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

Biography

Isaac Heymann was born in Auras,

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

. 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 classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

in various synagogues in Russia, Galicia, and

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

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

Gnesen Gniezno (; german: Gnesen; la, Gnesna) 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. One of the Piast dynasty's chief cities, ...

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

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, 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 Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austria ...

, 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