The cantor, or hazan, is an institution almost as old as the synagogue itself. For centuries he has been singing the Hebrew liturgy, maintaining an unbroken tradition, yet embellishing it with improvisation and innovation. If the music sung in the Temple at Jerusalem is lost, its ardor, at least, has been transmitted by thousands of hazanim both medieval and modern, some famous, some unremembered.
Unlike those who "Sing the Lord's song" in other churches, the cantor can be a composer as well as a singer. With traditional Biblical cant illation as his foundation, he can build his own prayers in song. Particularly to the Jew of centuries past was the hazan the fountainhead of all music, just as the synagogue was the well of all wisdom and consolation. Beauty of voice, fervor of expression, ingenuity of improvisation- these were the qualities which could be appreciated by congregations ignorant of secular music and all other manifestations of the artistic side of life.
Pierre Pinchik, whose voice is heard on this record, is a cantor in this now disappearing tradition of the cantor-composer. His songs communicate not only the traditional style of the Hebrew chant, but a mysticism that is distinctively his own. Cantorial declamation at its best is a blend of several qualities-ecstasies, pathos, fervor, spirituality. To these elements Pinchik, the possessor of a naturally sweet tenor voice, joins a sense of intuitive perception of Divine truth, a Chassidic feeling of revelation.
Pinchik was born around 1900 in Zhivitov, a town in the Ukraine, near Kiev. He was the heir of the Sephardic, rather than the Ashkenazik tradition, and of a rapt, all encompassing, Judaism. He studied at the Yeshiva of the native village. The poverty of his family led them to send him to Kiev, where he lived with his grandfather, a bookseller. At the Yeshiva in Kiev his musical talents were observed by a teacher, two of whose sons were pianists. They gave him piano lessons, and he also attended the Kiev conservatory, receiving a grounding that later enabled him to sing Mozart as well as Hebraic chants. For a time he considered a theatrical career, but ultimately decided his place was in the synagogue. His cantorial debut came at the age of sixteen in the Kiev synagogue, and it created a powerful effect, with its originality of approach immediately apparent.
After touring the Ukraine and other sections of Russia for several years, Pinchik accepted one of the prime cantorial posts in Europe, that of the Stadt Schul in Leningrad. Eventually he journeyed to the United States and settled in this country, also making tours of South America and Palestine.
The recording here presented was made in 1928, 1929 and 1930. They were issued originally by RCA Victor, except for the Eileh Ezk'roh, which is released now for the first time. They represent Pinchik's art at its summit-an art which may perhaps be savored at its fullest Rozo D'Shabbos-"Mystery of the Sabbath"-a lyrical expression of religious ecstasy, sung in the ancient Aramic tongue. In long playing form these recorded performances, combining originality of composition and richness of expression, preserves Pinchik's unique achievement, and conveys it to a new generation.
HERBERT KUPFERBERG
D Record Editor, NY Herald Tribune
