Between These Walls

HIDDEN SOUNDS OF HAZZANUT IN MONTREAL

Cantorial music:

A relic of the past? Irrelevant to today’s Jewish experience? Listen again.

From the early 20th century to this day, Montreal has one of the highest numbers of professional cantors in the world. What was it about the Jewish community in Montreal, sizeable, but not nearly as large as other Jewish centres like Tel Aviv, New York, London, and Buenos Aires that made this possible? What in turn, does the community’s love affair with hazzanut reveal about Montreal Jews?

This tour tells the story of Montreal hazzanim who sang at “downtown” synagogues from 1934 to 1965.

1
Hazzan Shloimele
214 Duluth E.
1934 - 1934
2
Israel Rabinovitch, Promoter of Hazzanut
4075 St-Laurent
1924 - 1964
3
Hazzan Moses Master
4459 St-Urbain
1924 - 1957
4
Hazzan Joshua Dlin
422 St-Joseph O.
1948 - 1964
5
Hazzan Joshua Rosenzweig
172 Fairmount O.
1947 - 1955
6
Hazzan Goodman (Bill) Aronson
5583 Jeanne Mance
1944 - 1959
7
Hazzan Eugene Goldberger
899 McEachran
1946 - 1966

Sources ↓

40 Years of Hazzanut in Montreal 1957-1997. Council of Hazzanim of Greater Montreal. Israel Music, 1997. CD.

Appel, Rabbi Julia, e-mail message to author, October 10, 2012.

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Rabinovtich, Israel. Of Jewish Music: Ancient and Modern. Trans. A.M Klein. Montreal: The Book Centre, 1952.

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Tauben, Sara Ferman. “Aspirations and Adaptations: Immigrant Synagogues of Montreal, 1880s-1945.” Masters Thesis. Concordia University, 2004.

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