LEWANDOWSKI, LOUIS

LEWANDOWSKI, LOUIS
LEWANDOWSKI, LOUIS (1821–1894), choral director and composer. Born in Wreschen, near Posen, Lewandowski became a singer at the age of 12 with Ḥazzan Ascher Lion's choir in Berlin. Later he studied with adolph bernhard marx at Berlin University and with Rungenhagen and Grell at the Academy of Fine Arts. After 1840 he served as conductor of the choir at the Old Synagogue in the Heidereutergasse, and after 1866 at the New Synagogue. Lewandowski, the most significant composer of synagogue music after solomon sulzer , reproduced the traditional melodies in a more classical form and treated the organ accompaniment with greater freedom than did his predecessor. His style, which was more harmonic than contrapuntal, was calculated to appeal to a wide public, and together with the soulful quality of his melodic idiom, gained great popularity for his compositions. The traditional foundations of his work were, on the one hand, the liturgy of the Old Synagogue established by the ḥazzanim Lichtenstein and Rosenfeld, and, on the other hand, the East European nusaḥ which Lewandowski received from immigrant ḥazzanim and singers. Outstanding examples of these influences are his choral work Ki ke-Shimcho; and his chief works Kol Rinah U'T'fillah (for one and two voices, 1871); Todah W'simrah (for four voices and soli, optional organ accompaniment, 2 vols., 1876–82); and 18 Liturgische Psalmen (for solo, choir, and organ; n.d.). Lewandowski also served as singing teacher at the Jewish Free School and the Jewish Teachers Seminary in Berlin. He rose slowly to a prominence which made him, in the last 20 years of his life, the greatest influence on Western Ashkenazi synagogal music for almost 50 years after his death. Although his recitatives were based mostly on tradition, the choral parts followed the style of Mendelssohn's oratorios and choruses, both in melodic idiom and harmonic structure. The adaptable musical and instrumental settings of his works allow them to be utilized by small ensembles and even by communities without an organ, yet at the same time suiting the large and prosperous centers which had spacious "temples" and professional synagogue choirs, grand organs, and musically trained ḥazzanim. Lewandowski's style was early transferred to the Conservative and moderate Reform congregations in the great urban communities of the United States. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Sendrey, Music, indices; Idelsohn, Music, 269–84; M. Davidsohn, in: Proceedings of the Fifth Annual Conference-Convention of the Cantors Assembly (1952), 30–34. (Bathja Bayer)

Encyclopedia Judaica. 1971.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Lewandowski, Louis — ▪ Polish composer born April 3, 1821, Września, Pol. died Feb. 4, 1894, Berlin       Jewish cantor, chorus conductor, and composer of synagogue music.       By the age of 12 Lewandowski was singing with a Berlin choir; he studied violin and piano …   Universalium

  • Lewandowski, Louis — (1821 94)    German choral director and composer. He was born in Wreschen, near Posen. After moving to Berlin he served as conductor of the choir at the Old Synagogue in the Heidereutergasse, and later at the New Synagogue. He also served as a… …   Dictionary of Jewish Biography

  • Lewandowski, Louis — (3 April 1821, Wreschen, Germany? – 3 February, 1894, Berlin)    Composer who introduced idioms of 19thcentury Romanticism into synagogue liturgical music in Berlin, including music for four voiced choir and organ. His most influential… …   Historical dictionary of sacred music

  • Louis Lewandowski — Briefmarke der DDR, 1990 Louis Lewandowski (* 3. April 1821 in Wreschen, Provinz Posen, Preußen, heute Polen; † 4. Februar 1894 in Berlin) war ein deutsch jüdischer Komponist, der vor allem durch die Reform der Synagogenmusik bekannt …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Lewandowski — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Andrzej Lewandowski (* 1954), polnischer Politiker Czesław Lewandowski (1922–2009), polnischer Weihbischof in Włocławek Detlef Lewandowski (* 1944), deutscher Leichtathlet Eduard Lewandowski (* 1980),… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Louis Lewandowski — (April 23, 1821 February 4, 1894) was a German composer of synagogal music.Lewandowski was born at Wreschen, province of Posen, Prussia (now Września in Poland). At the age of twelve he went to Berlin to study piano and voice, and became solo… …   Wikipedia

  • Lewandowski — is a common Polish surname. It may refer to:*Edmund Lewandowski, Artist *Janusz Lewandowski, Polish economist and politician *Jozef Lewandowski, Polish Swedish historian and writer *Konrad T. Lewandowski, writer *Louis Lewandowski, composer… …   Wikipedia

  • Louis Anquetin — Nom de naissance Louis Anquetin Naissance 26 janvier 1861 Étrépagny Décès 19 août 1932 (à 71 ans) Paris …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Louis Michel (homme politique) — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Louis Michel et Michel. Louis Michel (homme politique) Louis Michel à Bruxelles …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Левандовский Louis — (Lewandowski) еврейский композитор (1823 94). Главная заслуга его заключается в обработке древнееврейских напевов для употребления при богослужении в синагоге. Написал множество оркестровых, хоровых, камерных и друг. произведений …   Энциклопедический словарь Ф.А. Брокгауза и И.А. Ефрона

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”