Arno Nadel - Schire Simroh

Arno Nadel was born in Vilnius in 1878 and murdered in Auschwitz in 1943. Only a few documents survive, from which it is possible to reconstruct his life's path. This is not particularly surprising, since Arn Nadel's world collapsed three times: first the Jewish world of Vilnius, then the German world of Königsberg, and finally the German-Jewish world of Berlin. However, it is astonishing how thoroughly his work later fell into oblivion. Nadel's sheer versatility should have saved this extraordinary man from oblivion.

Arno Nadel was a poet, philosopher, playwright, religious scholar, translator, painter and graphic artist, composer, musicologist and literary scholar, ethnologist, choral conductor, pianist, organist, and music journalist—if one excludes occupations that served solely to earn a living, such as his work as a school teacher. All these diverse activities were by no means the dilettante endeavors of a distracted mind, but full-fledged professions and vocations, which Nadel pursued simultaneously, with the utmost intensity and professionalism. In this respect, he was an exceptional figure not only in his time—a phenomenon reminiscent of Renaissance artists.

In every area of his work, Nadel was extraordinarily productive—so much so that one must wonder how one man could have created such a vast amount of spiritual value in a lifetime. Although much of his legacy did not survive World War II, the wealth of surviving manuscripts and published works is difficult to grasp. A comprehensive study of his oeuvre would require the effort of an entire team of researchers from various disciplines.

For this CD production, five compositions for cantor, choir, and organ intended for Friday evening services were recorded, among others. These compositions were originally published in the collection "Schire Simroh," a collection of synagogue compositions by contemporary authors. These pieces were written for the Allgemeiner Deutscher Kantoren-Verband e.V. competition in 1926 and published by the J. Kauffmann publishing house in Frankfurt am Main. In 1930, another special edition was published. This extremely rare edition was reprinted in the Journal of Synagogue Music in 1968. The collection also included the piece "W'schomru," which—like the other four published compositions—formed part of this compendium. This piece offers an insight into Nadel's expressive style, which "combines Eastern freedom of expression with Western instrumentation, largely traditional Jewish melodic construction with European polyphony and harmonic daring" (cf. Jascha Nemtsov: Arno Nadel. Sein Beitrag zur jüdischen Musikkultur, Berlin 2008).

The album also includes the piece "J'hi Scholom" for cantor, choir, and organ, composed by Arn Nadel for the dedication of the Temple of Peace in Berlin.

Psalm 24, released on the occasion of Moritz Schäfer's 70th birthday on May 21, 1927, with a dedication "To Mr. Professor Moritz Schäfer, friend of all great Jewish endeavors," is an a cappella composition for male choir with a solo part by the cantor, intended for the Torah reading liturgy.

This recording is complemented by three solo organ preludes. The first was composed for the High Holy Days and is based on the most representative liturgical motifs, "Bar'chu" and "Hamelech," for evening and morning prayer.

Arno Nadel wrote the central organ prelude for the three weeks preceding Tisha B'Av—the saddest period in the Jewish calendar, commemorating the destruction of both Temples in Jerusalem. This prelude draws on liturgical motifs from the days, which include, on the one hand, the recitation of the "Kinnot"—liturgical hymns describing the suffering of the people of Israel in exile—and, on the other, the Lamentations of Jeremiah, which reflect the mourning and horror of the destruction of the Temple.

The closing piece of the album opens the final part of the service on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. It is titled "Ne'ilah" and corresponds to the prayer recited before the closing of the gates of the Temple in Jerusalem at the end of that day.