Salomon Sulzer

Who was Salomon Sulzer?

Salomon Sulzer was an Austrian hazzan and composer. His family, which prior to 1813 bore the name of Levi, removed to Hohenems from Sulz in 1748. He was educated for the cantorate, studying first under the cantors of Endingen and Karlsruhe, with whom he traveled extensively, and later under Salomon Eichberg, cantor at Hohenems and Düsseldorf. In 1820 Sulzer was appointed cantor at Hohenems, where he modernized the ritual, and introduced a choir. At the instance of Rabbi Isaac Noah Mannheimer of Vienna he was called to the Austrian capital as chief cantor in 1826. There he reorganized the song service of the synagogue, retaining the traditional chants and melodies, but harmonizing them in accordance with modern views.

Sulzer's "Shir Tziyyon" established models for the various sections of the musical service—the recitative of the cantor, the choral of the choir, and the responses of the congregation—and it contained music for Sabbaths, festivals, weddings, and funerals which has been introduced into nearly all the synagogues of the world. In the compilation of this work he was assisted by some of the best musical composers of Vienna.