Cantor Avraham Adler Ato Yotzarto

Cantor Adler migrated to Australia in 1956, initially settling in the Melbourne suburb of Carlton. He was born in Rumania and like most of the Jewish immigrants who came to Australia after World War II, he was a Holocaust survivor. As a result, he had a strong experiential and emotional rapport with many members of the congregations that he served. Through his inspirational and heartfelt cantorial interpretations of Jewish liturgy, he helped reaffirm group identity, continuing the unbroken chain of cultural tradition that would gradually help heal the traumas of the immediate past. After a 2-year stint at Carlton United Hebrew Congregation, Adler was invited to be the Cantor at Elwood Hebrew Congregation and there he stayed till 1975 when he accepted an invitation to hold office as Chief Cantor of the Great Synagogue in Vienna. During his years in Melbourne, he achieved great acclaim as a spiritual leader and a gifted and accomplished singer not only in religious services but in community events and concert performances. On a number of occasions during the years 1960 to 1966, he took part in broadcasts featuring Jewish music on Radio 3DB. These were hosted by socialite and businesswoman Stephanie Deste. He also produced acetate recordings of cantorial masterpieces. Cantor Adler's accompanists have included musicians such as Felix Werder, Leo Rosner and Miriam Rochlin, each of whom has also made a significant individual contribution to Jewish musical culture in Australia. Adler's singing belongs to the Ashkenazi cantorial tradition, Eastern European in origin and quasi-operatic in style. Felix Werder, commenting on the quality of Adler's voice, recalls the versatility, colour and energy of his singing. Also legendary was Adler's ornamental and improvisational ability coupled with an instinct for the right depth and placement of emotion in his renditions of liturgical text. Besides the legacy of his recordings, Adler published a two volume manuscript of cantorial pieces-Cantoralishe Recitativen- which is used as a text for the teaching of Jewish liturgical music. His contribution to Jewish music in Australia is an enduring heritage for future generations.