Neginoth Baruch Schor [cantorial music]

Famed cantor of the Great Synagogue of Lemberg, Schor also was the author of Bechor Shor on the Pentateuch and Yithron LeChochmah on Ecclesiastes. A pious Jew from a hasidic family in Lemberg, Schor was also attracted to European culture and musical techniques. His 1890 performance in Lemberg’s Jewish theater of the opera, Samson, led to his censure and temporary suspension by the synagogue authorities. Deeply offended, Schor removed to the United States for five years until he was recalled to Lemberg’s synagogue. The author’s son, Israel Schor, who issued the present publication, writes that his father’s soul expired on the last day of Passover while reciting the prayer “Avinu Malkeinu Galeh” in the Great Synagogue. Many of the melodies in the book are actually the work of the editor Israel Schor, who was himself a cantor, as were his five brothers. See EJ, Vol. XIV, col. 996.