People

Abraham Bernstein started working in Białystok in 1885, when he became a cantor of Choral Synagogue (according to some sources, Edat Jeszurun Synagogue) - first synagogue in Białystok to which a choir was introduced.

Composer, collector and researcher of music connected with synagogues and Jewish folklore.

Together with Pinchas Minkowski from Odessa, he is considered a person who changed the way of being a cantor - combining the soul of Jewish singing with European form.

For 30 years, starting in 1893, Bernstein was the superior cantor of Great Vilnius Synagogue Tohorat Kodesz. He was associated with the Jewish national movement, being, among others, an active member of the Bnei Mosze (Sons of Moses) Vilnius cell, organized by Chowewej Cijon.

He was the author of three collections of prayers and religious works, as well as "Muzikaliszer pinkas", a collection of about 25 Jewish folk songs, Hasidic chants and dances, occasional melodies (e.g. wedding or celebration songs): each record with an addition of historical and ethnographic information. Bernstein also worked with secular Jewish culture and promoted Jewish music. He was the author of numerous essays published in Hebrew (in, among others, "Ha-Cefira") and jiddish (among others in "Wilner Tog" and "Chazonim Wełt"). He is considered a theorist of chazanate, synagogue and cantor art, and is regarded as one of those who laid the foundations for modern cantors. 

More information - Jewish Historical Institute.

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