Creator Bio
Samuel Naumbourg
1815–1880
Born near Ansbach, Bavaria (now in Germany), Samuel Naumbourg was raised in a family connected to a long lineage of cantors. After receiving musical training in Munich, Naumbourg settled in Paris in 1843, establishing himself as an influential choirmaster among the city’s synagogue choirs. Over the course of his career, Naumbourg compiled and published synagogue music for a broad audience, drawing on both his southern German heritage and conventions of opera popular in France at the time to give his music wide appeal.
Entries in the Posen Library by This Creator
Primary Source
Seu Shearim (Lift Up Your Heads, O Gates)
The music for “Se’u She‘arim (Lift Up Your Heads, O Gates)” resembles the choral marches found in grand opera. The words are from Psalm 24: O gates, lift up your heads! Up high, you everlasting doors…
Primary Source
Aggudat Shirim
Aggudat Shirim (Collection of Songs) was one of several collections of synagogue music published by Samuel Naumbourg between 1847 and 1874. It included a scholarly article about Jewish music.
Primary Source
Title Page for His Version of Salamone de Rossi’s Hashirim asher le-Shelomoh (The Songs of Solomon)
Salamone de Rossi (1570–1630), composer, singer, violinist, and musician in the Gonzaga court in Mantua, is best known for his introduction of polyphony into synagogue music. Composer Samuel Naumbourg…
Related Guide
Music and Opera in Jewish Culture, 1750–1880
One of the most striking changes in European Jewish culture toward the later eighteenth century was marked by the entry of Jews into art music, opera houses, and the stage.