Notebook with musical scores handwritten by Cantor Josef (Yossele) Rosenblatt. [United States, early 1930s]. Hebrew, Yiddish, and English.
Music manuscript (staff lined) notebook filled with musical scores handwritten by the greatest of 20th-century cantors, known as the "King of Cantors, " Josef (Yossele) Rosenblatt, which he made use of during his recitals. The present notebook contains 69 works – Jewish prayers, liturgical hymns, and traditional songs in Hebrew and Yiddish, and a number of popular songs and operatic arias, some composed by Rosenblatt himself and some by other composers – handwritten onto staff notebook pages. Some of the works contained here have never been published.
Among the works included in the notebook: "Baim Koisel Marovi, " "Lomir Zich Iber Beiten, " "R'tzei Asirosom, " "Kevakoras, " "Vaani S'filosi, " "Racheim No, " "Hashir Shehalviyim, " "Hasom Nafsheinu Bachayim, " "Hamavdil, " and more. Underneath the notes for "Shoshanas Yaakov" (p. 53), the lyrics for the Hanukkah song "Haneiros Halalu" are written in. Apparently, the original melody for "Shoshanas Yaakov" was adapted for other lyrics. This particular work was never published during Rosenblatt's lifetime, nor was it ever recorded by him; indeed, it was recorded only recently – for the first time – by Cantor Moti Boyer.
Next to several works, Rosenblatt adds brief handwritten notations, some regarding the time and place a given piece was composed. For instance, at the end of the melody to the prayer "L'Olom Y'Hei Odom" (p. 15), he inserts the following note (in Yiddish): "Completed on the train from Indianapolis to New York, Sunday, January 16, 1927." "L'Olom Y'Hei Odom" was first recorded just a few days later, on January 20 (see online recordings listed on the website "Discography of American Historical Recordings"), but was apparently never published during Rosenblatt's lifetime.
Toward the end of the composition "Rabi Yishmoeil" (p. 19), Rosenlatt added (in Hebrew): "I began [this] on Dec. 17, 1926 in Seattle, Wash. and finished [it] on the way from New York to Chicago on March 10, 1927." The melody was recorded on October 18, 1928.
After "Di Tefilin" (p. 75), Rosenblatt writes (in Yiddish): "composed by Herman Wohl, piano accompaniment by Cantor Josef Rosenblatt, ‘Shliyach Tzibur' in New York." For many years, the Jewish-American composer Herman Wohl (1877-1936) served as the conductor of the choir that accompanied Rosenblatt at his public performances.
At the end of the score to "Minachal Baderech" (p. 104), Rosenblatt writes (in English) "Composed by Josef Rosenblatt." It seems that this melody was never printed or recorded by Rosenblatt.
In addition, Rosenblatt writes down in his notebook the names of the artists who composed and arranged most of the works. He also inserts various comments, instructions, and directions regarding how a given work is to be performed, and assorted corrections. Some of the scores in the notebook have lyrics added in a different handwriting, in pen or pencil, underneath the staff lines, and some have an indication of the date of the composition. The pages are all numbered by hand.
A Table of Contents – typewritten on the personal stationery of Yossele's son, Henry Rosenblatt – appears at the beginning. It lists most of the works included in the notebook. Notations penciled in next to most of the segments indicate the times when the individual works are to be performed. Ownership inscription by Henry Rosenblatt on the front flyleaf (English).
[210] pages of handwritten musical scores on staff lined sheets (and additional blank pages) + [1] f. table of contents, typewritten on personal stationery of Henry Rosenblatt. Approx. 30 cm. Fair-good condition. Minor stains. Brittle paper. Closed and open tears, causing minor damage to text or musical scores. Repairs with adhesive tape on some leaves. Upper edges of several leaves trimmed, causing minor damage to text and page numbering. Detached and partially detached leaves. Leather binding with gilt impression. Wear and blemishes to binding. Spine detached and torn (with losses).
Provenance:
1. Henry Rosenblatt, Josef's son (ownership inscription appears on front flyleaf).
2. Collection of G. Atlas, student and close friend of Henry Rosenblatt.

Josef (Yossele) Rosenblatt (1882-1933), cantor and composer, widely regarded as the greatest cantor in the Jewish world in the 20th century. Vocalist whose singularly virtuosic skills immeasurably enriched the art of cantorial music. Rosenblatt's distinctive, ethereal tenor voice earned him recognition among Jewish communities – and the general public – around the world, throughout Europe, the United States, and Palestine.
Josef Rosenblatt was born in Bila Tserkva (southern Russian Empire, today in Ukraine). In his early childhood, the family moved to Sadigura (Sadhora), Bukovina (part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire), where he was exposed to the Hasidic melodies that profoundly influenced his artistic development and molded his musical style. He began performing at the tender age of nine, and gained a reputation early in life as a popular, crowd-pleasing "chazan" (cantor). At the age of 17, he sharpened his skills with vocal training in Vienna, and following that, he began appearing before audiences throughout the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After getting married, he was hired to serve as a cantor in Munkatch (Mukachevo or Mukacheve, today in western Ukraine). In 1901, he moved to Bratislava (Pressburg); it was here that his reputation as a cantor possessing rare, beautifully musical vocal skills began to spread throughout Europe. He was subsequently appointed Chief Cantor of the prosperous Hamburg Jewish community. In 1912 he immigrated to the United States, where he became Cantor of New York's Ohab Zedek Congregation, whose membership consisted largely of Hungarian-Jewish émigrés. Soon thereafter, he began touring the length and breadth of the United States and entertaining ever-larger audiences.
At the start of his multi-faceted musical career, while leading synagogue services as a cantor, Yossele Rosenblatt would typically improvise his melodies on the spot. Eventually, however, he began writing down the musical scores for his tunes, and thus, over time the various melodies developed into fixed musical works that he would perform over and over in his appearances before audiences. In total, he is thought to have composed over 600 different works. He even authored a number of books containing his compositions, including "Zemorot Yosef" (1906) and "Tefillot Yosef" (1906). Rosenblatt also recorded many albums that feature him singing his own original compositions and arrangements, as well as popular Jewish folk tunes and works by various other composers. In addition, he contributed vocal segments to the motion picture "The Jazz Singer" (1927), the world's first feature-length movie to offer a recorded musical soundtrack and segments of dialogue and song produced in synchrony with the motion picture. The movie quickly gained fame; it marked the end of the era of silent movies and ushered in the era of sound films. As far as Rosenblatt was concerned, it earned him a place of honor in the annals of cinema.
In early 1933, Rosenblatt traveled to Palestine where he embarked on a concert tour, accompanied by his son Henry and the pianist-composer Nahum Nardi. He also took part there in the filming of another movie, the Yiddish-language film "Cholom Fun Mein Folk" ("Dream of my People"). In this film, Rosenblatt is shown performing songs in sites all over the country, including Mt. Scopus (Jerusalem), the Cave of the Patriarchs (Hebron), the Dead Sea, and other places. While making this movie, Rosenblatt fell in love with the Land of Israel and he decided to settle here. Unfortunately, his days in this country were numbered; on June 19, 1933, while still involved in the filming of the movie, he suddenly felt unwell, was rushed to hospital, and passed away shortly thereafter. He was interred on the Mt. of Olives in Jerusalem. Following his death, Henry Rosenblatt committed himself to the task of rearranging his father's musical compositions.