Arno Nadel. The musical work of a man of many talents

ABSTRACT

The article surveys the life and lifework of Arno Nadel (1878–1943) in the field of music, as a collector, scholar, pianist, arranger, and composer. Based on his recently digitized estate at the National Library of Israel and other sources, it aims at presenting his immense output, and the unique linkage between conceptions and practice which characterizes it. The text also tries to point at the dense web made of ideas and interests, and at the cross-connections between intellectuals, all in the shadow of the turbulent times it all took place in.

KEYWORDS:

• Jewish music
• folksongs
• synagogue music
• arrangement (music)

This article focuses on Arno Nadel’s activities, writings, and musical endeavors, and mentions some of his work in other artistic fields connected with music. It provides an overview of Arno Nadel’s life and describes his diverse activities in the field of music, which are still largely overshadowed in public perception by his work as a painter (Figure 1) and poet. Written upon the recent completion of the digitization of Nadel’s archive, kept at the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem, this article draws on documents kept there and on material from other archives, printed collections, and secondary sources (see Endnote 4), including Nadel’s estate in Jerusalem and materials kept at the Leo Baeck Institute at the Center for Jewish History in New York. The Arno Nadel archive at Gratz College in Philadelphia is not yet publicly accessible and is ripe for future research.

Figure 1. A self-portrait by Arno Nadel, pastel and charcoal drawing on paper, from 1926. The Leo Baeck Institute Art & Objects Collection, 78.222.

The article first provides general background on Nadel’s life while focusing on his activities as synagogue musician, collector of Jewish folksongs, and composer of incidental music. Some of Nadel’s views on Jewish music are presented in this part of the article and then placed in a broader context in the second part, devoted mainly to Nadel’s arrangements and compositions. The article closes by highlighting a few items in Nadel’s estate and suggesting some areas for further study.

Biographical sketch of Arno Nadel the musician and collector

Arno Nadel was born on 3 October 1878, in Vilnius (Vilna), then part of the Russian Empire. Immediately after Kristallnacht (9-10 November 1938), Nadel was arrested and imprisoned in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. There is no information as to the duration of his stay there. Nadel’s diaries (June – September 1942) include palpably restrained yet heartrending memories of the time in ‘S.’ as Nadel referred to Sachsenhausen. On 12 March 1943, he was deported with his wife from Berlin to Auschwitz, where he perished soon thereafter.

Nadel was a prolific artist, a person of versatile talents. He was a poet, playwright, translator, painter, composer, collector of Jewish folk and synagogal music, synagogue musician, arranger, pianist, musicologist, and music journalist. His many talents were recognized in his lifetime, as reflected in the title of a chapter about him in the 1991 Berlin exhibition catalog Juden in Kreuzberg (Jews in Kreuzberg): ‘Anyone who does not yet know the painter Arno Nadel, knows about the poet and will recognize in him the musician.’¹

Arno Nadel was talented, skillful, and successful in three realms of artistic activity – literature, painting, and music – and developed a unique, religious, mystic art, of which his writings and diaries bear moving testimony. On his 50^th anniversary, the Jüdische Rundschau introduced him as follows:

On October 3^rd, Arno Nadel—a rare, triple artistic talent: as a painter, poet, and musician—joins the line of 50-year-old persons […]. Nadel, the Jew, [knows] the path to a God who is objective above all world, just as the whole world is objective in him. Nadel’s renewed mysticism of Judaism proclaims God not by sinking in the divine, but through the thin wall of life.²

Today, Nadel appears to be better remembered for his work as a poet than as a musician, if he is remembered at all. In an obituary published in Zurich by the Israelitisches Wochenblatt in 1946, Felix Stössinger wrote:

In his obituary, Magnus Davidsohn [who served as Chief Cantor at the Fasanenstrasse Synagogue, Berlin-Charlottenburg in the years 1912–1938] reflected on the Jewish musician Arno Nadel […]. Above all, Nadel was also a poet, and he would have become known in a completely different way if he had not been a great, silent person who kept his books secret even from his friends and who was made anonymous by the strangest circumstances of life.

[…] Nadel’s oeuvre survives perhaps only in a few copies of his scattered books. After 30 years of a friendship that goes beyond words, I would like to collect the remnants of this work and try to put it back together again. Therefore, I ask everyone who owns or knows something about Nadel to speak up.³

Nadel was born into a Jewish family.⁴ His father David Nadel was a mechanic by profession, an orthodox Misnaged (member of the Misnagdim, opponents – a religious movement resisting the rise of Hasidism in the 18^th and 19^th century), who had considerable contact with Hasidim. In a commentary on his arrangement of ‘El Adon,’ an ‘old Hasidic melody,’ which was published in Der Jude, Arno Nadel wrote: ‘I heard this authentic Jewish melody when I was young from my father, who was himself a Misnaged but, by lucky coincidence, socialized a lot with Hasidim.’⁵ In 1930, the editorial staff of the newspaper Jüdische Rundschau approached a few people known for having an avid interest in Jewish music and invited them to share with the readers how they had become involved in this field. Part of Nadel’s response, published on 16 April 1930, reads as follows:

Vilna. This was birth and duration and death—this was a permanent place from the first breath. A single word, one can almost say: a single word says it: Vilna. I was born in Vilna in 1878. Only a few know this Vilna. This was a sacred Jewish city with hundreds of ‘shuls.’ […] In all synagogues people ‘learned,’ which means: singing, lamenting, arguing, quarreling, but always singing, singing ancient Jewish, ancient oriental singing, studying, praying, preaching, speaking – and, truly, singing and singing and singing, Jewish, sweetly sung Jewish singing. My beautiful people have sung about life and death and God and everything in the world. That was Vilna, my native city. […] My path to Jewish music – it is too hard, too easy to describe, to shed light upon, revealing its rare and beautiful wonders.⁶

On that same occasion, Nadel referred to his private experience of Hasidism:

What else would I not have to tell about my cousin Shaul, the Hasid with the long beard, who took me, the Misnaged child, to the Hasidic shtibel [a little room used as an informal synagogue and for communal gatherings], where the holy breath of the religious dancers blew, of rapture, of Dvekut niggunim [partly improvised Jewish religious songs reflecting the mystical joy of experiencing and expressing the closeness to God], of heavenly groans, the dervish ranks, the sublime, pious wordless and wordy melodies.⁷

Due to his father losing his eyesight, Arno Nadel’s family could no longer care for him, and he had to leave home at the age of 12. He went to Königsberg, where he studied at the Bürgerschule (municipal school). His musical talent was soon discovered, and he became a pupil of the composer Robert Schwalm (1845–1912) and, more significantly, a boy soprano at the Königsberg Synagogue led by Oberkantor (chief cantor) Eduard Birnbaum (1885–1920). Birnbaum was a former student of Salomon Sulzer (1804–1890), the Viennese cantor and reformer of synagogue music, who was a great connoisseur and collector of synagogue music and became Nadel’s mentor and model.

On Nadel’s occasional home visits, he met Hirsch Nissan Golomb (1853–1934), a violin teacher and author of several music theory textbooks (some of which were written in Hebrew).⁸ As a 13-year-old boy, Nadel contributed a few Jewish folksong arrangements as examples for one of Golomb’s Hebrew publications. In his later recollection, Nadel specifically mentions ‘W’hawinu l’schalaum’ of chasan Joel-David Lewenstein Straschunsky (1816–1850), the legendary so-called ‘Vilna Balebessel.’⁹ An arrangement of this melody for piano, made by Nadel, was published in February 1905 in Ost und West.¹⁰ For the time being, it cannot be ruled out that the arrangement published in 1905 is a republication of the one made in Vilna for Golomb by 13-year-old Nadel.

In 1895, at the age of 17, Nadel entered the Jüdische Lehrer-Bildungsanstalt (Jewish Teachers Institute) in Berlin, where he would remain for the rest of his working life. At the same time, he studied composition privately with Ludwig Mendelssohn (1858–1921) and Max Julius Loewengard (1860–1915). Nadel married Anna Beate Guhrauer, and the couple had two daughters – Detta and Ellen.

After earning his diploma in 1900, Nadel worked until 1916 as a private teacher of music, arts, and literature, and occasionally taught religion at Jewish schools. Already in 1902, he started gaining a reputation as an arranger of Jewish folksongs.¹¹ Starting in 1904, he wrote articles on Jewish folk and art music for the music supplement of the Jewish magazine Ost und West and music reviews for the Vossische Zeitung (a Berlin newspaper), Vorwärts, Freiheit and a few other newspapers and magazines. He was a notable authority on Jewish music. This has also been the case within his wider family as Judith Leister notes in her portrait of Samuel Bak, born in Vilna in 1933:

Samuel Bak was his parents’ only child, a sheltered and talented boy from a Jewish family in Vilna. At the end of the 1930s, when Samuel was in kindergarten, his mother sent some of his drawings to an uncle in Berlin [i.e., Samuel Bak’s great uncle – YS]. Uncle Arno, actually Arno Nadel, was a well-known musicologist, poet and painter. He replied immediately, enthusiastically: ‘You must not torture this child with anything other than art, art and art.’ ‘Art, art and art’ became the fate of young Samuel. ‘Uncle Arno was held in high regard by us,’ says Samuel Bak, now 84 years old. ‘His words about me were like God’s words to Moses. I grew up as an artist because Uncle Arno said so’.¹²

From 1916 to 1938, Nadel was employed by the Jewish community of Berlin. Initially, in June 1916, he was appointed choir conductor at the orthodox Synagogue at Kottbusser Ufer in Kreuzberg (today Fraenkelufer), which was launched only a few months later, in September 1916. Since no mixed choir or organ was permitted in an orthodox synagogue to accompany the cantor’s singing, Nadel organized a small choir consisting of boys singing the soprano and alto parts and men singing the tenor and bass parts. This choir performed works by Louis Lewandowski (1821–1894) and Beethoven during the inauguration ceremony.

From 1931 onwards, Nadel served as a choir conductor and organist at a series of synagogues: the Alte Synagogue (Old Synagogue) in Heidereutergasse in Berlin-Mitte, at the Pestalozzistraße Synagogue, and finally at the synagogue in Münchener Straße in Schöneberg. As a synagogue choir conductor, Nadel oversaw liturgical services, auditions for candidates for cantors, organists, and interim conductors, as well as the musical parts of funeral services held at the Weißensee Cemetery, Berlin.

Throughout his life, Nadel collected and notated Jewish music.¹³ His collection of manuscripts included a few cantors’ manuals for personal use. Distinctive among them was the 1744 (!) manual of Judah Elias of Hanover, which Nadel called the ‘Hannoversche Kompendium.’ According to a letter Nadel wrote to Martin Buber on 10 February 1922, the Berlin Jewish Community commissioned him to create a compendium of traditional liturgical melodies.¹⁴ Nadel worked on this seven-volume compendium for 16 years, which, if published, should have borne the title Hallelujah – Gesänge für den jüdischen Gottesdienst von Arno Nadel. Zugleich eine systematische Auswahl bedeutender Synagogenkomponisten. (Hallelujah – Chants for the Jewish Service by Arno Nadel; And a Systematic Selection of Important Synagogue Composers). The introduction to the compilation states:

The author had in mind a completely new Jewish service on a grand scale. This style was initially to be expressed in the dramatically accentuated rendition of what was said and sung. Although the ‘perush hamillus’ [i.e., an interpretation of the Scriptures which is committed to the words] was of considerable importance to the great synagogue composers and cantors of all times, the result is still completely different and new, [especially] if one elevates it to a conscious principle of the arts as is the case in the present work.¹⁵

Regrettably, none of the volumes has been found until today.¹⁶

Nadel also composed the incidental music for Stefan Zweig’s play Jeremias which was performed by the Kulturbund-Theater (Theater of the Jewish Culture League) in October 1934. The play portrays the Jewish people’s struggle with their fate upon the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar (586 BCE), their escape into exile, and their mission to make known among the nations God’s plan for a humane society. The score calls for three soloists (soprano, tenor or high baritone, and bass) and an instrumental ensemble consisting of two trumpets, two trombones, percussion (two timpani, snare drum, bass drum, triangle, cymbals), a harp, and two or three cellos. Oskar Guttmann reviewed the performance for the Jüdische Rundschau on 25 October 1934:

Arno Nadel […] often uses exotic and archaic elements as color, and his basic artistic attitude comes much more strongly from Judaism than from poetry […]. Nadel has tried, so to speak, to create music that includes what is missing in Zweig’s poetry: the strangely unfamiliar and yet familiar touch, something of the spirit that takes us away from a recent past of artistic sequences of words. Apart from the beginning, where Nadel uses the old accent melody of the lamentations, the musical additions are freely composed.¹⁷

There is also documentation of additional participation of Nadel with the Kulturbund. As a painter, he appeared in three exhibitions in Berlin (in October and November 1933, and in 1935).¹⁸ On 6 September 1936, in the framework of the Kulturtagung des Reichverbandes der jüdischen Kulturbünde in Deutschland (Culture Conference of the Reich Association of Jewish Culture Leagues in Germany), Nadel held a talk entitled ‘Jüdische liturgische Musik und jüdisches Volkslied’ (Jewish liturgical music and Jewish folksongs).¹⁹ In his talk, Nadel stated that ‘the Jewish folk song is the most genuine when it gets its impulse from synagogue music.’²⁰ Given Nadel’s diverse interests and work (detailed below), this position might seem surprisingly absolute and one-sided. His talk, referring to a then 13-year-old essay in which he had elaborated on these issues, succinctly mentioned seven musical qualities that he considered characteristic of true Jewish music: the recitative, the diatonic (in contrast to harmonic), the anapestic, the meditative, the ‘parallelistic,’ the mixed character of tonality, and the changing character of rhythm.²¹

The documentary album (book and recordings) Vorbei … : Dokumentation jüdischen Musiklebens in Berlin, 1933–1938 (Beyond Recall: A record of Jewish musical life in Nazi Berlin 1933–1938) presents a few more cases of Nadel’s involvement with the Kulturbund activities:

• Nadel’s arrangements of two different versions of the Passover song ‘Chad Gadya’ (sung in Aramaic and German) were recorded in the spring of 1934, interpreted by Chief Cantor Karl Neumann accompanied by a string orchestra and piano.²²

• Nadel composed the introductory music for the short film ‘Schir Iwri (Hebräische Melodie)’ (Hebrew Melody), produced in the winter of 1934/35 and commissioned by the Reichsverband der jüdischen Kulturbünde in Deutschland (Reich Association of the Jewish Culture Leagues in Germany). The film features violinist Andreas Weißgerber interpreting Joseph Achron’s Hebräische Melodie against the background of the scenery of the old city of Jerusalem.²³

• As a pianist, Nadel had been recorded in Berlin in 1936 accompanying Cantor Israel Bakon in two prayers (‘L’man Jirbu’ und ‘Elouheinu W’lohei.’).²⁴

• Nadel’s arrangement for ‘Elohai Ad Schelo Nozarti’ was recorded by J. Blumberg singing, accompanied by harp.²⁵

The infamous Lexikon der Juden in der Musik (Lexicon of Jews in Music), published in 1940 by the Institut der NSDAP zur Erforschung der Judenfrage (NSDAP Institute for Research on the Jewish Question) includes an entry on Arno Nadel.²⁶

After his return from the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, Nadel could no longer work at the destroyed Pestalozzistrasse Synagogue. He was employed as organist and choir director in the Münchenerstrasse Synagogue until March 1941, when the community could no longer financially support his employment. He did continue conducting a choir and playing the organ in services at the Weißensee Cemetery. Nonetheless, in mid-May 1941, Nadel and his wife were forced to leave their apartment and move into a single room in the apartment of another Jewish family in Berlin.

From October 1941 Nadel was forced to work at the Jüdische Bibliothek Amt VII of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (Jewish Library Office VII of the Reich Security Main Office) in the Logenhaus, Eisenacherstrasse 11 together with other Jewish Zwangsarbeiter (forced laborers), and under the supervision of Gestapo officers. He had to register Jewish books and writings, which were stolen from Jews, including himself, across Germany and Nazi-occupied territories and transported to Berlin. In his diaries, Nadel referred to this ‘place of work’ using an enigmatic abbreviation of his invention – ‘G-U.’²⁷

His diaries include numerous notes dealing with literature, painting, philosophy, theology, and – music. Some express fleeting ideas, and others elaborate on musical subjects. Together with seemingly unimportant or irrelevant reports on personal experiences or musical activities, these notes illustrate the centrality and profound significance of music in Nadel’s holistic spiritual world. (Figure 2)

Figure 2. A diary page, Arno Nadel Archive, The National Library of Israel, ARC. Ms. Var. 469 01 11.9, Series 01: Manuscripts, 1942.

June 1, 1942: “I’m going to Frohne. Singing the bell chorale [from Prélude, choral et fugue, M. 21 (1884)] by César Franck sadly, almost violently, in front of me, I walk along B.’s [Ferruccio Busoni’s] house, the last apartment of the person who performed this miraculous work most beautifully. I think ‘‘I want to hear this music in death, just this one. Not a God-screaming Bach or a spirit-talking Beethoven, no, this one, which plays as if by itself, as naturally as the French soul.’’

June 5, 1942: ‘Spring is Mozart, autumn is Beethoven.’

June 21, 1942: ‘By the way, I spent the whole day wonderfully working on the “Yom Kippur” symphony commissioned by Altmann in my head. Oh, if I could only have held on to that.’

June 26, 1942: ‘The glasses that Schubert put on his nose when he sank dead tired into his miserable bed at night so that he could pick up his pen more quickly in the morning. That’s how I feel too. And I’m a slave to the G-U.’

June 27, 1942: ‘I […] would demand that the Singakademie help Mendelssohn, who helped Bach achieve true meaning and recognition, that they place a bust of this wonderful man on the holy spot where this happened and announce this. […] If such a desire is not German but Jewish, I want to triumphantly come to terms with it.’

July 18, 1942: ‘Dreamed: my scalp was the title of a book by a son of Maimonides with a stave and notes on it. The sheet played music, sound, it was a wonderful thing to listen to, to listen as only in a dream.’

August 4, 1942: “The Germans gathered in front of the overturned Mendelssohn monument in Leipzig: ‘‘We all wish you back”. (Goethe to Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy)”

August 6, 1942: ‘Tonight, my master and teacher Beethoven sent me in a dream one of his most beautiful tunes with text: [notated – the opening theme of the 3rd movement from Beethoven’s 5th Symphony] The sun rose, with it: Fate,/Bring your God back to the world/The sun back./Do you feel the beat?/Guess what it can!/The day is new./Dare it, oh, dare! I think I’ve already told you how, around the age of twenty, I had, in a dream for a long, long time, chamber music lessons from Beethoven.’

August 8, 1942: ‘Yesterday […] in a few minutes I composed a “theme,” a larger one, for variations.’

August 10, 1942: ‘I lay in bed from 3–6, half awake, half asleep, composing on the “theme”. What remains in the middle of it is only a minor symbol.’

August 11, 1942: ‘I long for piano playing in the highest sense and would also like to combine creating and playing: Chopin.’²⁸

Several diary notes include short, hand-written musical notations – a melody remembered or invented, some with words and some without.²⁹

On 10 March 1943, Nadel returned from G-U to the room on the Bamberger-Straße he had lived in with his wife to find it locked. In his absence, his wife had been seized by the Gestapo. He had been sent a written summons to come to Alexanderplatz. He was deported from the Moabit railway station to Auschwitz on the 36^th ‘Osttransport’ (eastern transport).

Arno Nadel as researcher, collector, restorer, and composer of Jewish music

Nadel’s research in the field of Jewish music aimed to discover, restore, and preserve old musical traditions, those he considered authentic Jewish music, while simultaneously renewing traditional synagogue music. His efforts undoubtedly raised the performing standards of synagogue choirs. He devotedly collected and studied synagogal music and Eastern European Jewish folk songs, searching for manuscripts, and notating oral traditions. He published many of these materials with commentary in the Gemeindeblatt der jüdischen Gemeinde zu Berlin (Community Newsletter of the Jewish Community in Berlin), Ost und West, Der Jude, and in articles on Jewish folksongs, among other subjects³⁰ he wrote for the Jüdisches Lexikon and entries for the German Encyclopaedia Judaica (including one on Akzente, the te’amim, cantillation markings).³¹

From February 1905 through January 1919, Nadel published 49 arrangements of folksongs in Ost und West. Most of the pieces were written for voice and piano. Twelve pieces are for piano solo; four for violin (or cello) and piano; and two for voice, violin, and piano. One of the songs (‘Der Oriman,’ [The poor man]) was arranged by Nadel together with composer Bogumil Zepler (1858–1918).³² Most of these arrangements come from Leo Winz’ Jewish folksong collection. Leo Winz (1876–1952) was the editor of Ost und West. A few songs mention informants, including songs mentioning M. Gibianski, E. Sacher of Kolomyya (of Western Ukraine), and Dr. Götz of Berlin. Two songs were communicated by Leo Rosenstein of Paris, and another one (‘Benê hecholo,’ [The members of the temple]) by poet Salman Schneur (1887–1959).³³

The songs have various origins and represent a range of traditions, including folksongs, Hasidic songs, wedding songs, cradle songs, and festive songs (for Chanukah and Sukkot, and havdalah ceremonies). There are also prayer versions or nussachim (the exact manner of reading or praying/singing the text, and its cantillation, Singweise), including for the Megillat Esther (Book of Esther) and for the Kol Nidrei service (‘All Vows’ prayer, held on Yom Kippur eve). He also set a melody by the Lithuanian poet and badchen (entertainer at weddings) Eliakum (Eljokim) Zunser (1840–1913), ‘Die Maskierte Welt’ [The masked world].³⁴ One of the songs (‘Rachelina’) is a Judeo-Espagnol folksong.³⁵ Nadel claimed that another (communicated by the cantor and Jewish music researcher Abraham Zvi Idelsohn [1882–1938]) was a Jewish-Palestinian peasant song (‘Po be’eretz,’ [Here in the land]).³⁶ One interesting case is Nadel’s arrangement of ‘Israels Klagelied’ (Israel’s lament) by Lord Byron. The German translation by Eduard Saenger (1880–1948) and the Hebrew translation by Jehuda Leib Gordon (1830–1892) can be sung to the same melody as the English original ‘Oh! Weep for Those’.³⁷ As a pianist, Nadel accompanied many performances of his arrangements at concerts organized by Ost und West.

In 1916, Nadel published a five-part series of articles on Jewish religious folksongs (based on folksongs collections in New York, Berlin, St. Petersburg, Warsaw, and Moscow);³⁸ and in 1916–1917, a four-part series of articles on Jewish folksongs about love in Martin Buber’s journal Der Jude.³⁹ The 1923 book edition Jüdische Liebeslieder (Volkslieder) (Jewish love songs [folk songs]) – lyrics only, without commentary – includes a sheet music supplement with five arrangements by Arno Nadel.⁴⁰

In 1917 and 1918, Nadel published five arrangements in Der Jude: ‘El Odaun’ (A gentle Lord), ‘Jankele mit Riwkele’(Jacob and Rebecca), ‘Schickt der Harr a Poor’ (The Lord sends a little farmer), and ‘Di Jontewdige Täg’ (The holidays), all set for piano with the text attached to the notes, and ‘Der Marschalik besingt den Bräutigam’ [The Marshalik sings about the bridegroom] for voice and piano.⁴¹ The latter is unique among Nadel’s arrangements, as it is notated without time signature or bar lines. The rather minimal accompaniment nestles into the singing voice.

Some of Nadel’s arrangements of Yiddish folksongs were also published in 1919 in Jontefflieder (Festival songs), an anthology of arrangements of songs for the Jewish holidays dedicated ‘to the artist and “Menagen” (musician), the most learned among the scholars of synagogal liturgies, my esteemed teacher, Chief Cantor Eduard Birnbaum.’⁴² One rare work is Nadel’s arrangement of ‘an old Hassidic melody’ published in 1917 in Der Jude – ‘El Odaun,’ set for piano, yet with the text appearing below the melody:⁴³

A gentle Lord of all that is

Blessed and loved by each soul.

His greatness and goodness fills the world.

Delight there is in knowing You.

This piyyut (Jewish religious poem) had presumably been written during the Talmudic era (2^nd to 4^th century) in the Land of Israel and was among the very first to enter the sacred service.⁴⁴ It is included in the Sabbath service as part of the Yotzer Or (‘I form the light’) prayer.

Generally, Nadel’s arrangements follow the methods and style developed by composers of the so-called ‘New Jewish School of Music,’ which began in 1908 with the founding of the Society for Jewish Folk Music in St. Petersburg. The outstanding composers among its first members were Yoel Engel (1868–1927), Joseph Achron (1886–1943), Lazar Saminsky (1882–1959), Moshe Milner (1886–1953), Alexander Krein (1883–1951), Mikhail Gnessin, (1883–1957) and Solomon Rosowsky (1878–1962). Committed to the idea of forming a Jewish national art music style, these composers, and others, created numerous original, fully-fledged compositions, based on their collection and arrangements of folksongs.

Nadel’s arrangements seem to have reflected a more modest goal than those of his Russian counterparts. Nevertheless, Nadel’s arrangements were based on his passion, diligence, and artistic will. Moreover, although Nadel’s aesthetic and working conditions differed from those of the composers from the ‘New Jewish School of Music,’ both discovered and collected most of their folkloristic musical material locally and arranged it according to their compositional proficiency and artistic capacities.

It seems that in the 1920s, Nadel had only a limited knowledge of the creative activity of the New Jewish School. Independently in Germany, Nadel participated in a deliberate generalization of the term ‘Jewish folk music.’⁴⁵ He interpreted the source material he (and others) had collected – melodies of various Jewish traditions, geographically and temporally – and sought to present them ‘as is,’ ostensibly with minor compositional interventions, as if merely to make them match conventions of western art music.⁴⁶ For the synagogue too, Nadel compiled melodies from a similarly diverse array of cantors and traditions, as if they could all be used in practice under a single, all-encompassing notion of synagogal music.

In 1921, Martin Buber’s Der Jude published an article entitled ‘Das Judentum in der abendländischen Musik’ (Judaism in western music). Written by (gentile) musicologist Heinrich Berl, the article provocatively echoed Richard Wagner’s infamous essay (the first version of which was published in 1850 under a pseudonym, and the revised one in 1869 under its author’s name) and raised the question of the originality of Jews in music.⁴⁷ Berl’s text brought up a wide range of issues, among them, ethnic typing of music, and Jewish identity in music, and objected to Max Brod’s conception of Jewish music. In his 1916 article ‘Jüdische Volksmelodien,’ (Jewish folk tunes), Brod mentions Nadel’s ‘subtle article,’ referring, apparently, to the first part of Nadel’s ‘Religious Songs’ series, also published in Der Jude.⁴⁸ In his text, Brod commented specifically on Nadel’s assertion at the very end of this part: ‘If folk songs are primarily songs and not poems, the Jewish ones are songs in a very special way. They give the text the touch of specifically Jewish essence.’⁴⁹ This assertion of Nadel and Brod’s experience of Eastern European sacred service (‘the most sublime thing I have ever been privileged to feel in my life’)⁵⁰ triggered Brod to reflect on Gustav Mahler’s melodies: ‘Mahler simply had to make music in this way and not in a different way from the same unconscious reason of his Jewish soul from which the most beautiful Hasidic songs, which he probably never knew, arose.’⁵¹

Arno Nadel had been among those who spoke out against Berl’s position. In his aforementioned article on Jewish music published in 1923 in Der Jude, he argued that there is no Jewish music beyond the liturgical. Nadel denied the existence of any secular Jewish music:

There is only one sort of Jewish music that we know that is clearly comprehensible: that is synagogue music. […] Both the Jewish folk song and the religious music in the home is ‘Jewish’ only where it touches on synagogue music, where it laments with melodies for worship and meditates on higher powers. […] There is no such thing as Jewish secular art music at all unless one is allowed to call so a few more or less successful attempts by modern musicians, above all by the group around Engel, who should be taken seriously. The reasons for this fact are obvious. We know of ancient Judaism, a living Jewish religion that leads its own existence and is intertwined with music, but there is no Jewish empire. […] So, Jewish music is primarily synagogue music. The music of our service lives and works as a living force, as a mysterious power that is connected to divine space. […] If you want to deal seriously with the term ‘Jewish music,’ there is only one thing to do: examine the real synagogue music, namely the best nussach, for its essential characteristics.⁵²

Nadel’s collection at the National Library of Israel includes a typoscript of his article ‘Die synagogale Musik’ (Synagogue music). (Figure 3) It was published in an anthology entitled Jüdisches Fest, Jüdischer Brauch (Jewish Festival, Jewish Custom) edited by Friedrich Thieberger.⁵³ The 12-page supplement to this publication includes sheet music, traditional melodies for the Sabbath (including for prayer and Torah reading) and the Jewish holidays, and the ‘Chassene-Tanz’ (Wedding Dance) arranged by Nadel for piano, which had been published before in his Jontefflieder volume.⁵⁴

Figure 3. “Die Synagogale Musik,” Arno Nadel Archive, The National Library of Israel, ARC. Ms. Var. 469 01 2, Series 01: Manuscripts, 1936.

The piece Nadel amended to an article he wrote for the Gemeindeblatt in 1925, ‘Altes “Bor’chu” für die drei Wallfahrtsfeste (mit einer Musikbeilage)’ (Old ‘Bor’chu’ for the three pilgrimage festivals [with music supplement]), clarifies the approach and methods he used while composing. Following the piano score, Nadel provided his own notation of ‘the nussach as it was handed down to us’.⁵⁵ This melody in D major and ending on the tone E was notated using fermatas and articulating bar lines, and without time signatures or tempo indications. In contrast, Nadel’s piano score beginning with an instrumental prelude and concluding with an instrumental postlude, both in D major, and also including fermatas, had (sometimes changing) time signatures and tempo indications (including rubato, andante and grave). Comparing these two melodical versions yields an understanding of how Nadel balanced adherence to firm musical principles and the artistic freedom he allowed himself, first and foremost, concerning development of melodic motifs, harmonization, and harmonic progressions. This balance is also maintained in Nadel’s ‘Orgelvorspiel (oder Zwischenspiel) für die drei Trauerwochen’. (Organ prelude]or interlude[for the three weeks of mourning(, published some months in advance in the same journal as a supplement to an article.⁵⁶ A meticulous and thorough analysis of a similar, yet more elaborate case, ‘Passacaglia über “We’Adonay pakad et ssarah”’ (Passacaglia on ‘And the Lord visited Sarah’) for organ, is presented by Tina Frühauf.⁵⁷

Conclusion

Nadel’s endeavors in the field of synagogue music seem as ambitious and comprehensive as those in the field of Jewish folksongs. Nadel’s lifework demonstrates his commitment to his subject matter, and the importance of his extremely animated intellectual sphere, including during turbulent times. He contributed to Jewish music in various ways and from different perspectives, transforming discoveries and thoughts into vivid spiritual and practical deeds.

Recordings of Nadel’s music are relatively scarce. Recently (2021), the publishing house of the Potsdam University released a CD of his works entitled Schire Simroh (Synagogal songs).⁵⁸ It features five pieces for cantor, choir, and organ for the Friday evening service, among others. These pieces were first included in an anthology entitled Schire Simroh. Synagogale Kompositionen zeitgenössischer Autoren. Aus dem Wettbewerb des Allgemeinen Deutschen Kantoren-Verbandes e. V. im Jahre 1926 (Schire Simroh: Synagogal Compositions by Contemporary Authors from the Competition of the General Cantor Association), published in Frankfurt in 1926 by J. Kaufmann Verlag. The pieces were reprinted in 1968 in the Journal of Synagogue Music in 1968.⁵⁹

Somewhat unexpected among Nadel’s writings is his essay ‘Arnold Schönberg: Wesenhafte Richtlinien in der neuen Musik’ (Arnold Schoenberg – Essential Guidelines in New Music), published as early as June 1912 in Die Musik. Specifically referring to the fourth of the Orchestral Songs, op. 8 (‘Nie ward ich, Herrin, müd’; lyrics by Petrarca); the second of the Three Piano Pieces, op. 11; and the second String Quartet, op. 10, Nadel wrote enthusiastically about Schönberg’s motivation: ‘The desperation and impotence of an entire epoch are at work in his blood.’ He declared: ‘I want no new Liszt; I want no new Wagner […]; I also want no new Beethoven, and no new Bach. Both are still alive. I want a new new one.’⁶⁰ It should though be noticed, that the last mention of Schönberg in the essay appears on page 357, about halfway through the article.

Another rather special item in Nadel’s collection that deserves scrutiny is the private printing ‘Hymne auf Beethoven’ (Hymn to Beethoven) with text by Hans Steiner.⁶¹ It had been prepared for Beethoven’s 150^th anniversary on 17 December 1920. Three years later, Nadel created etchings for the poem ‘Eroica’ by Justus Lichten.⁶² (Figure 4) These should be considered in the context of the evolving reception of Beethoven’s music and personality since the second half of the 19th century (in fact, since Wagner’s contribution), and the values attributed to it.

Figure 4. Portrait of Ludwig van Beethoven, etching by Arno Nadel, Arno Nadel Archive, The National Library of Israel, ARC. ARC. Ms. Var. 469 03 7, Series 03: Publications (inc pictures), 1923.

Given the versatility, proliferation, and influence of Nadel’s work, even if one looks only into the musical parts, it becomes clear how much research is necessary to analyze this vast and significant body of material to uncover all its implications and consequences. Special attention should be devoted to Nadel’s motivations, and a close look is required to discover and understand the complicated interconnections between Nadel’s ideas, motivations, and initiatives, and those of other intellectuals and musicians active in his milieu during his lifetime. In addition, the time is long overdue for Nadel’s arrangements and compositions be performed and recorded.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Yuval Shaked

Yuval Shaked – composer and musicologist based in Israel – is professor emeritus at the University of Haifa. His research is focused on contemporary music, music analysis, and Jewish music. Among his recent publications are articles on works by Rebecca Saunders and Heinz Holliger in Musik-Konzepte no. 188/189 (2020) and no. 196/197 (2022), and on his own compositions in ÖFFENTLICHprivat ‒ (Zwischen)Räume in der Gegenwartsmusik, edited by Jörn Peter Hiekel, Mainz: Schott 2020.

Notes

1. Christine Zahn, “Wer den Maler Arno Nadel noch nicht kennt, weiß von dem Dichter und findet in ihm den Musiker wieder,” Juden in Kreuzberg: Fundstücke, Fragmente, Erinnerungen, ed. Andreas Ludwig (Berlin: Edition Hentrich, 1991), 299–304. The chapter title cites the March 1935 (vol. 3 no. 3) edition of the Monatsblätter des Jüdischen Kulturbundes [Monthly Newsletters of the Jewish Culture League]: ‘Wer den Maler Arno Nadel noch nicht kennt, weiß von dem Dichter und findet in ihm den Musiker wieder’ (Ibid., 299). All translations from German are my own.

2. Quoted from Andreas Kilcher, ‘Nadel, Arno,’ Metzler Lexikon der Deutsch-jüdischen Literatur, ed. Andreas B. Kilcher, 2nd ed. (Stuttgart und Weimar: Metzler, 2012), 384.

‘Am 3. Oktober tritt Nadel – auf seltene Art dreifach künstlerisch begnadet: als Maler, Dichter und Musiker – in die Reihe der 50jährigen […]. Nadel, der Jude, [kennt] den Weg zu einem Gott, der gegenständlich über aller Welt da ist, wie alle Welt gegenständlich in ihm. Nicht im Göttlichen versinken, sondern Gottes durch die dünne Wand des Lebens hindurch innewerden, also Gott nahe sein, verkündet die in Nadel erneuerte Mystik des Judentums.’

3. Felix Stössinger, ‘Der Dichter Arno Nadel’ [The poet Arno Nadel], Israelitisches Wochenblatt 46, no. 32 (August 9, 1946), 21. ‘Magnus Davidsohn hat in seinem Nachruf auf Arno Nadel […] des jüdischen Musikers nachgedacht. Nadel war aber vor allem auch Dichter, und er wäre noch ganz anders bekannt geworden, wäre er nicht ein großer Schweiger gewesen, der seine Bücher selbst von seinen Freunden geheim hielt und den die merkwürdigsten Lebensumstände anonym gemacht haben. […] Vielleicht ist Nadels Oeuvre nur noch in wenigen Exemplaren seiner verstreuten Bücher erhalten. Nach 30 Jahren einer Freundschaft, die über alle Worte geht, möchte ich die Trümmer des Werkes sammeln und versuchen, sie neu zusammenzufügen. Daher bitte ich alle, die etwas von Nadel besitzen oder wissen, um ein Wort.’

4. The biographical information throughout this article is based principally on Jascha Nemtsov’s thorough and detailed chapter entitled ‘“Kunst gehört zum höheren Leben”: Arno Nadel’ in Jascha Nemtsov, Deutsch-jüdische Identität und Überlebenskampf: Jüdische Komponisten im Berlin der NS-Zeit (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2010), 37–125. See also Friedhelm Kemp’s ‘Nachwort’ in Arno Nadel, Der weissagende Dionysos (Heidelberg: Lambert Schneider, 1959), 685–687 and the following encyclopedia and lexicon entries: Alfred Einstein, ‘Nadel, Arno,’ Jüdisches Lexikon: Ein enzyklopädisches Handbuch des jüdischen Wissens in vier Bänden, ed., Georg Herlitz and Bruno Kirschner, vol. 4/1 (Berlin: Jüdischer Verlag, 1927), 377–378; Sol Liptzin and Bathja Bayer, ‘Nadel, Arno,’ Encyclopaedia Judaica, ed. Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik, 2nd ed., vol. 14 (Detroit, MI: Macmillan, 2007), 723; Thomas Schipperges, ‘Arno Nadel,’ Lexikon verfolgter Musiker und Musikerinnen der NS-Zeit, ed. Claudia Maurer Zenck, Peter Petersen, (Hamburg: Universität Hamburg, 2008), https://www.lexm.uni-hamburg.de/object/lexm_lexmperson_00002835, accessed September 18, 2023.

5. Arno Nadel, ‘El Odaun,’ Der Jude 2, no. 3 (1917): 197. ‘Diese urechte jüdische Melodie habe ich in meiner Jugend von meinem Vater gehört, der zwar selbst ein Misnagid war, aber durch glücklichen Zufall viel mit Chassidim verkehrte.’

6. Arno Nadel, ‘Mein Weg zur jüdischen Musik,’ Jüdische Rundschau 35, no. 30 (April 16, 1930): 215. ‘Wilna. Das war kein Weg mehr. Das war Geburt und Dauer und Tod – das war eine bleibende Stätte vom ersten Atemzug an. Ein einziges Wort, fast kann man sagen: ein einziges Wort sagt es: – Wilna. Ich bin in Wilna 1878 geboren. Dieses Wilna kennen nur noch wenige. Das war eine heilige Judenstadt mit hunderten von “Schulen.” […] In allen Synagogen wurde “gelernt,” das bedeutet: singend, klagend, disputierend, zankend, aber immer singend, alt-jüdisch, alt-orientalisch singend, studiert, gebetet, gepredigt, geredet, ‒ und wieder wahrhaft gesungen und gesungen und gesungen, jüdisch, süß jüdisch gesungen. Mein schönes Volk, was hast Du nicht in der Welt um Tod und Leben und Gott zusammengesungen! Das war Wilna, meine Geburtsstadt.’

7. Ibid. ‘Was hätte ich nicht noch von Vetter Schaul, dem Chassid mit dem langen Bart zu erzählen, der mich, das misnagdische Kind, in die chassidische Stibel mitnahm, wo der heilige Odem der religiösen Tänzer wehte, der Verzückung, der Dweikelachs, des himmlischen Stöhnens, der Derwischreigen, der erhabenen, frommen wortlosen und wortreichen Melodien’

8. See Hakohen, Eliyahu, ‘Because his Books are the very First Fruits in Hebrew Literature: On the Musician Zvi Nissan Golomb’ [Hebrew], Oneg Shabbat, last modified July 31, 2015, https://onegshabbat.blogspot.com/2015/07/blog-post_31.html, accessed September 18, 2023.

9. Nadel, ‘Mein Weg,’ 215.

10. Arno Nadel, ‘Berühmte Melodie (Wahawienu l’scholaum) des Wilnaer Balebessel,’ Ost und West 15, no. 2 (February 1905), 103–106. Notice the different spellings of the title.

11. Erich Mendel, ‘Der Musiker’ [under ‘Arno Nadel 60 Jahre’], Jüdische Rundschau 43, no. 78 (September 30, 1938): “Schon 1902 veröffentlicht Arno Nadel seine ersten Bearbeitungen jiddischer Volkslieder mit Klavierbearbeitung in einem Anhang zum ‘Jüdischen Almanach.’’ (‘As early as 1902, Arno Nadel published his first arrangements of Yiddish folk songs with piano arrangements in an appendix to the “Jewish Almanac.”’)

12. Judith Leister, ‘Die langsame Heimkehr,’ Neue Züricher Zeitung, December 2, 2017, https://www.nzz.ch/gesellschaft/die-langsame-heimkehr-ld.1334282, accessed September 18, 2023. “Samuel Bak war das einzige Kind seiner Eltern, ein behüteter und begabter Knabe aus einer jüdischen Wilnaer Familie. Ende der 1930er Jahre, da war Samuel im Kindergartenalter, schickte seine Mutter einige seiner Zeichnungen an einen Onkel in Berlin. Onkel Arno, eigentlich Arno Nadel, war ein bekannter Musikwissenschafter, Dichter und Maler. Er antwortete umgehend, enthusiastisch: ‚Ihr dürft dieses Kind mit nichts anderem quälen als mit Kunst, Kunst und Kunst. ‘Kunst, Kunst und Kunst’ wurde zum Fatum für den kleinen Samuel. ‘Onkel Arno besass bei uns hohes Ansehen”, sagt der heute 84-jährige Samuel Bak. ‚Seine Worte über mich waren wie Gottes Worte zu Moses. Ich wuchs als Künstler auf, weil Onkel Arno das sagte.’”

See also a conversation with Samuel Bak, recorded by the Florida Holocaust Museum, Bak, Samuel. Conversation with Bernie Pucker. February 1, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YafQvCoT8Cc (at 32:20–34:45 minutes).

13. In Arno Nadel’s recently digitized collection at the National Library of Israel, there is a two-page manuscript (ARC. Ms. Var. 469 02 6) of the New Year and Yom Kippur prayer ‘Hineni [he’ani mima’ass],’ a recitative composed by Chief Cantor Samuel Guttmann (1879, Königsberg − 1943, Theresienstadt), dedicated to Arno Nadel on his 63rd anniversary (October 3, 1941).

14. Letter from Arno Nadel to Martin Buber, dated February 10, 1922, The National Library of Israel, Arc. Ms. Var. 350, 537: 72. For some years, Nadel was friends with Buber, shared with him his interest in Hasidism, and had various discussions with him.

15. Quoted from Magnus Davidsohn, ‘Synagogenmusiker der Neuzeit,’ Israelitisches Familienblatt 30, no. 22 (May 31, 1928): 15. ‘Dem Autor schwebte ein völlig neuer hebräischer Gottesdienst großen Stiles vor. Dieser Stil sollte sich vorerst in der dramatisch akzentuierten Wiedergabe des Gesagten, Gesungenen ausdrücken. Wenngleich das “Perusch hamillus” [d.h. eine dem Wort verpflichtete Schriftauslegung] bei den großen Kantoren- und Synagogenkomponisten aller Zeiten viel gegolten hat, so ist das Ergebnis doch noch ein völlig anderes und neues, wenn man dies, wie es im vorliegenden Werke geschieht, zum bewussten Kunstprinzip erhebt.’

Renewal of the Jewish service was in 1922 already a subject matter in discussion. See, for instance, Bogumil Zepler, “Gedanken zu einer Neugestaltung der musikalischen Liturgie,“Ost und West 17, no. 10 (October 1917), 485–488. Further, see Arno Nadel, ‘Die Renaissance der synagogalen Musik,’ Jüdische Rundschau 33, no. 76–77 (September 28, 1928), 545. This text is was published together with two other texts – by Felix Saul (‘on choir and organ in the future sacred service’) and by Alice Jakob-Lewenson, (‘on old and new liturgical music’), under the title ‘Probleme der Synagogen-Musik’ (Problems of synagogue music).

16. Nemtsov, Deutsch-jüdische Identität und Überlebenskampf: Jüdische Komponisten im Berlin der NS-Zeit: 72–74 gives a detailed account on the progress of Nadel’s work. Volume 1 is 1927–1932, four more volumes, 1932, completion of the two remaining volumes 1938; informs about the contents of the 692-page second volume (Sabbath morning sacred service); and tells the fate of the manuscripts.

17. Oskar Guttmann, ‘Die Musik zu Stefan Zweigs “Jeremias,”’ Jüdische Rundschau 31, no. 84 (October 26, 1934), 13. ‘Arno Nadel […] wendet oft exotische und archaische Elemente als Kolorit an, und seine künstlerische Grundhaltung kommt viel stärker aus dem jüdischen Bezirk als die des Dichters […]. Nadel hat sozusagen mit der Musik das zu gestalten versucht, was man bei Zweig vermisst: das fremdartig Ungewohnte und uns doch vertraut Berührende, etwas von dem Geist, der uns wegführt von einer eben vergangenen Periode artistischer Wortfolgen. Abgesehen vom Anfang, wo Nadel das alte Akzentmelos der Klagelieder verwendet, sind die musikalischen Beigaben frei erfunden.’

18. Akademie der Künste Berlin, ed., Geschlossene Vorstellung: Der Jüdische Kulturbund in Deutschland 1933–1941 [Closed presentation: The Jewish Culture League in Germany 1933–1941] (Berlin: Edition Hentrich, 1992), 141 & 144.

19. Kurt Singer, Chairperson of the Jewish Culture League, opened the conference. The other speakers were Hans Nathan (on Jewish orchestral and chamber music), Karl Adler (on Jewish choral music), and Anneliese Landau (on Jewish art song). See Akademie der Künste Berlin, ed. ‘Kulturtagung des Reichsverbandes der Jüdischen Kulturbünde in Deutschland, 5.–7. September 1936’ [Culture Conference of the Reich Association of Jewish Culture Leagues in Germany], in Geschlossene Vorstellung, 284–297.

20. Arno Nadel, ‘Jüdische liturgische Musik und jüdisches Volkslied’ [Jewish liturgical music and Jewish folksongs], in Geschlossene Vorstellung, 285. ‘Das jüdische Volkslied dort am echtesten ist, wo es seine Impulse aus der synagogalen Musik schöpft.’

21. Akademie der Künste Berlin, ed. Geschlossene Vorstellung, 284–285.The mentioned former text: Arno Nadel, ‘Jüdische Musik’ [Jewish music], Der Jude 7, no. 4 (1923), 227–236.

22. Horst J. P. Bergmeier et al., eds. Vorbei … : Dokumentation jüdischen Musiklebens in Berlin, 1933–1938 [Beyond Recall: A record of Jewish musical life in Nazi Berlin 1933–1938] (Holste: Bear Family Records, 2001), 217. Two versions of the song, both sung in Aramaic (Hamburg and Vilna traditions) from the collection of Leo Winz, were arranged by Nadel for piano and published in Ost und West – see Arno Nadel, ‘Zwei Chad-Gadjo’s,’ Ost und West 4, no. 2 (April 1912), 377–380. Nadel’s arrangement of the song included in the 1927 edition of the Jüdisches Lexikon differs slightly from the Hamburg one – Arno Nadel, ‘Chad Gadjo,’ in Jüdisches Lexikon: Ein enzyklopädisches Handbuch des jüdischen Wissens in vier Bänden, ed. Georg Herlitz and Ismar Elbogen, vol. 1 (Berlin: Jüdischer Verlag, 1930), [1296a].

23. Horst J. P. Bergmeier et al., eds. Vorbei … , 136–137 & 388–389. Nadel’s piano score (about three and a half minutes long), orchestrated by Sigmund – later, Shabtai – Petruschka was interpreted by the Kulturbund Orchestra with the mentioned solo violinist, conducted by Joseph Rosenstock. The soundtrack of the entire film is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqk-OQ_hIq4&list=OLAK5uy_l532_oDnApcoRo3SgoAN4N-nW3YxqqdhY&index=14 (accessed on September 18, 2023).

24. Horst J. P. Bergmeier et al., eds. Vorbei … , 288.

25. Ibid., 284.

26. Theo Stengel and Herbert Gerigk, ‘Nadel, Arno,’ in Lexikon der Juden in der Musik (Berlin: Bernhard Hahnefeld, 1940), 201.

27. The National Library of Israel, Arno Nadel Archive, ARC. Ms. Var. 469 01 11.11.

28. Examples taken from Nadel’s diary, The National Library of Israel, Arno Nadel Archive, ARC. Ms. Var. 469 01 11.11. https://www.nli.org.il/en/archives/NNL_ARCHIVE_AL997010473841605171/NLI

‘Ich gehe zur Frohne. Den Glockenchoral [aus Prélude, choral et fugue, M. 21 (1884)] von César Franck traurig vor mir hersingend, gewaltsam fast, gehe ich am Hause B.s’ [Ferruccio Busoni] vorbei, an der letzten Wohnung dessen, der dieses Wunderwerk am schönsten spielte. Ich denke: diese Musik möchte ich im Tode hören, gerade diese. Nicht eine gottschreiende Bach’s oder eine geistredende Beethoven’s, nein diese, die sich wie von selbst spielt, so selbstverständlich wie die französische Seele’ (1).

‘Der Frühling ist Mozart, der Herbst ist Beethoven’ (4).

‘Übrigens an der von Altmann beauftragten Symphonie “Jom Kippur” im Kopf die ganzen Tage herrlich erarbeitet. O, wenn ich das hätte festhalten können’ (27).

‘Die Brille, die Brille, die Schubert sich auf die Nase gesetzt, wenn er nachts todmüde aufs elende Lager sank, damit er am Morgen rascher zur Feder greifen könne. So geht es auch mir. Und ich bin ein Sklave der G-U’ (31).

‘Ich […] würde von der Singakademie verlangen, dass sie Mendelssohn, der Bach zur eigentlichen Bedeutung und Anerkennung verhalf, dass man diesem wunderbaren Manne auf der heiligen Stelle wo das geschah eine Büste setze und dies vermelde. […] Wenn so ein Verlangen nicht deutsch, sondern jüdisch ist, will ich triumphieren damit mich abfinden’ (p. 34).

July 18, 1942:‘Geträumt: meine Kopfhaut sei Titel eines Buches von einem Sohne Maimonides mit Notenlinien und Noten darauf. Das Blatt spielte Musik, Klang, es war ein Wunderbares zu lauschen, zu lauschen wie nur im Traum’ (73).

‘Die Deutschen vor dem umgeworfenen Mendelssohn-Denkmal in Leipzig versammelt: “Wir wünschen Dich allesamt zurück.” (Goethe an Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy)’ (109).

‘Diese Nacht schickte mir mein Meister und Lehrer Beethoven im Traume eine seiner schönsten Weisen mit Text: [Noten – Das eröffnende Thema des 3. Satzes aus Beethoven’s 5. Symphonie] Die Sonne ging auf, mit ihr: Geschick,/Bringst deinen Gott der Welt zurück/Die Sonne zurück./Fühlst du den Schlag?/Ahnst, was er mag!/Neu ist der Tag./Zag’s! Trag’s! Wag es o, wag!Ich glaube, ich habe es schon erzählt, wie ich um mein zwanzigstes Lebensjahr lange, lange im Traum bei Beethoven in Kammermusik Unterricht hatte’ (113–114).

‘Gestern […] in wenigen Minuten komponierte ich ein “Thema,” ein größeres, für Variationen’ (127).

‘Ich lag von 3–6, halb wachend, halb schlummernd im Bett und komponierte am “Thema”. Was in der Mitte davon geblieben ist, ist nur ein geringes Symbol’ (128).

‘Ich sehne mich nach Klavierspiel im höchsten Sinne und möchte auch hier Schaffen und Spielen vereinen: Chopin’ (132).

29. Ibid., pp. 42, 44, 45, 48, 53, 55, 70, 95, 104, 105, 111, 114, 118, 126, 128, 130, 136, 150, 157.

30. Arno Nadel. ‘Volkslieder, Jüdische,’ in Jüdisches Lexikon: Ein enzyklopädisches Handbuch des jüdischen Wissens in vier Bänden, ed. Georg Herlitz and Ismar Elbogen, vol. 4/2 (Berlin: Jüdischer Verlag, 1930), [1240a – e]. The entry includes five (unnumbered) pages presenting four arrangements by Nadel of the following songs: ‘Fregt die welt an alte kashe,’ Mark Warschawski’s ‘Dem milners trern,’ ‘Jossl mit dem fidl,’ ‘Tîf in weldale.’ The same volume of the Lexicon includes also Nadel’s arrangement of ‘Kinder, mir huben simches toire’, [416a]. Vol. 1, [1296a] of the lexicon includes an arrangement by Nadel of ‘Chad Gadjo’ (s. note no. 23), identified as a south-German Weise (‘süddeutsche Weise’). Vol. 3, [1372a] of the lexicon includes an arrangement by Nadel of ‘Moaus Zur Jeschuossi’. Vol 4/1 [1492a] includes ‘Das große Borchu,’ an original composition of Nadel for voice (cantor) and piano, linked to the entry on Rosh Hashana. The melodic style and pronunciation are typical to the Eastern European Jewish tradition. Philip V. Bohlman sees this work as part of the then current strive for Jewish music per se, i.e., for a form of Jewish musical identity, and in relation to the resistance embodied by Jewish music in Germany in the years 1933–1940: Philip V. Bohlman, ‘Musik als Widerstand: Jüdische Musik in Deutschland 1933–1940,’ Jahrbuch für Volksliedforschung 40 (1995), 49–74.

31. As mentioned by Nadel in his talk on September 6, 1936. Arno Nadel, ‘Jüdische liturgische Musik und jüdisches Volkslied,’ Geschlossene Vorstellung, 285.

32. Arno Nadel, ‘Der Oriman’ [The poor man], Ost und West 17, no. 10 (October 1917), 517–520.

33. Arno Nadel, ‘Beně Hecholo’ [The members of the temple], Ost und West 16, no.1 (January 1916), 69–72.

34. Arno Nadel, ‘Die maskierte Welt’ [The masked world], Ost und West 14, no. 4 (April 1914), 301.

35. Arno Nadel, ‘Rachelina,’ Ost und West 14, no. 8 (August 1914), 559.

36. Arno Nadel, ‘Po beeretz’ [Here in the land], Ost und West 15, no. 1 (January 1915), 65. The Hebrew lyrics ‘Po be’eretz chemdat avot’ [Here in the land of the ancestors] were written by Israel Dushman. In 1912 in Tel Aviv, composer Hanina Karchevsky chose the melody, written some years earlier by Hermann Ehrlich (probably in Lvov) to the Yiddish lyrics ‘Goluss Marsh’ (The Exile March) written by Morris Rosenfeld. In its Hebrew version, the song became very popular in Eretz Israel – see https://www.zemereshet.co.il/m/song.asp?id=150 (accessed September 18, 2023).

37. Arno Nadel, ‘Israels Klagelied’ [Israel’s lament], Ost und West 11, no. 10 (August 1911), 903–906.

38. Arno Nadel, ‘Jüdische Volkslieder: Religiöse Lieder’ [Jewish folk songs: religious songs], Der Jude 1, no. 2 (May 1916), 112–122; no. 3 (June 1916), 182–194; no. 4 (July 1916), 255–267; no. 5 (August 1916), 326–39; no. 7 (October 1916), 465–479.

39. Arno Nadel, ‘Jüdische Volkslieder: Liebeslieder’ [Jewish folk songs: love songs], Der Jude 1, no. 9 (December 1916), 623–630; no. 10 (January 1917), 691–700; no. 11 (February 1917), 759–771; no. 12 (March 1917), 834–846.

40. Arno Nadel, Jüdische Liebeslieder (Volkslieder) (Berlin, Wien: Benjamin Harz, 1923), 107–120. The presented songs are ‘A Meed’l in di Johren,’ ‘Joime, Joime’, ‘Geh ich mir spazieren’, ‘Amol is gewen a Majsse,’ and ‘Her nor du scheen Meedele.’ A performance of these songs is accessible on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHUFvFZQlDw, accessed September 17, 2023.

41. Arno Nadel, ‘El Odaun’, Der Jude 2, no. 3 (June 1917), 196–197; Arno Nadel, ‘Jankele mit Riwkele’, Der Jude 2, no. 4 (July 1917), 265–266; Arno Nadel, ‘Di Jontewdige Täg’, Der Jude 3, no. 3 (July 1918), 139–141; Arno Nadel, ‘Schickt der Harr a poor’, Der Jude 2, no. 5–6 (September 1917), 413; Arno Nadel, ‘Der Marschalik besingt den Bräutigam,’ Der Jude 2, no. 8 (November 1917), 567–571.

42. Arno Nadel, Jontefflieder [Festival songs] (Berlin: Jüdischer Verlag, 1919). ‘Dem Künstler und M’nagen, dem Gelehrter aller Gelehrten auf dem Gebiet synagogalen Liturgik, meinem hochverehrten Lehrer, Herrn Oberkantor Eduard Birnbaum.’

43. Arno Nadel, ‘El Odaun,’ Der Jude 2, no. 3 (June 1917), 196–197.

44. https://www.nli.org.il/he/piyut/Piyut1media_010003200678205171/NLI, accessed on September 17, 2023.

45. See Philip V. Bohlman, ‘Folk Music in the Urban German-Jewish Community, 1890–1939,’ Musica Judaica 9, no. 1 (1986/87), 22–34.

46. For a directly relevant discussion of this subject matter held at the time, see Heinrich Berl, ‘Bearbeitungen jüdischer Melodien’ [Arrangements of Jewish melodies], Der Jude 8, no. 10 (October 1924), 618–624. Right at the beginning of the text Berl poses the question: ‘Sollen jüdische Melodien zum Vortrag mit harmonischen Mitteln bearbeitet werden?’ (Should Jewish melodies be arranged for performance by using harmonic means?)

47. Heinrich Berl, ‘Das Judentum in der abendländischen Musik’ [Judaism in Western music], Der Jude 6, no. 8 (1921–1922), 495–505. The essay was published as a book in 1926. Heinrich Berl, Das Judentum in der Musik [Judaism in music] (Stuttgart, Berlin und Leipzig: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, 1926). Notice the title change.

48. Max Brod, ‘Jüdische Volksmelodien,’ Der Jude 1, no. 5 (August 1916), 344–345. Brod’s text was reprinted, see Max Brod, ‘Gustav Mahlers Jüdische Melodien’ [Gustav Mahler’s Jewish melodies], Abbruch 2, no. 10 (May 1920), 378–379. For more contemporaneous background, see also Ludwig Landau, ‘Das jüdische Element bei Gustav Mahler’ [The Jewish element in Gustav Mahler], Der Morgen 12, no. 2 (May 1936), 67–73. For a recent perspective on the standpoints and disputes at the time, see Karen Painter, ‘Polyphony and Racial Identity: Schoenberg, Heinrich Berl, and Richard Eichenauer,’ Music & Politics 5, no. 2 (Summer 2011), 1–15.

49. Arno Nadel, ‘Jüdische Volkslieder: Religiöse Lieder,’ Der Jude 1, no. 2 (May 1916), 112–122, 122. ‘Wenn Volkslieder vor allem Lieder und nicht Gedichte sind, so sind es die jüdischen auf eine noch ganz besondere Art. Sie erst verleihen dem Text den Hauch des spezifisch jüdischen Wesens.’

50. Brod, “Jüdische Volksmelodien,“344. ‘[das] schlechthin Erhabenste[…], was mir je in meinem Leben zu fühlen vergönnt war’.

51. Ibid. ‘Mahler [musste] ganz einfach aus demselben unbewußten Urgrund seiner jüdischen Seele so und nicht anders musizieren, aus dem die schönsten chassidischen Lieder, die er wohl niemals gekannt hat, entsproßen sind’

52. Arno Nadel, ‘Jüdische Musik,’ Der Jude 7, no. 4 (1923), 227–236. “Es gibt nur eine einzige jüdische Musik, die wir kennen und die klar faßbar ist: das ist die synagogale Musik. […] Sowohl das jüdische Volkslied wie auch die religiöse Hausmusik ist nur dort ‘jüdisch,’ wo sie mit synagogaler Musik sich berührt, wo sie mit gottesdienstlichen Melodien klagt und sinnt sich an höhere Mächte wendet. […] Eine jüdische weltliche Kunstmusik vollends gibt es überhaupt nicht, wenn man nicht einige weniger oder mehr gelungene Versuche moderner Musiker, vor allem der ernst zu nehmenden Petersburger Gruppe um Engel, so nennen darf. Die Gründe für diese Tatsache sind naheliegend. Wir kennen ein altes Judentum, eine lebendige jüdische Religion, die ihr Eigendasein führt und mit Musik verquickt ist, aber es existiert kein jüdisches Reich. […] Also: jüdische Musik, das ist vorerst synagogale Musik. Die Musik unseres Gottesdienstes lebt und wirkt als lebendige Kraft, als geheimnisvolle Macht, die mit göttlichem Raum in Verbindung steht. […] Will man sich ernst mit dem Begriff ‚jüdische Musik’ beschäftigen, so gibt es nur eines: man untersuche die echte synagogale Musik, nämlich den besten Nussach, auf seine wesenhaften Merkmale.” A response appeared in the next issue of the same magazine – Adolf Schreiber, ‘Zum Problem einer judischen Musik’ [On the problem of Jewish music], Der Jude 7, no. 5 (1923), 309–320.

53. The National Library of Israel, Arno Nadel Archive, ARC. Ms. Var. 469 01 2. In the published edition the pages bear the numbers 46–51.

54. Arno Nadel, Jontefflieder [Festival songs] (Berlin: Jüdischer Verlag, 1919).

55. Arno Nadel, ‘Altes “Bor’chu” für die drei Wallfahrtsfeste (mit einer Musikbeilage)’, [Old ‘Bor’chu’ for the three pilgrimage festivals (with music supplement)], Gemeindeblatt der jüdischen Gemeinde zu Berlin 15, no. 5 (May 27, 1925), 99–103. ‘Die Weise, wie sie uns mitgeteilt ist.’

56. Arno Nadel, ‘Orgelvorspiel (oder Zwischenspiel) für die drei Trauerwochen,’ (Musikbeilage zum Artikel ‘Melodien um Tischa b’aw,’ pp. 139–145) [Organ prelude (or interlude) for the three weeks of mourning (Music supplement to the article ‘Melodies around 9 Av’)], Gemeindeblatt der Jüdischen Gemeinde zu Berlin 14, no. 9 (August 1924), 141–144.

57. The story about Itzhak’s birth is read on the first day of the New Year. Tina Frühauf, The Organ and Its Music in German-Jewish Culture. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009: 154–162. Sheet music: Arno Nadel, ‘Passacaglia über “Wadonaj pakad ess ssarah”’ [Passacaglia on ‘And the Lord visited Sarah’], in German-Jewish Organ Music: An Anthology of Works from the 1820s to the 1960s, ed. Tina Frühauf (Middleton, Wisconsin: A-R Editions, 2013), 62–67. A recording of the piece is available on a CD produced in 2019: Arno Nadel, ‘Passacaglia über “Wadonaj pakad ess ssarah”’ [Passacaglia on ‘And the Lord visited Sarah,’], in Organ music for the synagogue: Repertoire of Jewish themes by composers of the 19^th and 20^th centuries [CD] (Georgmarienhütte: cpo, 2019), track 18.

58. Arno Nadel, Schire Simroh [CD] (Potsdam: Universitätsverlag Potsdam, 2021).

59. Arno Nadel, ‘Synagogengesaenge von Arno Nadel’ [Synagogal chants by Arno Nadel], Journal of Synagogue Music 1, no. 4 (September 1968), 53–67.

60. Arno Nadel, ‘Arnold Schönberg: Wesenhafte Richtlinien in der neuen Musik’ [Arnold Schönberg: Essential guidelines in new music], Die Musik 11, no. 43 (June 1912), 353–360. ‘Es treiben in seinem Blute die Verzweiflung und die Ohnmacht einer ganzen Epoche ihr Wesen. […] Ich will keinen neuen Liszt, Ich will keinen neuen Wagner […]; ich will auch keinen neuen Beethoven und keinen neuen Bach, sie sind beide noch urlebendig. Ich will einen neuen Neuen.’

61. Arno Nadel, Hymne auf Beethoven: zum 17. Dezember 1920 [Privatdruck] [Hymn to Beethoven: for 17^th December 1920 (private print)] – The National Library of Israel, Arno Nadel Archive, ARC. Ms. Var. 469 03 6.

62. Justus Lichten, Eroica – Gedicht […]: mit einer Radierung von Arno Nadel [Eroica – Poem (…): with an etching by Arno Nadel] (Berlin: Drei-Welten-Verlag, 1923) – The National Library of Israel, Arno Nadel Archive, ARC. Ms. Var. 469 03 7.