Idelsohn, Abraham

Idelsohn, Abraham (Zevi)

(born July 14, 1882, Felixberg, Latvia, Russian Empire—died Aug. 14, 1938, Johannesburg, S.Af.) Latvian musicologist. After studies in Germany he served as a synagogue cantor there (from 1903) before moving to Johannesburg and then to Jerusalem in 1905. Later he moved to the U.S., but after a stroke in 1934 he returned to Johannesburg. His monumental comparative studies of Jewish music in many parts of the world established that the tradition had remained relatively unchanged over time and also suggested connections between Jewish chant and the origins of Gregorian chant. He composed the first Hebrew opera, Yiftah (1922), and the song “Hava nagila.”