In this landmark of musical scholarship, the leading 20th-century authority on Jewish music describes and analyzes its elements and characteristics, and chronicles its development from the earliest appearance of Semitic song 2000 years ago to the early 20th century. Liberally illustrating every type of music discussed, the book examines the music as a tonal expression of Judaism, Jewish life and the spiritual aspects of Jewish culture.

This study of synagogue music in the United States in the second half of the nineteenth century “sets a high standard for historical musicology” (Musica Judaica). In Jewish Religious Music in Nineteenth-Century America: Restoring the Synagogue Soundtrack, Judah M. Cohen demonstrates that Jews constructed a robust religious musical conversation in the United States during the mid- to late-nineteenth century. While previous studies of American Jewish music history have looked to Europe as a source of innovation during this time, Cohen’s careful analysis of primary archival sources tells a different story. Far from seeing a fallow musical landscape, Cohen finds that Central European Jews in the United States spearheaded a major revision of the sounds and traditions of synagogue music during this period of rapid liturgical change. Focusing on the influences of both individuals and texts, Cohen demonstrates how American Jewish musicians sought to balance artistry and group singing, rather than “progressing” from solo chant to choir and organ. Congregations shifted between musical genres and practices during this period in response to such factors as finances, personnel, and communal cohesiveness. Cohen concludes that the “soundtrack” of nineteenth-century Jewish American music heavily shapes how we look at Jewish American music and life in the first part of the twenty-first century, arguing that how we see, and especially hear, history plays a key role in our understanding of the contemporary world around us. Supplemented with an interactive website that includes the primary source materials, recordings of the music discussed, and a map that highlights the movement of key individuals, Cohen’s research defines more clearly the sound of nineteenth-century American Jewry.

The purpose of this book is to present a survey of Jewish music to illuminate its special role as a mirror of history, tradition, and cultural heritage. The 27 topical chapters have been placed within a modified chronological perspective to present a historic picture of virtually every important development in Jewish music. The book represents a culmination of several decades of the author's dedicated labor and scholarly study in this field.