Touching concert: Lewandowski's Psalms enchant the city church!

Touching concert: Lewandowski's Psalms enchant the city church!

On September 5th, an impressive concert took place in the town church, which not only thrilled music connoisseurs, but also captivated many curious people. The choir and chamber choir from Berlin-Frohnau performed as part of the “End of the Week Organ Music” series and presented works by the Polish-Jewish composer Louis Lewandowski (1821-1894). His musical legacy is still of great importance for Jewish liturgical music today and captivates people from all over the continent.

Lewandowski, the son of a synagogue servant, was born on April 23, 1821 in Wreschen, in what is now Poland. After moving to Berlin at the age of twelve, he studied piano and singing, which gave him an important career as a composer and musical director of the New Synagogue on Oranienburger Strasse. His works, including numerous psalm settings, are considered a basic component of music in liberal and conservative synagogues worldwide. His arrangements of ancient Hebrew melodies, which he combined with elements of European romantic music, are particularly impressive, with the organ playing a central role, as Laurentius-Musikverlag highlights.

A touching concert

Under the direction of district cantor Jörge Walter and accompanied by Claudia Bartkowski on the organ, the choirs conveyed the impressive psalms that deeply touched the audience. The texts presented included Psalm 134 (“Well, praise the Lord”) and Psalm 51 (“Create in me a pure heart”). The performance lasted about an hour and captivated the audience with the emotional power of Lewandowski's music.

His musical career was peppered with successes; He developed an extensive repertoire for the synagogue ritual and became one of the greatest reformers of Jewish music. Many of his students became prominent cantors, and his heirs also advocated communal singing in the synagogues. His melodies are now an integral part of church services in numerous Reform and Orthodox communities around the world. Particularly in recent decades, initiatives such as the annual “Louis Lewandowski Festival” in Berlin and albums by the Zemel Choir in London have triggered a renaissance of his works, as the Wikipedia page on Lewandowski documents.

A lasting legacy

Lewandowski's influence extends far beyond Germany's borders. His work is performed in the liberal Jewish quarter of Amsterdam and in Johannesburg by a non-denominational choir dedicated to spreading his music. The composer died on February 4, 1894 in Berlin and left behind a rich musical legacy that is still performed by choirs and ensembles today - an impressive testament to his life and work that is kept alive through concerts like the one in the Wittenberg city church.

The diversity of the works performed makes it clear that Lewandowski's compositions are not only intended for performance, but also create profound emotional experiences for the listeners. His name continues to be quoted in church services and concerts, and his music remains an integral part of Jewish identity and culture. Even though Lewandowski lived in a different century, his music lives on through such events and still touches people's hearts today.