Todah w’simrah (Music of Thanksgiving)

Born in Wreschen, Prussia (now Wrzesnia, Poland), Louis Lewandowski remains among the most influential mid-nineteenth-century composers of synagogue music. Lewandowski was appointed musical director and choirmaster of the New Synagogue in Berlin upon its opening in 1866. Incorporating Eastern European nusaḥim and the romantic style of Felix Mendelssohn into the canon of German Ḥazanut, Lewandowski’s compositions appealed widely, both during his life and for decades after it. In addition to his career composing, Lewandowski taught vocal music at various Jewish schools in Berlin. The composer’s influence reached as far as the many Conservative and Reform congregations taking root in the United States around the time.