Exceptionally rare copy of the score for the oratorio Haggadah, by composer Paul Dessau, writer Max Brod, and Mordechai Langer – Franz Kafka’s Hebrew teacher – with a collection of letters and ephemera documenting the process of their collaboration, from the inception of the idea in Europe in the 1930s to the work’s premiere in Jerusalem in 1962.

"Haggada", one of the most significant works of Jewish music to be published in Germany on the eve of the Holocaust, was composed on the initiative of Paul Dessau and offered a modern musical setting of the Passover narrative and the Exodus from Egypt. The German text was written by Max Brod and translated into Hebrew by Mordechai Langer, Franz Kafka’s Hebrew teacher.

The work was completed in 1936 and printed by the Jewish-German music publisher "Jibneh" in Berlin. Although concerts were planned in Berlin, Frankfurt, and Amsterdam, the work was not performed at the time, and the scheduled events were cancelled one after another.

In an attempt to preserve copies of the score, composer Joachim Stutschewsky tried to sell the rights to the Vienna publisher Universal Edition, but following the Anschluss in 1938 the plan was abandoned, and the publisher’s stock was packed in crates and stored in a cellar.

This unique collection records the work’s complex history:

• "Haggada – Oratorio", printed score of the original work, published in Germany under the Nazi regime. [Jibneh, Berlin, 1936].

5-228 pages (without title page; publisher’s name and date printed at foot of first music page). 27 cm. Good-fair condition. Later binding. Leaves partially detached from binding and from each other. Several handwritten annotations.

• Nine letters by Max Brod:

- Five early letters (1937-1938), from his period at the Prager Tagblatt, documenting efforts to stage the oratorio in Europe (German): "…Permit me to draw your attention to a truly splendid and representative work… I am convinced that a performance of Dessau’s Haggada will be a historic event in the annals of Jewish music" (to the director of a Jewish music festival, November 1937); "Jewish music is one of the dearest missions of my life… I will gladly write to you about Dessau’s Haggada…"; "I set aside all other work today in order to write to you about the Haggada. Enclosed you will find the article…"; "I agree with the changes. I am now writing to Dessau…" (to journalist and music critic Gershon Hermann Sweet, January-February 1938).

- Four later letters (1962), from Brod's Tel Aviv years, concerning his relationship with Dessau and the behind-the-scenes aspects of the Jerusalem premiere, held on April 22, 1962 at Binyanei HaUma, conducted by Chemjo (Nehemiah) Vinaver [Winawer], with the Israel Symphony Orchestra and the Kol Israel Choir (translation from German): "…Since I have not been involved in preparations for the performance until now, you will surely understand that I cannot at the last moment give my voice – neither for nor against, neither positively nor negatively…"; "On the night of the 25th I listened to the radio broadcast of the Haggada and I liked it very much – both the work and the performance. There are some details I would like to discuss in person…" (April 1962).

One letter is enclosed with a copy of a telegram from Paul Dessau imploring Brod to prevent the radio broadcast: "Please help to ensure that the Haggada is in no way broadcast on the radio…". In other letters, Brod complains of the lack of communication with Dessau, comments on press reviews, and discusses copyright issues.

•
Three letters by composer Sigmund (Shabtai) Petrushka, Head of the Music Department at Kol Israel, who participated in the premiere, to Dr. Fritz Hennenberg of Leipzig, a friend of Dessau and expert on his work.

The letters include retrospective details about the Israeli production, locations of archival material, his connections with Dessau, and further biographical information. Petrushka quotes Dessau on the genesis of the oratorio, the collaborative writing and composition process in Prague, the debate over using traditional melodies versus original compositions, and more.

He also describes an attempt to premiere the work in Nazi Berlin in 1937 – a project cancelled due to persecution: "It should be mentioned that as early as 1937 Vinaver intended to bring the work to performance; he was then in Berlin, with a large choir, the Kulturbund orchestra, and (among others) the soloists Wilhelm Guttmann and Paula Lindberg at his disposal. At that time, when the Jewish public was being pushed out of German musical life, there was considerable interest in high-quality Jewish works of artistic ambition such as Dessau’s. But conditions in Nazi Germany suddenly worsened, and Vinaver’s hands were full with arranging the 'Exodus' of himself and his family".

• Additional ephemera: photocopies of letters, press clippings, articles, and other related material.

Size and condition vary. Overall good-fair condition.