Salomon Sulzer

Salomon Sulzer ( born March 30, 1804 in Hohenems, Vorarlberg, † January 17, 1890 in Vienna ) was an Austrian cantor and sacred musician.

Life

Sulzer came from a Jewish family that had come from Sulz at Rankweil in Vorarlberg, after the expulsion of the local Jewish community in 1744 to Hohenems. In 1813 the family took the name Sulzer; earlier, she had performed the name Levi.

Actually Sulzer should be the successor of his father, who owned a prosperous trading house. But the young Solomon Levi 1811 would be nearly drowned as a child. Since this accident ran off lightly, the family vowed to let his son trained as a cantor or rabbi.

1817, the office of the cantor in the Jewish community of Hohenems was free and the family pushed for an application. The argument that he was too young - Sulzer was just 13 years old - has been ruled out by pointing out that he had a bar mitzvah stored and thus was no longer a child. Nevertheless, it took a act of grace of the Emperor Francis I. to confirm Sulzer in his office. This was done with the support to prepare for that office.

Sulzer became a student Rabbi Lippman. 1818 Sulzer was traveling with his teacher through France. After his return he went for a year to Karlsruhe to study music.

1820, at age 16, he was finally able to take over the cantor place in Hohenems. In addition to his official duties, he founded a choir and a small orchestra. During this time, Sulzer supported some of his musicians financially. However, since the cantor content was measured rather sparse, it is assumed that it has supported his family extremely active.

1825 brought Isaac Noah Mannheimer Sulzer to Vienna to the local community. Here in Vienna, he studied alongside his official duties in the City Temple, including Composition with Ignaz Ritter von Seyfried. 1828 Franz Schubert composed at the request Sulzer for the community a psalm in Hebrew.

Hardly in Vienna, Sulzer Fanni Hirschfeld married from Hohenems. With her he had 16 children: Mary (* 1828), Hermann ( * 1829), Julius (* 1830), Hermione (* 1831), Henrietta (* 1832), Clara (* 1834), Bertha (* 1835), Rosalie (* 1836), Caroline (* 1837), Theodor (* 1839), Sophie ( * 1840), Rachel (* 1843), Auguste (* 1844), Carl (* 1846), Joseph ( 1850) and Frances (* 1856 ). The latter married the journalist Paul d' Abrest.

1844 Sulzer was appointed professor of singing at the Conservatory of the Society of Friends of Music. He held until 1847 This teaching.

Salomon Sulzer managed by its chants Shir Zion for Jewish worship the breakthrough. Having arrived requests from numerous European countries, Sulzer made ​​in 1838 to publish his works, which now reformed the Jewish liturgy. The hitherto rather traditional Orthodox synagogue singing was Europeanized, so to speak.

The former synagogue of Hohenems was renovated in 2003/2004 and named after him the Salomon Sulzer hall.

Works

• Oriental lovers greeting
• Shir Zion ( 1883)
• Zikkaron (1890)