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Max Wohlberg Charles Davidson Chanting the Haggadah

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Max Wohlberg Charles Davidson Chanting the Haggadah Cc hanting the Hh aggadah selected passages by max wohlberg edited by charles davidson perusal ashbourne music publishing perusal chanting the haggadah selected passages by max wohlberg edited by charles davidson perusal ashbourne music publishing Chanting the Haggadah: Selected Passages Copyright © 2013 by Ashbourne Music Publishing. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For informa- tion, address Ashbourne Music Publishing, 1425 Ashbourne Road, Elkins Park, PA 19027. FIRST EDITION Book design and music engraving by Pamela Hitchcock, Wissahickon Design Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wohlberg, Max. Chanting the Haggadah : selected passages / Max Wohlberg ; [edited by] Charles Davidson. p. cm. ISBN: 978-0-9826661-2-8 (pbk.) 1. Haggadah. 2. Seder—Liturgy—Texts. 3. Passover—Customs and practices. 4. Jewish chants. I. Davidson, Charles (Charles Stuart), 1929-, ed. II. Title. BM674.643 .W64 2013 296.4`5371—dc23 perusal [LCCN] preface More than 3,000 editions of the Haggadah have been created since the oldest extant version found in the Siddur of Sa’adiah Gaon (10th century); it is without doubt the most popular work in Jewish literature. The commentaries written on this comparatively small book can be found as early as the 11th century in the writings of the school of Rashi and his disciples. The traditional texts are composed of prayers, midrashic arguments, simple narratives, poetic forms and prose. Jewish art was generally restricted by the prohibition against making images; that restriction was relaxed in the case of the Haggadah whose sanctity was less than that of the Torah. During the 13th to the 15th centuries many illuminated Haggadot were created. In some cases the texts were decoratively illustrated: performances of the rituals appear, biblical incidents were captured and visions of the destiny of the Jewish people were symbolized by views of the prophet Elijah. Among such famous Haggadot are The Birds’ Head Haggadah (13th century), the Golden Hagga- dah and the Sarajevo Haggadah (both 14th century) and The Darmstadt Haggadah (15th century). The Prague Haggadah (1526) marked the beginning of a long line of illustrated, printed Hagga- dot; its cuts and illustrations were widely imitated in Mantua, Venice, Amsterdam and southern Europe.1 We have chosen to insert some of those exemplary woodcuts in this publication. The chanting and singing of the texts in theHaggadah has been observed in all Jewish commu- nities, each according to its own style and custom. The Haggadah lends itself to responsorial and unison song and also to the solo chanting of the narratives. There are many collections of well known unison melodies and tunes for performance at the Seder. One can also find solo recordings of narrative-chant that have their basis in regional or familial practice. There are not, however, many notated guides for such solo chanting particularly any which authentically reflect a European tradition. Therein the reason for this publication: we wished to make available a practical guide for the authentic chanting of the narrative sections of the Haggadah. To this end we have quoted from recordings of scholar and teacher Max Wohlberg (z”l).2 It is our thought that some or all of these selections could be sung by a leader at the Seder. We think it will be extremely valuable for leaders, be they fluent readers or otherwise. For the more experienced, the examples indicate the pattern of chant in differentperusal sections of theHaggadah . We wish to acknowledge with apprecia- tion the singing of Hazzan. Eliot Vogel on the accompanying CD. Acknowledging that there are other approaches to a “traditional” chant, this version reflects a singular memory. Special thanks are due to Pamela Hitchcock (Wissahickon Design) for the book design, music engraving, and her exceptional professional skills. _________________ 1. See Passover, Klein, Mordell, ed., JPS, 1973; Werner, Eric, A Voice Still Heard, Chapter Nine, pp. 147– 167. 2. Max Wohlberg (1909-1996) was co-founder (1951) of the Cantors Institute of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America: In 1987 he was named the Nathan Cummings Professor of Liturgy and Nusah. i notes As chanted by Wohlberg, these excerpts from the Haggadah reflect three modalities: Akdamut Ha lachma anya, Avadim hayinu, Sh’fach chamat’cha High Holyday Minor Mit’chilah, Arami oved avi, Elu eser makot, Rabbi Yehudah, Al achat kamah v’chamah, Rabban Gamliel hayah omer, Pesach, Matzah, Maror, L’fichach, Baruch atah ... asher g’alenu, Ken asah Hillel, Nishmat. Adonai Malach or Major Ma’aseh b’Rabbi Eliezer, Amar Rabbi Elazar, Baruch hamakom, Chacham mah hu omer, Tzei ul’mad, Y’hallelucha. The music was originally transcribed by Nancy Abramson from two recordings of Sedarim led by Max Wohlberg. Wohlberg’s chanting on both sets of recordings did not vary. When questioned about the shifts of tonality he remarked that “this is the way it was done.” One might assume that this reflected the practices of some of theYeshivot in which he studied in Hungary.2 Regarding Transliterations: j f l are transliterated as ch ¢ and % are transliterated as e and pronounced as in “hen” h% is transliterated as ei and pronounced as in “say” Woodcuts are from: perusal The Prague Haggadah of 1526: pp. 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 16, 19, 20 The Amsterdam Haggadah of 1662: pp. 14, 15, 23 The Schmid Haggadah, Venice, 1823: p. 13 a prayer book, Amsterdam, 1870: p. 1 _________________ 2. Wohlberg was born in Homonna, Hungary (present day Slovakia) and studied at the Yeshivah of the Kazinczy Utcha (Street) Congregation (Budapest), the Yeshivah at Kraszna and the Szatmar Yeshivah (Davidson, From Szatmar to the New World: Max Wohlberg, American Cantor, The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, New York, NY, 2001). ii table of contents Ha lachma anya 1 Avadim hayinu 2 Ma’aseh b’Rabbi Eliezer 3 Amar Rabbi Elazar 4 Baruch hamakom 5 Chacham mah hu omer 6 Mit’chilah 7 Tze ul’mad 9 Arami oved avi 9 Elu eser makot 10 Rabbi Yehudah 10 Al achat kamah v’chamah 11 Rabban Gamliel hayah omer 12 Pesachperusal 13 Matzah 14 Maror 15 L’fichach 17 Baruch atah 18 iii Ken asah Hillel 19 Sh’foch chamat’cha 21 Nishmat 22 Y’hal’lucha 24 S’firat ha’omer 25 perusal iv t*h&b(g t*n&j(k t*v perusal 1 Ubh^h*v ohs*cg^ ( & perusal 2 r$z$gh^kt$ & h^C(r&C v_$ag(n( & perusal 3 r*z*g&k$t h^C(r r(n*t perusal 4 oIe*n(v lUr*C& perusal 5 r%nIt tUv v(n o*f*j perusal 6 v*K^j&<^n perusal 7 W perusal 8 s(n&kU t%M W perusalh^c*t s%c_t h^N(r(t& 9 ,IF(n r_$a$g UK%t perusalv*sUv&h h^C(r 10 v*N(f&u v*N(F ,(j(t k(g perusal 11 r%nIt v*h*v k%th^k&n(D i*C(r perusal 12 j(x$P perusal 13 v*M(n perusal 14 rIr*n perusal 15 perusal 16 l*fh^p&k& perusal W 17 v*<(t lUr*C& perusalW 18 k%K^v v_*a*g i%F W perusal 19 perusal 20 l&,*n(j* lIp&a_& perusalW 21 ,(n&a_^b perusal 22 perusal 23 lUk&k(v&h* perusal W 24 r$nIg*v ,(rh^px& perusalW 25.
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