Temple origins

The earliest music used in synagogues was based on the same system as the music used in the Temple in Jerusalem. According to the Talmud, Joshua ben Hananiah, who had worked in the Levitical choir of the Temple, described how the singers moved from the orchestra near the altar to the synagogue, taking part in both services.

Ancient sources, both from the Bible and later times, list the following instruments used in the Temple:

• the nevel, a harp with 12 strings
• the kinnor, a lyre with 10 strings
• the shofar, a hollowed ram’s horn
• the chatzutzera, a silver trumpet
• the tof, a small drum
• the metziltayim, or cymbals
• the paamon, a bell
• the halil, a large flute

The Mishna states that the regular Temple orchestra included 12 instruments, and the choir had 12 male singers.

Other instruments were known to ancient Hebrews but were not part of the Temple’s regular orchestra. These included the uggav (a small flute) and the abbuv (a reed flute or oboe-like instrument).

After the Temple was destroyed and the Jewish people were scattered across the world, many felt a deep sense of loss. At that time, some Jewish leaders decided to ban all music and singing, and this rule was written down. However, this ban was not officially lifted, but over time it was understood to apply only outside religious services. Inside synagogues, singing gradually returned. Later, singing was allowed during religious celebrations like weddings, and eventually, the ban on music was no longer followed, except among the Yemenite Jews. The Yemenite Jewish community continued to follow strict rules from the Talmud and Maimonides, focusing more on singing and rhythm than on playing instruments.

Jewish music began to take a more defined form with the use of piyyutim, which were religious poems. The cantor (a singer in the synagogue) sang these poems using melodies chosen by the poet or by himself, creating fixed musical patterns in synagogue music. The prayers he recited were passed down from earlier generations, but during moments of inspiration, he would sing beautiful phrases that were remembered by the congregation.

Some music may have included phrases from Temple songs, but most reflected the sounds and tones of the local music of each time and place. These influences remained together, blending different musical traditions into the synagogue’s singing style.

A key principle in Jewish worship may be assigning specific musical scales to different religious events, based on what was considered appropriate. Unlike modern music, which uses a limited number of scales, synagogue music preserves many ancient scales similar to those found in the plainchant of Catholic, Byzantine, and Armenian churches, as well as in Hungarian, Roma, Persian, and Arab music.

Cantorial and synagogue music

The traditional way of singing prayers in the synagogue is called hazzanut, which means the skill of being a hazzan, or cantor. This style of singing is known for its flowing and musical tones, which require singers to use their voices in flexible and expressive ways. It was brought to Europe in the 7th century and quickly grew in popularity.

The history of the different parts of synagogue music can be understood by looking at the order in which sections of the prayers were first added to the religious services and later given special musical treatment. This order matches the way similar musical styles were used by non-Jewish neighbors of the Jewish people. The oldest form is the cantillation of the Bible, where different traditions vary only as much as their interpretations of the text and occasions differ. This is expected because the differences in music likely reflect the unique traditions of the Temple's music.

Next came the cantillation of the Amidah, a part of the prayer service that was first given a musical form around the first ten centuries, likely when Jewish communities settled in western and northern Europe. Before this, most parts of the service were not sung. Over time, the precentor (leader of the singing) began to start singing earlier in the service. By the 10th century, the singing began at the phrase "Barukh she'amar," whereas earlier it had started at "Nishmat." These practices are still visible in the way the service begins for different roles in the synagogue. This led to the development of new forms of synagogue music, including cantillation, prayer-motives, fixed melodies, and hymns.

The musical trends of the outside world often influenced synagogue music, so the additions made by generations of singers show similarities to the styles of other religious groups from different time periods. For example, the chants of the muezzin (caller to prayer) and the reader of the Qur'an share some similarities with hazzanut, not only among Sephardim (Jews from Spain and the Middle East) but also among Ashkenazim (Jews from northern Europe), even though they lived far apart.

The singing style of Sephardim closely resembles the plainsong of Mozarabian Christians, who lived nearby until the 13th century. Their chants and melodies often include short, repeated phrases, similar to Persian and Arab music. Their group songs also show a connection to the music of the Morisco people or other groups in the Iberian Peninsula.

The cantillation in synagogue music reflects the musical styles common in the western world during the first ten centuries of the Jewish Diaspora. Prayer-motives, though they remind people of older and more Eastern styles, also resemble music from the 8th to 13th centuries. Many phrases in hazzanut are similar to the musical expressions in Catholic plainsong, such as those developed by the school at St. Gall in the early 10th century. Earlier melodies also match the festive songs of monastic precentors from the 11th to 15th centuries, while later synagogue hymns resemble the secular music of their time.

The traditional penitential (repentance) melody recorded in the article "Ne'ilah" with the piyyut (poetic prayer) "Darkeka" closely matches the medieval Latin verse "Missus Gabriel de Cœlis" by Adam of St. Victor (around 1150), as found in the Sarum Graduale Romanum. The sad melody used in Jewish prayers for penitential days is similar to the Church antiphon "Da Pacem Domine in Diebus Nostris" from the Ratisbon Vesperale. The joyful melody used in Northern European synagogues for morning and afternoon prayers on the Three Festivals (Passover, Sukkot, and Shavuot) ends with the third tone and third ending of Gregorian psalmody. The traditional melody for the Hallel (psalm recitation) closely matches the melodies for Psalms 113 and 117 in the Ratisbon Graduale Romanum, which are used for the vespers of June 24, the feast of John the Baptist. This service also includes the famous "Ut Queant Laxis," from which modern musical scales derive their names.

The most ancient and important part of the Jewish liturgy, after the Scriptural passages sung in cantillation, is the sequence of blessings called the Amidah ("standing prayer"). This section replaces the sacrifices offered in the Temple during religious services. It draws the musical style of the passages before and after it into its own singing. Like the lessons, the Amidah is also cantillated. This free singing style is not marked by specific accents, but instead develops certain themes or motives traditionally linked to the service, called prayer-motives. These motives differ from one another, much like the styles of cantillation, especially in their tonality, which depends on the placement of semitones or small intervals in the scale, creating the contrast between major and minor melodies that modern listeners recognize.

Throughout synagogue music history, a specific mode or scale has been associated with particular services. This is most clearly seen in the prayer-motive, which can be described as a kind of musical ending (coda) to which the blessing (berakha) at the end of each prayer paragraph is sung. This is paired with a secondary phrase, similar to the structure of binary form in European classical music. These phrases are expanded based on the length, structure, and meaning of the text, leading into the coda in a way that resembles the musical form called the rondo, though it is not a direct imitation. Responses also follow the tonality of the prayer-motive.

This singing style is called "nigun" (tune) in Hebrew when the melody is the focus, "shteyger" (scale) in Yiddish when its modal features are considered, and "gust" or "skarbowa" in Romance and Slavic languages when the style or taste of the music is emphasized. The use of these terms, along with other Hebrew words like "ne'imah" (melody), shows that the scales and intervals in these prayer-motives have long been recognized as distinct from the music of non-Jewish traditions, even if the principles behind their use were only recently explained.

Occasions

The development of music among the Israelites happened at the same time as poetry, with both being just as old. Every poem was also sung. Even though not much is written about it, music was used very early in religious ceremonies. Bible verses like Amos 6:5 and Isaiah 5:12 show that music was part of celebrations after sacrifices. Amos 5:23 suggests that songs were included in regular religious services. People also used music during popular festivals, often with dancing, where women and young girls participated. Victorious generals were greeted with music when they returned, and music was played during harvest festivals, royal celebrations, and weddings. Families used music to celebrate special events. In I Samuel 16:18, a shepherd used a reed-pipe to ease loneliness, and Lamentations 5:14 mentions young men playing stringed instruments to entertain each other. David played the harp to help Saul, and music and dancing helped prophets experience holy moments. David also added music to the Temple service, a practice that reflected the traditions of the Second Temple, as the Temple Psalms were written after the exile.

During the later exilic period, music became very important. The original writings of Ezra and Nehemiah mention singers and Levites as separate groups (Ezra 2:41,70; 7:7,24; 10:23; Nehemiah 7:44, 73; 10:29,40). However, later parts of these books, similar to Chronicles, grouped singers with Levites (Ezra 3:10; Nehemiah 11:22; 12:8,24,27; I Chronicles 6:16). In later times, singers even held priestly roles, as Agrippa II allowed them to wear white priestly clothing (Josephus, "Antiquities" 20:9, § 6). The Talmud describes how religious services became more elaborate over time, with music playing a growing role.

Singing in the Temple

It is difficult to know for sure about the kind and level of musical and psalm-singing development in ancient times. One thing that is certain is that older folk music was replaced by professional music, which was taught to families of singers who worked in the Temple. The people in the Temple could only join in the singing by repeating certain words, like "Amen" or "Halleluiah," or phrases such as "Since His mercy endureth forever." Like in older folk songs, singing back and forth between groups, called antiphonal singing, was part of Temple worship. At the dedication of Jerusalem's walls, Nehemiah organized two large groups of Levitical singers. These groups marched around the city in different directions and then stood facing each other at the Temple, singing alternate hymns of praise to God (Nehemiah 12:31). Niebuhr ("Reisen," i. 176) noted that in the East, it is still common for a leader to sing a verse, which is then repeated by others in a lower tone. This practice may explain the alternating song of the seraphim in the Temple, as described in the book of Isaiah (Isa. vi.). The rhythm of the music likely changed depending on the type of song, and it may have even changed within the same song. There is no doubt that the sound of cymbals helped mark the rhythm.

Ancient Hebrew music, like much Arabic music today, was probably monophonic, meaning there was no harmony. Niebuhr observed that when Arabs play different instruments and sing at the same time, the same melody is usually heard from all unless one person plays or sings a single note as a bass. This likely applied to ancient Israelites, who tuned stringed instruments to match the singers’ voices either on the same note, an octave apart, or another matching interval. This explains the description in II Chronicles 5:13 that during the Temple’s dedication, the music from instruments, the singing of Psalms, and the sound of trumpets all blended into one unified sound. The unison singing of Psalms may have meant two voices singing an octave apart. This could explain terms like "al alamot" and "al ha-sheminit." Since women played an important role in singing from early times, the higher pitch was called the "maiden's key," and "ha-sheminit" would be an octave lower.

There is no doubt that melodies repeated in each verse, as is common in modern music, were not used in either earlier or later periods of psalm-singing. This is because Hebrew poetry did not have regular verses. In fact, earlier times had no verses at all, and even later verses were not as regular as those in modern poetry. This suggests that melodies had more freedom and flexibility, similar to the simple and serious melodies of Oriental music today. As Niebuhr noted, these melodies were sincere and straightforward, requiring singers to clearly pronounce every word. Some people have compared these melodies to the eight-note system of Gregorian chant or to the Oriental psalmody introduced into the church of Milan by Ambrosius. However, the latter was likely influenced by Greek music, even though it may have originally been connected to ancient synagogue singing, as Delitzsch suggested ("Psalmen," 3d ed., p. 27).

Contemporary Jewish religious music

Jewish music in the 20th century includes many different styles. These range from the spiritual songs called nigunim by Shlomo Carlebach to the Jewish feminist folk music created by Debbie Friedman. Composers like Ernest Bloch, Darius Milhaud, and Marc Lavry wrote music based on the Avodath Hakodesh ("Sacred Service"). Velvel Pasternak worked to preserve Jewish music by writing down songs that were once passed down orally. John Zorn’s record label, Tzadik, has a series called "Radical Jewish Culture" that explores modern Jewish music and its role in Jewish culture today.

Jewish music sometimes becomes popular in the wider world. Matisyahu is a recent example of a Jewish musician who has reached a larger audience.

One style of music, inspired by Shlomo Carlebach, is very popular among Orthodox Jewish artists and listeners. This music often uses the same combination of instruments, such as brass, horns, and strings. Most of these songs are written by a small group of composers and arranged by a small group of arrangers. Many of the performers are former students of religious schools called yeshivas, and they often wear formal suits when performing. Many of them have other jobs, such as working at Jewish weddings or in Jewish organizations. Some do not have formal music training and sing songs that were already arranged by others.

The lyrics in these songs are usually short passages from the Torah or the siddur (a Jewish prayer book). Occasionally, they include less common passages from the Talmud. Some songs have lyrics written in English, focusing on themes like Jerusalem, the Holocaust, Jewish identity, and the Jewish diaspora (the spread of Jewish communities around the world).

Important composers of this style include Yossi Green, and a well-known arranger is Yisroel Lamm. Artists who perform this music include Avraham Fried, Dedi Graucher, Lipa Schmeltzer, Mordechai Ben David, Shloime Dachs, Shloime Gertner, and Yaakov Shwekey.

Some Orthodox Jews believe that secular (non-religious) music contains ideas that conflict with Jewish teachings. Because of this, some parents may choose to limit their children’s exposure to music created by non-Orthodox Jewish artists. This is done to help their children avoid ideas and styles that parents consider harmful.

Many Orthodox Jewish musicians create music specifically for children. These songs teach religious and ethical lessons, and their lyrics are usually in English with some Hebrew or Yiddish words. Examples of musicians who create this type of music include Country Yossi, Abie Rotenberg, and Uncle Moishy.