Encounters between Jewish and Muslim Musicians throughout the Ages r 277He summoned the musicians to the palace. As painful as it was, the mu-
sicians could not refuse, but chose to play lamentations on this day of
mourning, which commemorates the destruction of the two temples.
The sultan greatly appreciated the pathos of these songs and asked what
prompted them. The Jews explained that on this day of fasting they were
forbidden to play music or rejoice. Henceforth they were known as the
“singers of affliction.”^16
A similar tale with similar motive is known among Persian Jews. Here
the hero of the tale is a great Jewish musician, Isaac, who was a favorite of
Shah Nasr al-dīn (1848–1896). Isaac was summoned to play for the shah,
who was in a dour mood. It happened to be Yom Kippur, but Isaac had to
obey the shah’s order, and he played the tār (a long-necked lute) and sang
piyyutim he had heard that day in the synagogue. When the shah inquired
about the source of these moving songs, Isaac answered that they were the
holiest of all prayers sung by the Jews, whom he had to leave at the shah’s
behest. The ruler immediately let him return to the synagogue, showering
him with expressions of gratitude and gifts of gold coins.^17
Alexander Christianowitsch in Algiers
The pianist Alexander Christianowitsch (1835–1874) arrived in Algiers in
1860 after serving in the Russian navy. Due to health problems, he re-
mained in Algiers, where he sought to develop his keen interest in clas-
sical Arabian music of which he had acquired knowledge from Arabic
theoretical writings.^18 His first exposure to Algerian music took place in
one of those coffee concerts in vogue at that time. The Jewish musical
ensemble he heard there featured a singer and players on rebāb (a spike
fiddle held on the knee), kemenjeh (viola), tār (frame drum), or derbukka
(goblet drum). This first encounter with Arab music fell far short of his
expectations and was rather a source of disappointment.^19
One of his acquaintances advised him to meet a known expert in clas-
sical music who would satisfy his search. From this expert he learned that
the musicians he heard at the coffee concert were by no means represen-
tative of genuine classical music and that a Jew can never assimilate it
properly. To this assertion, Christianowitsch mentioned having enjoyed
the performance of a Jewish qānūn (cithar) player whose proficiency was
highly recognized and appreciated. While admitting the excellence of that