jewish music are usually about Yiddish song, synagogue song, or the cantorate. There are assorted Jewish music articles by him on all of these topics (Box 7, folder 15). The folder related to the recording project for the Milken family archive--created to record authentic performances of Jewish music--includes correspondence with prominent American interpreters of Yiddish song, along with their bios (Box 8, folder 12). Box 9, folder 13 (Yiddish art songs) contains several of Rosenbaum's translations of Yiddish art songs that were recorded during this project. Along similar lines of interest are his personal reminiscences of Yiddish theatre composer Sholom Secunda (Sholom Secunda Remembers, Box 9, folder 2).
Other Jewish music presentations include the text for The Song that Transforms
(Box 9, folder 3), Rosenbaum's narrated history of synagogue music that he recorded
(with musical excerpts) in 1985; and a 1989 lecture before the Cantors Assembly
entitled Towards a New Vision of Hazzanut (Box 9, folder 10), in which
he discusses the cantorate's future.
Boxes 10-14
Boxes 10-14 contain many essays on prayer and the Bible. Most of these appear to have been given as talks by Rosenbaum to his congregants. Highlights include: The Eternal Dialogue (Box 10, folder 12); Jewish view of death (Box 11, folder 10); Lecture, My God: an Exploration of Faith and Prayer' (Box 11, folder 16); the seven essays, with notes, in the folder Lectures on Prayer (Box 12, folder 2); and Talk Soul in the Mirror' (Box 14, folder 6), which is a rumination on the High Holidays. Of special interest is the folder entitled Remember Days of Old (Box 13, folder 6), in which Rosenbaum reminisces over the history of Rochester's Temple Beth El, of which he was an integral part for over forty years.
3. On Yiddish Literature and Culture, n.d.
Boxes 15-17
Rosenbaum's lifelong passion for Yiddish language and literature produced several erudite and eloquent presentations on these topics. There are typescripts of full-length presentations: An Evening with Peretz (Box 15, folder 3); Sholom Aleichem at 125” (Box 16, folder 5); as well as other talks on Yiddish writers Mordechai Gebirtig (Box 15, folder 5), Itzik Manger (Box 15, folder 17), and Mendele Mokher Sefarim (Box 15, folder 18). There are also several drafts of an essay/lecture, My Love Affair with Yiddish (Box 15, folder 19).
In other lectures Rosenbaum describes the richness of Eastern European Yiddish culture, and laments its loss. A Chasene in Shtetl (Box 15, folder 2) lovingly depicts a traditional Eastern European Jewish wedding. Rosenbaum's Holocaust lectures (Box 15, folder 9) were given for a 1977 course at the University of Rochester. They vividly describe what Jewish cultural life was like in the various Polish ghettos during the war.
C. Literary Writings by Samuel Rosenbaum/ Subject Files :
1. Yiddish Poetry Translations, n.d.
Boxes 18-19
Unlike his English translations of Yiddish folk and art songs, Samuel Rosenbaum's numerous translations of Yiddish poetry appear to not have been published. Boxes 18-19 contain both typed and handwritten versions of these translations. Rosenbaum organized his translations of Yiddish poetry usually into folders and usually by title or author. Prominent poets include Itzik Manger (Box 18, folders 23-24); Eliezer Shtaynberg (Box 19, folders 8-9); Israel Emiot (Box 18, folders 10-11), and the Poetry of Jacob Glattstein (Box 19, folder 4). A folder marked Other People's Basket (Box 19, folder 1) contains additional translations. What appears to be a compilation of Rosenbaum's translations may be found in Yiddish Poets in Translation (Box 19, folders 10-12).
2. Musical/Dramatic Texts, 1959-1996; n.d.
Boxes 20-23
Rosenbaum frequently turned to Yiddish poetry and literature as a source of inspiration for his cantata and oratorio texts. A Falling of Saints (Box 20, folder 14; 1977), with music by Samuel Adler, is based on Aaron Zeitlin's The Debate in the Attic Room (Box 20, folder 10); If Not Higher (Box 21, folder 1; 1964), with music by Sholom Secunda, and The Last Judgment (Box 21, folder 5; 1967), with music by Lazar Weiner, are poetic adaptations of different stories by Y.L. Peretz; the oratorio texts My Fiddle and her Jewish Cousins (Box 21, folder 13) and Play Me a Wedding Tune (Box 22, folder 8) were similarly developed from a poem by A. Lutzky.
Because he collaborated with several prominent twentieth century American composers of Jewish music, Samuel Rosenbaum's oratorio and cantata texts survive as, perhaps, his most significant creative accomplishment. In addition to the above oratorios, the collection also has the texts for The Redemption (Box 22, folder 10; 1963), with music by Abraham Ellstein; Yizkor (Box 23, folder 14; 1966), with music by Sholom Secunda; Not So Wild a Dream (Box 21, folder 15; 1986), music by Morton Gold; A Singing of Angels (Box 23, folder 3; 1967) and A Time for Freedom (Box 23, folder 10; 1979), both with music by Charles Davidson; Light for the Heart's Dark Places (Box 21, folder 7; 1982) and To Celebrate a Miracle (Box 23, folder 11; 1996), both with music by Michael Isaacson; and Stars in the Dust (Box 23, folder 6; 1988) and Ever Since Babylon (Box 20, folder 11; 1992), both with music by Samuel Adler. The title Stars in the Dust comes from a Yiddish poem by Itzik Manger. The Samuel Rosenbaum Collection contains the scores of all Rosenbaum-authored oratorios (See Series II) except To Celebrate a Miracle.
Rosenbaum wrote other cantata texts and set them to music with his own arrangements of pre-existing folk and liturgical music. Some of these are: If Not Higher (Box 21, folder 1); Once Upon a Time (Box 22, folder 1); Pages from the Talmud (Box 22, folder 4); The Seven Golden Buttons (Box 23, folder 1); The World of Sholom Aleichem (Box 23, folder 13); and, finally, The Ten Commandments (Box 23, folder 8), for which he composed original music. The scores for all these have been organized into a collection entitled [Music Collection, Cantatas] (Series II). Rosenbaum's papers also included playlets or skits that be had written, presumably, to be performed by his congregants. Among these are: Beth El 2000 (Box 20, folder 4) and Exodus (Box 20, folder 12; 1959).
3. Assorted Writings, n.d.
Boxes 24 through 25, folder 6
Boxes 24-25 contain Rosenbaum's writings for other occasions, such as Eulogies (Box 24, folders 5-6); as well as events honoring him, such as his 1987 retirement parties (The Dreams of Spring, Box 24, folder 4). There is a collection of his assorted writings, some in manuscript (My Basket, Box 24, folder 11); as well as two folders of his own English verse (Box 25, folders 4-5), some of it later set to music and published.
4. Subject Files, 1918-1989; n.d.
Box 25, folders 7-13
Among other things, the subject files include the correspondence that was found within Rosenbaum's papers. Though there are not many letters, worthy of mention are: one in Yiddish from synagogue music composer Israel Alter, ca.1960 (Box 25, folder 7); three letters, in English, from Yiddish theatre composer Abraham Ellstein, 1962-1966 (Box 25, folder 12); and a photocopy of a 1968 letter from Yiddish author and Nobel laureate, Isaac Bashevis Singer (Correspondence, Box 25, folder 11), praising Rosenbaum for the text of his oratorio Yizkor. There are also three letters from Yiddish art song composer Lazar Weiner, 1977-1981, as well as photocopies of holographs from Weiner's unpublished folk song cycle Poet'n Zingen (1980-1981). Rosenbaum mentions this cycle in his obituary on Weiner in the Journal of Synagogue Music (June, 1982). The letters and songs, as well as Rosenbaum's hand-written English translations, are in the folder marked Weiner, Lazar (Box 25, folder 13).
D. Printed Material, 1949-1997; n.d. :
1. Programs, Temple Beth El, Rochester, N.Y., 1955-1985; n.d.
Box 26
2. Programs and Clippings, 1964-1996
Boxes 27-28
3. Brochures, Pamphlets, Photo Slides, Miscellaneous, 1949-1996
Box 29
4. Dissertations, Journals, Essays, 1971-1997
Box 30
Box 26 contains programs from the many lecture/recitals that Cantor Rosenbaum presented over the years at Temple Beth El. The clippings in Box 27 are usually reviews or notices about premieres or performances of Rosenbaum's oratorios. Boxes 27 and 28 also contain programs from these same performances. Two oratorios that received extensive media coverage, Stars in the Dust (Box 28, folder 3) and Ever Since Babylon (Box 27, folders 4-5), have their own folders. Respectively, these commemorate Kristallnacht and the Jews' expulsion from Spain.
Box 29 contains brochures, pamphlets, and a few prayer books for minor festivals. There are also photo slides of Yiddish sheet music covers, presumably to accompany a presentation.
Box 30 includes master's theses, dissertations, journals and essays all written by others, but apparently considered important enough by Rosenbaum to keep. (See BOX LIST.)
E. Cantors Assembly, 1947-[1999] :
1. Subject Files, 1947-[1999]
Boxes 31-34
Samuel Rosenbaum led the Cantors Assembly as its executive vice-president from 1959-1997. His creative vision helped shape the Assembly into the effective organization it is today. This sub-series contains archival material related to Rosenbaum's leadership of the Assembly, much of it unavailable elsewhere.
Regarding the early days of the Assembly, there is a folder containing the First Minutes of the Cantors Assembly, 1947-1948 (Box 34, folder 3); as well as correspondence between Rosenbaum and others about the first issues of The Cantor's Voice, 1951-1952 (Box 32, folder 8). One may also learn of the Assembly's administration from its Executive Council minutes, 1979-1996 (Box 33, folders 3-5; Box 34, folder 1).
Box 31 contains program booklets from every annual convention of the Cantors Assembly from 1959-[1999]. A few of these booklets were missing from Rosenbaum's collection and were graciously supplied by the Cantors Assembly (as were newer booklets that postdate Rosenbaum's death).
There are three volumes of Convention Music, 1960-1968 (Box 32, folders 9-10; Box 33, folder 1) that include cantorial melodies--presumably sung by cantors at services and meals. In addition, there are Havah Nashir songbooks, 1968-1974; 1988 (Box 34, folder 4), which were used by the cantors for sing-alongs at dinner.
Around 1983 the Cantors Assembly began professionally recording their annual conventions and making cassette copies available for purchase. Simultaneously, the organization ceased publication of its annual Proceedings of the Cantors Assembly (1948-1982). It was around this time that Samuel Rosenbaum--wisely-- began to collect convention materials. These include the Annual Report[s] of the Executive Vice-President, 1984-1986; 1991-1994 (Box 32, folders 1-2), that were given at the annual conventions.
2. Unpublished Proceedings of the Cantors Assembly Annual Conventions,
1982-1995:
Boxes 35-36
From 1982-1995 Samuel Rosenbaum created annual folders that he filled with miscellaneous convention materials (Unpublished Proceedings of the Cantors Assembly Annual Conventions; Boxes 35-36). Here one may find concert programs; repertoire; annual reports; hotel bills with attached correspondence; and some photos. Of particular interest is the Summary, written for the 1988 convention,... on the question of the Admission to Membership of Women Graduates of the Cantors Institute.... (Box 35, folder 7). The Assembly resumed publishing their convention proceedings in 1995.
II. SCORES WITH MUSIC OR LYRICS BY SAMUEL ROSENBAUM
Note: All the items in Series II-VI may be accessed through the JTS Library
Catalog at:
/cgi-bin/ntlinktrack.cgi?http://catalog.jtsa.edu
(Search under "Rosenbaum, Samuel" or title or other author)
Although he did create some vocal arrangements and a handful of musical compositions, Samuel Rosenbaum seemed far more interested in expressing himself through words than music. The collection contains his one published musical composition, Bas Mitzvah Service (N.Y.: Mills, 1960); as well as manuscripts of his Arvit L'chol (n.d.); An Evening Service for Congregational Participation (ca.1955); and The Wedding Service (n.d.). Rosenbaum also arranged and edited some music for his own cantatas. These may be found in the compilation entitled, [Music Collection, Cantatas] (1955-1975). (For a listing, see I.-C above.)
Samuel Rosenbaum wrote oratorio and cantata texts that were set by some of the most important composers of Jewish music in post-war America. (For a complete listing, see I.-C above.) The Samuel Rosenbaum Collection contains all the texts; almost all the scores; and many audio and video recordings of premieres of these oratorios. Rosenbaum's oratorios not only addressed post-war American Jewry's concerns with topics as diverse as spirituality, the Holocaust, the loss of Eastern European Jewish culture, the plight of Soviet Jews, and the survival of Israel; they also provided an outlet for a talented group of composers to express themselves in a distinctly Jewish artistic idiom. These composers had/have worked in fields as diverse as the American Yiddish theatre (Sholom Secunda and Abraham Ellstein); the American Yiddish art song (Lazar Weiner); concert and synagogue music (Samuel Adler and Charles Davidson); and synagogue and film/television music (Michael Isaacson). The collection includes holographs of The Redemption (1963), music by Abraham Ellstein; and the aria for tenor solo with orchestra from Yizkor: In Memory of the Six Million (1967), by Sholom Secunda. This aria was composed for a revised version of the oratorio, sung by tenor Richard Tucker on an ABC-television broadcast in 1973. The entire orchestral score of Yizkor: In Memory of the Six Million appears to be lost. (It is neither at Secunda's N.Y.U. archive nor at Music Sales Int'l., which assumed the publisher Ethnic Music's catalog.) The Rosenbaum Collection's piano/vocal scores, percussion and keyboard parts, and audio and video recordings may be the best materials available for reconstructing the orchestral score of Yizkor.
The remaining music items coauthored by Rosenbaum are primarily published choral octavos for which he supplied lyrics. Several of his original lyrics were set by Gershon Kingsley (Art of Living, Rock, Rock, Rock, Shepherd Me Lord; NY: Bourne Co., 1972). There are Rosenbaum's English paraphrases of Psalm 150 and the biblical Pirkei Avot, set by Samuel Adler for (SATB) chorus with keyboard (Sing Praise and Sayings of the Fathers; Chapel Hill, NC: Hinshaw, 1982). In addition, his translations of Yiddish folk songs were arranged and adapted by many of the same composers who collaborated on his oratorios: Some Laughter, Some Tears (NY: Oxford, 1973), a choral suite by Samuel Adler; A Singing of Angels (NY: MCA, 1969), a choral suite by Charles Davidson; Cradle of Fire (NY: Transcontinental, 1988), Five Holocaust Songs arranged for treble choir and orchestra by Michael Isaacson; and six settings from the Derived from the Jewish Folklore series (NY: Mills Music, 1961), arranged by Abraham Ellstein for (SATB) chorus with piano. The collection contains these six Ellstein settings in both holograph and published formats.
III. MUSICAL SCORES COLLECTED BY SAMUEL ROSENBAUM
Note: All the items in Series II-VI may be accessed through the JTS
Library Catalog at:
/cgi-bin/ntlinktrack.cgi?http://catalog.jtsa.edu
(Search under "Rosenbaum, Samuel" or title or other author)
Rosenbaum's multiple roles as librettist/lyricist, hazzan, and executive vice-president of the Cantors Assembly brought some unique musical scores into his possession. There are many holographs from cantor/composers Jacob Beimel and Zavel Zilberts. Rosenbaum had studied privately with Beimel and, apparently, kept most of the synagogue melodies that Beimel had hand copied for him (Synagogue Music Collection, Entire Liturgucal Year; M2186.B443S901). Zilberts' holographs of his synagogue compositions appear to have been given to Rosenbaum for either publication or safekeeping (Synagogue Music Collection, Entire Liturgical Year; M2186.Z55S901). Much of the music in both of these collections appears to be unpublished.
Additional synagogue music in manuscript (black-line print format) includes services by composers Samuel Adler, Charles Davidson, Abraham Ellstein, Michael Isaacson, Leo Rosenblüth, and Sholom Secunda, among others.
Rosenbaum's friendship and collaboration with both Abraham Ellstein and Sholom Secunda brought some of their music manuscripts into his possession. In addition to the six holographs and published octavos already mentioned, the collection has the remaining five holographs and published octavos from the Derived from the Jewish Folklore series (NY: Mills Music, 1961). These five choral/piano settings of Yiddish folk songs by Abraham Ellstein are listed by their individual titles in Series III, because their English translations were not done by Rosenbaum. In addition, there are manuscript collections ( [Five Yiddish Songs], [Two Yiddish Songs]) by Secunda and Ellstein, respectively. Some songs are holographs; all appear to be unpublished. Also worthy of mention are the holograph score of Ellstein and Zvee Schooler's cantata Ima, Mother in Israel (n.d.), and the black-line print score of Ellstein and Morton Wishengrad's chamber opera The Thief and the Hangman (1958). (Morton Wishengrad's papers are housed in the J.T.S. Ratner Center for the Study of Conservative Judaism.)
The scarce, published scores collected by Rosenbaum include: a Jewish hymnal from Würtemberg, Germany, [Sefer Zemirot Yisrael] (2nd ed., 1848); 5 Israelitische Tempel Compositionen für den Sabbath (1887), by Odessa choral director A. Dunajewsky; Schir Zion, for piano, by E.D. Wagner (Berlin: [189-?]); Schira Chadascha: ein hebräische Chorsuite (Leipzig: 1935) by cantor/composer Hugo (Chayim) Adler; and Hebrew Melodies (New York: Southern Music, 1969), signed by composer David Diamond, who was a Bar Mitzvah at Temple Beth El in the late nineteen twenties. Also included are two issues of the short-lived Di Idishe Muzikalische Velt un Teater Zshurnal (The Yiddish Musical World and Theatre Magazine; NY:1923), that contains concert reviews of and interviews with Jewish musicians and cantors active in New York City during the nineteen twenties.
IV. AUDIO TAPES COLLECTED BY SAMUEL ROSENBAUM
Note: All the items in Series II-VI may be accessed through the JTS
Library Catalog at:
/cgi-bin/ntlinktrack.cgi?http://catalog.jtsa.edu
(Search under "Rosenbaum, Samuel" or title or other author)
Samuel Rosenbaum's audio tape collection numbers 126 cassettes and 6 reels of 1/4” tape. Time length varies on the cassettes, as does tape speed (3 3/4- 7 2 ips) and diameter on the tape reels (3-7”). The titles are usually the ones Rosenbaum wrote on the cassette or its case.
Highlights of the collection include live recordings of some of Rosenbaum's lectures: [Cantors Assembly Convention]: Towards a New Concept of Hazzanut (1989); [Cantors Assembly Convention]: The State of Music and Liturgy in Today's Synagogue (1995); and The Lost Art of Prayer (n.d.). There is an important live recording of Rosenbaum remembering Sholom Secunda and performing some of his songs (Review, S.R.: Bei Mir Bistu Sheyn, ca.1982); as well as live archival recordings of other cantors and soloists: Alexandrovich [,Misha] (n.d.); Belarsky [,Sidor] Lecture to Hazzanim Farband (1975); and Mark Slobin Tape (ca.1988), which features variants of prayers chanted by different cantors (probably for the book Chosen Voices). There are recordings of Rosenbaum's presentations with music; Sounds of the Seder (ca.1973); Today is the Birthday of the World (ca.1982); These Lights of Hanukkah (1985); and The Song that Transforms (1986); as well as live recordings of many of his oratorio/cantatas (listed by title). Finally, there are poignant oral memoirs from Rosenbaum's Reminiscences [for the Temple Beth El], Men's Club; and his Beth El retirement dinner (Tribute Dinner 2), both from May-June, 1987.
V. VIDEO TAPES COLLECTED BY SAMUEL ROSENBAUM
Note: All the items in Series II-VI may be accessed through the JTS
Library Catalog on-line at:
/cgi-bin/ntlinktrack.cgi?http://catalog.jtsa.edu
(Search under "Rosenbaum, Samuel" or title or other author)
Most of the 31 videotapes in the collection are related to Rosenbaum's work with the Cantors Assembly. There are videotaped cantorial concerts: Cantors Concert, (with its edited version, Art and Soul, both 1989); Cantors Assembly West Coast Region Present[s] Hazzanim in Concert (1990); and Hazzanim in Concert (1987) from the Crown Auditorium in Jerusalem (in conjunction with the Cantors Assembly's 40th anniversary convention in Israel). There is a videotape, More than a Singer (1986), produced by the Assembly and narrated by Rosenbaum, promoting the cantorate as a career choice for young people. Worthy of mention are performances of Rosenbaum's oratorios Yizkor (1973) and Stars in the Dust (1988 and 1989); as well as his presentation on Yiddish song, featuring singers Louis Danto, Isaac Goodfriend and Gayna Sauler-Kieval (Cantors Assembly Convention (1992): Wednesday B: the Yiddish Language and Song). Of utmost importance are Hazzan Rosenbaum's personal interviews with seven senior members of the Cantors Assembly, conducted privately at the Cantors Assembly Convention (1989). He manages to draw out the personal histories of all these men (Charles Bloch, Isaac Goodfriend, Yehuda Mandel, Saul Meisels, Morris Schorr, Isaac Wall and Max Wohlberg) and produces a compelling oral history of both the Cantors Assembly and the American cantorate during the twentieth century.
VI. BOOKS AUTHORED BY SAMUEL ROSENBAUM
Note: All the items in Series II-VI may be accessed through the JTS
Library Catalog at:
/cgi-bin/ntlinktrack.cgi?http://catalog.jtsa.edu
(Search under "Rosenbaum, Samuel" or title or other author)
These books are listed in the Biographical Note section. The two books on cantillation have accompanying cassette tapes listed in Series IV, Audio Tapes.
BOX LIST
*Folders preceded by an *asterisk were created by cataloger; all others in original order
){kind=link}
){kind=link}