Louis Lewandowski
(1823-1894)
מזכיר נשמות (c. 1882)
קובצי הקולות מתחילים שתי תיבות לפני כניסת המקהלה (תיבה 24).
Psalm 103 v. 15-17
טו אֱנוֹשׁ, כֶּחָצִיר יָמָיו
כְּצִיץ הַשָּׂדֶה כֵּן יָצִיץ.
טז כִּי רוּחַ עָבְרָה-בּוֹ וְאֵינֶנּוּ וְלֹא-יַכִּירֶנּוּ עוֹד מְקוֹמוֹ.
יז וְחֶסֶד יְהוָה מֵעוֹלָם וְעַד-עוֹלָם עַל-יְרֵאָיו וְצִדְקָתוֹ לִבְנֵי
בָנִים.
Louis Lewandowski (April 23, 1823 - February 4, 1894, Berlin) was a German
composer of synagogal music. Lewandowski was born at Wreschen, province of
Posen (now Września in Poland). At the age of twelve he went to Berlin to
study piano and voice, and became solo soprano in the synagogue. Afterward he
studied for three years under A. B. Marx and attended the school of
composition of the Berlin Academy. There his teachers were Karl Rungenhagen,
Bach, and Grell. After graduating with high honors, he was appointed in 1840
choirmaster of the Berlin synagogue. In that capacity he rendered invaluable
services in the development of music for synagogue ritual. His principal works
include: "Kol Rinnah u-Tefillah," for chorus; "Todah ve-Zimrah," for mixed
chorus, solo, and organ; 40 psalms, for solo, chorus, and organ; symphonies,
overtures, cantatas, and songs. In 1866 he received the title of "royal
musical director." Shortly afterward, he was appointed choirmaster in the Neue
Synagoge, Berlin, for which he composed the entire musical service. His
arrangements of ancient Hebrew melodies for choir, cantor, and organ are
considered masterly productions, characterized by great simplicity and a
profound religious sentiment. Many of Lewandowski's pupils became prominent
cantors. Lewandowski was the principal founder of the Institute for Aged and
Indigent Musicians, an institution that prospered under his management. After
his death, he was buried in the Weißensee Cemetery.