PREFACE.

The present work, a collection of Israelite synagogue songs, has been created and composed over a period of several years.

I am prompted to publish this work, on the one hand, by the frequent and numerous requests made to me by fellow cantors who are my friends, and, on the other hand, by the desire to participate in the recent, generally prevalent striving to refine the Israelite divine service and to make it more worthy and uplifting. This striving has manifested itself particularly vividly in the last few decades, ever since the appearance of that epoch-making work which has so successfully made the rounds of the entire civilized world and laid the foundation for an orderly divine service. Many have appeared who have submitted their synagogal works to the public, pursuing more or less the same goal, even if mostly in a somewhat varied form. However, when one considers that the number of Israelite houses of worship is very large, and that singing is the most principal and important part of our divine