II. THE HYMNS

The principal tests applied in the selection of hymns have been their devotional tone, their literary worthiness, their lyric quality, and their relative importance to the general plan of the book as an expression of fundamental Jewish truths. Translations of the best Hebrew hymns and of the finest of the recent German hymns for Jewish worship are offered in large number, making a rich collection of great historic value. Unusually well represented are the classic English poets, the more successful of the metrical psalm paraphrases in English, and the modern singers of Brotherhood and Social Responsibility.

III. THE TUNES

The melodies meet all demands of critical musical scholarship. They were chosen by the Chairman for their appropriateness and attractiveness. Their singableness was tested by him in one or more trials in his own religious school or Temple, whereupon their musical fitness was passed upon by two leading American experts. One tune out of every five is a traditional melody, giving us a wealth of historic Synagog tunes such as is found in no similar collection.

IV. THE CHILDREN'S SERVICES

The services for children follow closely the language and the structure of our Union Prayer Book, with the object of familiarizing the pupils of our schools with the main portion of our ritual so that they will feel perfectly at home in our Temples.

V. MECHANICAL FEATURES

The book will be printed in beautiful type and will be strongly bound. The volume will be compact, with an open and attractive page. Every hymn will have an entire page reserved for it. When there are two tunes for a hymn, they will in no instance be printed on reverse sides of the sheet, but the turnovers will be so arranged that the first and second tunes will always face. Sample pages of the new book have been mounted on cardboard and may be examined at this convention by those who are interested. Besides the table of contents and the alphabetical index of first lines, there will be an index of subjects, an index of authors, an index of composers, an index of meters, and an index of metrical psalm paraphrases.

The book will contain double the amount of material contained in the old Hymnal, consisting of two hundred and twenty-six hymns, as compared to one hundred and seventeen hymns in the old book, besides the many additional features that have been mentioned. Although this increase of material will enhance greatly the cost of production, single copies of the new Hymnal will be sold for the same price as was the old Hymnal, namely, fifty cents per copy.

An accurate account of American Jewish Hymnology has never been given. As a part of this report a brief sketch of American Jewish Hymnology may be not unwelcome.

The first attempt made in the United States to produce a Jewish Hymnal was the so-called Charleston collection, which appeared more than seventy years ago, and of which Miss Penina Moise was the author of all the hymns except a few that had been written at her request by several of her friends. Miss Moise had real poetic power, and strong religious feeling, but the value of her hymns for congregational use was impaired by her occasional carelessness in regard to the regularity of the meter and by her tendency, constantly manifested, to indulge in didactic moralizing. We have fourteen of her hymns in our new book; every one of these have been more or less altered by your Committee to correct metrical lapses, or to eliminate the disturbing note of didactic exhortation. Making all allowances, we must accord to her a high place of honor in Jewish Hymnology.

In the year 1868 a collection of hymns for Jewish worship was printed by Temple Emanuel of New York. There were only forty hymns in the Temple Emanuel collection, thirty-six of them being translations from the German made by James K. Gutheim and Felix Adler. The English renderings of the former, though vigorous, were anything but accurate or smooth. We have reprinted eleven of the Temple Emanuel translations, but with revisions so extensive in some as to change entirely the language of whole verses and stanzas.

Coincident with the Temple Emanuel Hymnal were similar collections by Isaac M. Wise and Marcus Jastrow. Of their hymns we have appropriated a few that well deserve to be perpetuated.

The Union of American Hebrew Congregations offered a cash prize in the year 1877 for a Jewish hymn book, but the offer failed to induce competition, and the prize was never awarded. Encouraged by the offer of the Union, and as the only contestant for the announced reward, Simon Hecht of Evansville, Ind., published a small hymnal for Jewish Sunday Schools, together with original tunes, mostly without harmonization. The music composed by Simon Hecht is not without merit. We are indebted to the Bloch Publishing Company for permission to use the Hecht melodies.

Gustav Gottheil issued a hymnal in 1882, which he had compiled from both Jewish and non-Jewish sources. This compilation was a creditable piece of pioneer work, and is of special interest because of the fact that our old Union Hymnal was based very largely upon Dr. Gottheil's work.

Small collections of hymns have been published by F. de Sola Mendes, Joseph Krauskopf, Max Landsberg, Adolph Guttman, Louis Stern, Louis Grossmann, J. Leonard Levy, and Jacob Voorsanger. The recent books in this field by Isaac S. Moses, Henry L. Gideon, and Mrs. Solomon Schechter are too well known to need description.

With the new Union Hymnal entirely completed except for the press work and electrotyping, which will be finished in about two months, your Committee on Synagog Music is prepared to undertake the other duties for which it was created. At the Indianapolis meeting of the Conference, in 1906, a standing Committee on Synagog Music was appointed (Year Book, XVI, 185). This action was taken at the suggestion of the President, who had said in his message: "I would commend for your consideration the advisability of appointing a standing committee with power to publish periodically, in bound form, for a moderate price, dignified traditional settings or interpretations in the Jewish spirit, not only of our ritual responses, but especially of our anthems intended for special occasions, holidays, and the opening and closing of the weekly Sabbath services". Your Committee is in full accord with the intentions of this suggestion. The time has come to carry it into effect.

I. Your Committee would therefore recommend that the Committee on Synagog Music be instructed to prepare for presentation at the next convention an outline of a book of Jewish anthems and ritual responses, giving the names of composers who will agree to cooperate, and an estimate of the cost of production, submitting, if possible, the manuscript of anthems and ritual responses which they approve.

II. Your Committee also recommends that it be empowered to consider the advisability of arranging with musicians for the composition of suitable responses, of providing for a suitable honorarium for such composers, and of publishing such compositions.

III. Your Committee would recommend, furthermore, that at the next convention a half day be devoted to questions connected with Synagog Music.

Respectfully submitted,

HARRY H. MAYER, Chairman.

Upon motion, allowed by unanimous consent, the former name, Committee on Synagogal Music, was changed to Committee on Synagog Music.

It was moved and carried unanimously that a rising vote of thanks be extended to the Chairman and members of the Committee on Synagog Music, and that the first copies of the new Hymnal off the press be suitably bound and inscribed with proper expression of the Conference's appreciation of the labors of the Committee, and be presented to those members of the Committee during the years 1911-1913, who, in the opinion of the Executive Board, acting in conjunction with the Chairman of the Committee, had by their services merited such recognition.

Upon motion the report was received and its recommendations taken up seriatim.

Moved and seconded that Recommendation I be referred to the Executive Board.

Rabbi Mayer-The purpose of this recommendation is this: We have many independent publications of ritual responses by various cantors and organists, and of music for Sabbath and holiday services arranged to conform to the Union Prayer Book. None of these, however, has received the stamp of Conference approval. Now, we want to encourage the composition of music similar to that already published, but which, by measuring up to certain high standards, which we should establish, will merit the official approval and endorsement of the Conference.

Rabbi C. S. Levi-I strongly fear that such action might endanger the success of our new Hymnal, that is soon, thanks to the labors of this Committee, to appear. And I further question the advisability of the Conference assuming the position of a critic, to pass judgment upon the merit of hymns and responses that may in the future come to its notice. I would therefore suggest that this Committee, instead, prepare a bibliography of all extant hymns and ritual responses that, in its judgment, are suitable for use in American synagogs.

The motion to refer Recommendation I to the Executive Board was carried with but one dissenting vote.

Recommendation II was read.

Rabbi Mayer-This recommendation seems to have much in common with the preceding recommendation, yet its purpose is somewhat different. It is designed to encourage composers who may have already completed manuscripts of responses for service in the Synagog to proceed with the publication of these. The cost of such an undertaking is considerable, and usually falls entirely upon the composer himself, without the promise of suitable recompense. This must naturally deter many musicians from publishing, or even undertaking such work. But the assurance of the support of the Conference, which this resolution offers, should suffice to induce many competent men to publish their work.

Rabbi Enelow-I am sure that the Committee has given this matter full consideration. Yet I see no reason why the Conference should undertake to pay for the composition of new music. Experience has shown that our most effective music consists of the old traditional Jewish melodies. Of these I believe we have great abundance. Furthermore, very little of the new music that is published from time to time is really available for Synagog use, or represents a distinct advance upon what has preceded. And finally, the publication of new music is a commercial enterprise pure and simple. Musical publishing houses know that there is a demand for really good music and are continually in search thereof. Any man with good music to publish should be able to find a publisher. I see no reason for the Conference to undertake such work.

Rabbi Stolz-To my mind this recommendation contradicts Recommendation I. This provided that the Committee prepare and present at the next Convention the outline of a collection of hymns and responses. The present resolution would seem to commit the Conference through this Committee to the selection, purchase and publication of anthems and responses immediately. I do not believe that we are yet ready for this. It would be a much wiser policy to follow the same plan as provided in the preceding recommendation. I therefore move that the Committee be empowered to investigate this matter more thoroughly and report a detailed plan at the next Convention. Seconded and carried.

Recommendation III was read, and upon motion was referred to the Executive Board, with instructions that it be carried out if found advisable.

The suggestion was offered by Rabbi J. Leonard Levy that the Committee consider the advisability and possibility of the preparation of music suitable for home weddings and for funerals.

Upon motion, the report, as amended, was adopted as a whole.

Adjourned.