AMNON SHILOAH A CASE OF DAMASCAN CANTORIAL CREATIVITY IN LIGHT OF NAJARA’S POETIC MODEL

Foreword After my uncle , the paytan ( pl . paytanim ) and cantor , Yehuda Aslan Cohen ’ s b . 1899 – 1955 ) demise , his son Victor gave me his father ’ s tattered notebook . ) This booklet contained many verses , most of which were written in Hebrew square script , although some were written in one of two forms of “ Rashi script . " Numerous Arabic words were also scattered throughout . Having immigrated from Damascus in 1953 , Cohen continued in Israel to record new compositions , which he performed in the synagogue and at private family celebrations . ’Cantor s notebooks , known in Hebrew as pinkesei hazzanim , constitute a widespread phenomenon that dates back to a remote past in both the East and the West . For those unfamiliar with the world of piyyut ( liturgical poetry , pl . piyyutim ) , the term hazzan ( pl . hazzanim ) , may be misleading in this case , because it usually refers to an individual skilled at performing religious hymns in the synagogal liturgy or at paraliturg...  אל הספר
הוצאת אוניברסיטת בר אילן