Cantor Samuel B. Taube. was born in Zelod (near Lodz) Poland, from a chassidic family — a son, a grandson and great-grondsen ol cantors.
Al the age ol 11 he moved with his parents to Austria, where he continued to sing in his father’s choir.
Alter 6 years of talmudical, studies he went to Vienna to study music and chasanuth, also with the then world famous cantor and musician Cantor Emmanuel Frankek, of the “Polishe-shul”.
His outstanding lyric-dramatic tenor voice, his extraordinary musicality as well as his unusual ability to read music at first sight, soon made him to be regarded by his teachers as on excellent musician and a young cantor of great promise.
His first position was at the Montefiore Synagogue in Vienna. From there he went to Paris, France. to accept a position as cantor of the “Synagogue de la Rue Montevideo”. Here he remained until 1943, when the German occupying forces arrested, and deported him to Auschwits Concentration Camp. He managed to survive it truly by the grace of God, who has endowed him with a powerful voice and musical abilities, and was able to sing (practIcally every day for 18 months) “liedr” and operatic arias in several languages, through which his life was spared by his tormentors and he was liberated In 1945.
In 1949 he accepted an invitation to succeed Cantor Jacob Kussevitsky in the Dalston Synagogue in London, England, and in 1951 was coiled upon to succeed Cantor David Kussevitsky at the Hendon Synagogue, the largest In London. Here he remained until the summer of 1958, when he decided to accept the position as Cantor ol the Beth Sholom Congregation, the largest orthodox Synagogue in Washington D. C.
4 thoughts on “Samuel B. Taube”
Such wonderful memories of a truly great Chazan. I had the great privilege of singing with him when he was in Hendon synagogue and I was a boy. He taught me what it was to pray and I will forever be in his debt.
Pochodzę z miasta w którym urodził się Pan Taube , jestem dumny że tak sławny kantor ,pochodzi z mojego miasta , zajmuje się upamiętnianiem społeczności żydowskiej z mojego miasta , będę wdzięczny za wszelkie informacje dotyczące żyjących przed wojną obywateli pochodzenia żydowskiego z mojego miasta , z wyrazami szacunku Marek Bloch
Dear David Cohen, Thank you for your kind words and memories of my dear father z”l. My father was a great chazan and baal tefila and a great talmid chacham. His sweet voice and moving prayers were a moving testimony throughout his life.
His number at Aushwitz was 164637 and his survival, and his memory is a blessing for all who knew him and all his children, grand children and great grand children and numerous students.
This wonderful soul prepared me for my Bar Mitzvah. I remember his saintly wife too.