Isaac H. Heymann (26 March 1829 – 9 August 1906), also known as the Gnesener Ḥazzan, was a Dutch

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...

and composer.

Biography

Isaac Heymann was born in Auras,

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

. He was raised in Bialystok, where he received his first musical training from his father, the cantor Pinḥas Heymann. He had a natural talent for singing, and as a young boy he performed successfully as a

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

in various synagogues in Russia, Galicia, and

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

. After having made several tours through Hungary, Heymann served as cantor in Filehne, Graudenz, and

Gnesen Gniezno (; ; ) is a city in central-western Poland, about east of Poznań. Its population in 2021 was 66,769, making it the sixth-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. The city is the administrative seat of Gniezno County (''powiat'' ...

. In 1856 he was elected chief cantor for the Jewish congregation of

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, which position he held until his death fifty years later. He was naturalized as a Dutch citizen in 1881. In addition to his duties as cantor, Heymann obtained a diploma as a composer from the Conservatory of Music in Cologne. He composed numerous synagogal melodies, including ''Shire Todah la-El'', a collection of hymns dedicated to Queen Wilhelmina on the day of her coronation. Heymann was highly respected in his profession. He was celebrated on several occasions for his contributions to music and the Jewish community, including on the occasion of his 25th, 40th, and 50th anniversaries as cantor. Heymann had a large family, including a son,

Karl Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl of Austria, last Austrian Emperor * Karl (footballer) (born 1993), Karl Cac ...

, who was a pianist and composer, and three daughters, , , and , of whom the first two were singers and the last a pianist.

Legacy

An exhibition in honour of the centenary of Heymann's birth was opened in Amsterdam in April 1929.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heymann, Isaac 1829 births 1906 deaths 19th-century Dutch Jews Dutch composers Dutch tenors Hazzans Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln alumni Jewish composers People from Trzebnica County Silesian Jews