Crossing Over

This book, based on an MA thesis, examines Sephardic§melodies that were adopted into the liturgy of§Ashkenazi Jews in London during the early twentieth§century. The work begins by presenting a history of§Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews from the time they§settled in England to the end of the nineteenth§century. Through an analysis of social and religious§changes taking place among English Jews of the§nineteenth century, this book explicates reforms in§the synagogue service that led to the inclusion of§polyphonic music into the synagogue and eventually to§the incorporation of Sephardic melodies into§Ashkenazi synagogue practice. The attempt to canonize§the music of Ashkenazi Jews in England was manifested§in the widely successful Handbook of Synagogue Music.§ Fifteen melodies of Sephardic origin published in§the Sephardic compilation The Ancient Melodies§(1857), as well as in the Reform hymnal (1880) were§included in the 1899 edition of the Handbook. This§book examines the reasons these Sephardic melodies§were chosen for inclusion by the editors of the§Ashkenazi Handbook during a period of reform.