Abraham Baer

Who was Abraham Baer?

Abraham Baer was a German cantor, musician, and composer. His father destined him for the rabbinate; but his love for music and the song of the synagogue caused him to choose to become a Cantor. At an early age he emigrated to Germany, and there under the tutelage of eminent ḥazanim prepared himself for his sacred calling. He officiated for a time at Pakosh and Schwetz in West Prussia, and at twenty-three was called to Gothenburg. Well equipped with Hebrew and Talmudic learning, he applied himself to the acquisition of secular knowledge and the science and art of music.

His researches were especially directed to the field of Jewish traditional melodies, then but little explored. In 1871, after fifteen years of hard work, he published his work, Bā'al Tefillah, oder der Practische Vorbeter — an almost complete collection of Jewish traditional melodies, of which a second revised and enlarged edition appeared in 1883. The work contains fifteen hundred and five melodies, in German, Polish, and Portuguese versions, and is divided into four parts: for the services on week-days; for Shabbat; for the three festivals Pesaḥ, Shabu'ot, and Sukkot; for the two great holidays, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur; together with an appendix containing notes on the liturgy, the reading of the Torah, and directions and formulas for writing betrothal and marriage contracts.