Yossele Rosenblatt's music has stood the test of time and continues to bring the legacy of a great chazzan and a gutte Yid to a new generation
For so many, the Yamim Noraim davening means experiencing an annual uplift with the traditional chazzanus and nusach of yesteryear. In honor of Rosh Hashanah 5781, Endnote celebrates the unparalleled contribution of Cantor Yossele Rosenblatt to the world of nusach hatefillah. He passed away in 1933 at only 51 years of age, but in those short years, the “king of cantors” bequeathed us over 600 compositions, some of which are part of every shul’s Rosh Hashanah davening. It wasn’t just his musical genius, his rich, clear tenor, or his exceptional mastery and range that made Yossele Rosenblatt stand out — it was the soul he poured out in prayer and passed along. He was the first to put chazzanus to vinyl, and his recordings for various phonograph companies were influential in spreading his fame (as a G-d-fearing Torah Jew, he turned down many inappropriate lucrative offers from the wider music world) and preserving his creations.
A repertoire of Yossele’s compositions is part of every cantor’s performance portfolio, but it is not only professionals who can sing and enjoy these melodies. Songs like the classic “Hamavdil” and “A Seudenyu” are accessible to any baal tefillah, choir, or layman and are full of warmth and energy. Yossele’s music has stood the test of time and continues to bring the legacy of a great chazzan and a gutte Yid to a new generation.
Chazzan Motzen is the fifth generation in a family of cantors, and has been leading davening and performing for 52 years. Born in Tel Aviv and a former talmid in Kol Torah, Beer Yaakov and Ponevezh, Motzen has held cantorial positions in Montreal and Toronto, and for the lasr 14 years, has been chazzan of The Shul in Bal Harbour, Florida. He currently resides in Englewood, New Jersey, but travels around the world to perform.
Jerusalem-born Chazzan Boyer, 30, is an Eretz Yisrael-based acclaimed chazzan who comes from a family of baalei tefillah. He began studying music at age seven, and is today considered an expert on Rosenblatt’s compositions, a Yossele-impressionist, and is a composer of chazzanus and chassidic niggunim. He leads Yom Tov davening in shuls in Eretz Yisrael, the US, and Europe.
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