Blanes, Jacob

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BLANES, JACOB

BLANES, JACOB (1877–1943), one of the last cantors of the Portuguese Synagogue of Amsterdam before the Holocaust. He was appointed in 1902. Blanes insisted on full accuracy in recitation, a characteristic feature of Sephardi cantoral singing in Amsterdam. He had a deep knowledge of Hazande, including many ancient melodies for the *Kaddish, etc. He had great influence on younger men anxious to preserve the tradition of ḥazzanut, and the few pupils of his who survived World War ii were afterward to be found in communities in various parts of the world. Blanes himself died after being deported from Holland in 1943.

bibliography:

esn, 1 (1949), 70–71.

[Simon Vega]