Soundtracks of the Western Expansion: Jews and Music in Mid-Nineteenth-Century California

The mid-19th century birthed an active musical age among America’s growing Jewish populations, with myriad new approaches emerging to give Jewish worship—and American Jewish life—a meaningful sound. Some of the most active discussions took place on the East Coast and in the Midwest, where prominent Jewish populations overlapped with thriving German musical cultures. In contrast, California offered a different landscape that openly extended musical movements United States while offering their own interpretations.

To date, studies of Jews and music in 19^th century California have been largely limited to its last two decades, focusing on significant figures such as E. J. Stark and “Cantor Soprano” Julie Rosewald. In this paper, part of a larger study of music in 19^th century American Jewish life, I draw on contemporary newspaper accounts to reconstruct music’s role in the middle decades (between about 1849 and 1880) and address parallels with contemporary discussions in Cincinnati and New York. Admittedly, accounts from San Francisco, Sacramento, Stockton and San Diego present differing timelines and aesthetics. At the same time, I argue that these cities connect to a larger narrative of musical experimentation, migration, and community development in American Jewish life that adds a complex layer to ideas of religious “Reform.” Examining how choirs, music specialists, and instrumental accompaniment functioned in these communities during synagogue dedications, celebrations, and rituals opens a window onto larger networks of musical transmission and aesthetic value that stretched across the expanding nation.