The sacred choral works of three composers of the St. Petersburg Society for Jewish Folk Music: Theoretical analysis and historical context

The focus of this dissertation is the sacred choral compositions of three of the composers active in the St. Petersburg Society for Jewish Folk Music, a group dedicated to the study and creation of Jewish music in the first two decades of the twentieth century. Although their stated goal was to create a new tradition of Jewish music based on Jewish themes and materials, this paper demonstrates that their works were composed by synthesizing several different musical traditions, only a few of which could be construed as exclusively Jewish. The most fruitful material for consideration was composed by three Russian Jewish composers of the early twentieth century: Lazare Saminsky, Joseph Achron, and Moses Milner.; The first section examines the background of these composers and places their music in historical context through a brief summary of the place of Jewish musicians in nineteenth-century Russia, emphasizing the influence of Anton and Nicholai Rubinstein, Rimsky-Korsakov and the various philosophical movements that were in vogue during the brief existence of the Society of Jewish Folk Music. I also present brief biographical sketches of each composer and reactions of each to the Russian Revolution and its effects on the creation and dissemination of their music.; The next section analyzes works by Milner, Achron, and Saminsky: the extended liturgical motet Unsane Tojkef (Let Us Celebrate the Holiness of This Day) by Moses Milner, three sacred services written by Lazare Saminsky, and the Sabbath Evening Service by Joseph Achron. In addition to the composers' acknowledged influences of Hebrew chant and Yiddish folksong, I demonstrate the influence of Glinka, Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, and earlier Jewish composers such as Solomon Sulzer and Solomone Rossi on the works of the St. Petersburg group.; The dissertation concludes with an assessment of this music, measured against the stated aesthetic goals of these composers and an exploration of the limited influence of the works on the following generation of Jewish composers. This is highlighted by a discussion of the musical culture in which these composers found themselves and other forces that abruptly ended the concerted efforts of the society and prevented the dissemination of this music to a wider audience.; Included in the appendices are new editions of Unsane Tojkef by Moses Milner, the Sabbath Evening Service and Sabbath Morning Service by Lazare Saminsky and the Evening Service for the Sabbath by Joseph Achron. These performing editions were prepared in the hopes that choruses might bring this music to life once again.