This post replaces an earlier article about Chazzan Kalman Kalich previously published elsewhere on this site (see: Kalman Kalich [December 17, 1903, Kalich, Poland – February 25, 1982, New York City, New York, USA]).

According to the Extract from the Registry of Engaged Jews, 1885–1937 of Brzozów, Kalman (or Kelman) was born on January 4, 1903, in Brzozów (now in Poland), as Kelman Stieber, the son of Mozes Yosef Kalech and Sara Stieber.

This date of birth differs slightly from the one listed in the United States Social Security Death Index, which records December 18, 1902—17 days earlier—as Chazzan Kalich’s birthdate, and notes February 1982 as the month of his passing.

Yet another variation appears in the book First Hungarian Congregation Ohab Zedek, which cites December 17, 1903 as his date of birth. The United States Censuses of 1910 and 1930 also reflect some uncertainty, estimating his year of birth as approximately 1903–1904.

Taken together, these sources present three slightly differing timelines—ranging across about one to three years. Based on this evidence, it seems reasonable to conclude that Kalman Kalich was likely born during the winter of 1902–1903.

Chazzan Kalich served in several congregations, most notably at Congregation Ohab Zedek, where he officiated for over 40 years. The following is noted about the congregation on their website (https://ozny.org/about.php):

Congregation Ohab Zedek, or OZ, as it is fondly known, is more than just a synagogue. Under the leadership of Rabbi Allen Schwartz, the Shul is known for its open doors and big heart.
[…]
OZ has a proud history. The Shul was founded in 1873 on Avenue B and Houston Street on the Lower East Side as the First Hungarian Congregation Ohab Zedek. After a sojourn on West 116th Street in Harlem, the Congregation moved to its present location at 118 West 95th Street in 1926. Today, as part of a revitalized Upper West Side that has drawn an ever-expanding population of families and young adults, OZ is a vibrant and dynamic Jewish center for prayer, learning and social activities.

I contacted Congregation Ohab Zedek and received the following information about Chazzan Kalich:

[…]This is the information that I wrote in the book on the History of the shul (Ohab Zedek), and that’s all the information I have:

“Cantor Kalich was born in Kalich, Poland on December 17, 1903. He previously served as Cantor of the Arena Synagogue, Budapest, Hungary, and sang in Yossele Rosenblatt’s choir in Pressburg, Hungary. He was honored for his many years of service at Ohab Zedek at a dinner held at the Hotel Olcott, New York City, given in his honor on Saturday evening, March 11, 1961, recognizing his 25 years of dedicated service to the congregation. He died in New York City on February 24, 1982.”

By the way, he was chazan at Ohab Zedek from 1935 to 1981. I believe his wife’s name was Rose.[…]

The quoted paragraph from the book First Hungarian Congregation Ohab Zedek may contain an inaccuracy. While we’ve already addressed the issue concerning Chazzan Kalich’s date of birth, there also appears to be a potential chronological inconsistency regarding the claim that he sang with Chazzan Yossele Rosenblatt in Pressburg.

Historical records indicate that Chazzan Rosenblatt served in Pressburg from approximately 1901 to 1906, after which he officiated in Hamburg until 1912, and then emigrated to the United States. Given that Kalman Kalich was born in late 1902 or early 1903, he would have been only about three years old when Rosenblatt left Pressburg—making it unlikely that he sang in Rosenblatt’s choir during that period.

However, Kalman Kalich did indeed begin his journey in music with Chazzan Rosenblatt. As the story goes, armed with a blessing from the famed Kruckover Rebbe, Kalman joined Rosenblatt’s choir at the age of six—by then, Rosenblatt was serving as the cantor of Congregation Ohab Zedek on 116th Street in Harlem, New York.

Kalman and His Chazzonus:

The famous conductor Eli Shnipelinsky introduced Kalman to Chazzan Aryeh Leib Rutman, who took him under his wing and taught him the art of chazzonus, earning Kalman comparisons to the renowned cantor Rozumni.

At just 11 years old, Cantor Kalich was already recognized as a child prodigy, giving concerts as far west as Chicago. Although he was forced to stop singing temporarily during his adolescence, at age 20 he became the cantor of the famous Clymer Street Synagogue in Williamsburg. He continued his musical education with distinguished voice teachers such as Alfred Martina and Giuseppe De Luca—world-famous singers of the Metropolitan Opera and instructors to greats like Jan Peerce and Richard Tucker. At the same time, Cantor Kalich honed his skills in chazzonus under the guidance of the nusach genius Samuel Weingarten.

While holding a position in Washington Heights, Cantor Kalich was summoned by the late Rev. Maurice Taub of Congregation Ohab Zedek to serve as their cantor, a position he held with distinction for over 40 years.

When the late Leo Low heard him sing, he exclaimed, “The sweetness of his voice is like the great Rozumni of Odessa.” Metropolitan Opera star Jan Peerce said, “I love traditional cantorial music, and my greatest pleasure is to hear Kalmen Kalich sing.” Peerce also noted, “He was a hazzan; he knew his perush hamilos”—meaning he understood the deeper meaning of the words sung during prayers.

On another vinyl record cover featuring Chazzan Kalich’s songs, he was described as the original “Boy Wonder Cantor.” Under the tutelage of the renowned choir leader Eli Shnipelinsky, he conducted Sabbath services in many of the most famous synagogues throughout the United States. Cantor Kalich won further acclaim as a master interpreter of Jewish folk songs and liturgical music. For many years, his voice was regularly heard on the radio, where he received numerous accolades and plaudits.

Jeffrey P. Lieuwen from the Netherlands kindly sent me a copy of Kalman Kalich’s performance of B’rich Shmei. With his permission, I am sharing this MP3 of the Cantor’s rendition, showcasing his high baritone voice and lovely, sweet zoger style. He was undoubtedly one of the greats of yesteryear. Mr. Lieuwen extracted this recording from an old Tikva record.

Tikva Records was founded in 1947 as an independent Jewish record label. For the next 30 years, it would record an eclectic range of Jewish-American songs, including klezmer pop, cantorial singing, Catskills medleys and Israeli folk tunes.

Tikva Records folded in the late 1970s, but a number of singles on the label have been re-released by the Idelsohn Society for Musical Preservation (http://idelsohnsociety.com), a non-profit organization dedicated to finding and preserving Jewish music through museum exhibits, concert showcases and reissues of lost Jewish classics and compilations.
(Source:Reviving ‘Songs For The Jewish-American Jet Set’ at NPR (http://www.npr.org/2011/12/15/143771771/reviving-songs-for-the-jewish-american-jet-set), retrieved on 28 March 2012)

Press the playbutton to play the song B'rich Shmei
by Chazzan Kallich

Chazzan Kalman Kallich and My Family:

There may be a connection between Kalman Kallich and my Kallech/Lehrer family. This is suggested primarily by the fact that many males in my family branch, past and present, have the name Kalman. Additionally, Alan Miller, who is researching another Kalech branch likely related to ours, also believes Kalman Kallich was connected to our family. He shared the following information:

Yes, Kalmen Kalich is related but I’ve never been able to determine exactly how. My mother, who was born in 1906, recalled playing with him as a child and remembers that her mother referred to him as a “cousin” but the word “cousin” was used very loosely so I can’t be sure exactly what the relationship was. But here’s what else I know:

Kalmen was married to Beatrice Finkel who bore him twin sons: Robert and Richard. After Beatrice died, he married Rose Milstein but they had no offspring. Kalmen also had one brother, Theodore, who married Sylvia Schweller; They had two sons: Herbert Warren and Allan Scott.

Kalmen’s father was Moses Joseph Kalich who was born in 1880 and died in 1953. He was married to Sarah Stieber (Kalmen’s mother).

Moses Joseph Kalich’s father was Alexander Ziska Kalich who was married to Feiga ——. I believe that they had four other children in addition to Moses Joseph: they were Necha, Molly, Tillie and a son of unknown name.

I am guessing that Alexander Ziska was a son of Yishaia Shlomo Zalman Kalich, which would make him a brother to Gershon (my great grandfather), to Rebecca, and to Shmuel Zanvil. But this is just speculation on my part because I couldn’t figure out any other way to fit him in to the family tree.

I have compiled the following outline of Chazzan Kalman Kalich’s family tree:

Descendants of Alexander Ziska Kalich

1 Alexander Ziska Kalich b: in Austria
.. +Feiga NN b: in Austria
…….. 2 Necha NN
…….. 2 Molly NN
…….. 2 Tillie NN
…….. 2 NN NN
…….. 2 Mozes Josef Kalech b: Abt. 1882 in Austria d: 1953
………… +Sarah Stieber b: 17 okt 1878
………………. 3 Kalmen Kalich b: 04 jan 1903 d: 24 feb 1982 in New York City, NY, United States of America
………………….. +Beatrice Finkel
……………………….. 4 Robert Kalich
……………………….. 4 Richard Kalich
………………. *2nd Wife of Kalmen Kalich:
………………….. +Rose Milstein
………………. 3 Theodore Kalish b: Abt. 1908 in New York, USA
………………….. +Sylvia Schweller
……………………….. 4 Herbert Warren Kalich
……………………….. 4 Allan Scott Kalich

My sincere thanks go to everyone who helped me write this article, especially Jeffrey P. Lieuwen, who describes himself as “a lover and collector of chazzonus” and who, besides music, also collects pictures, biographical information, and more about chazzanim. I am grateful to him for sharing valuable information and the MP3 recording. Many thanks also to Alan Miller for his insights about the family, and to Mr. Chaim Steinberger for providing information about Congregation Ohab Zedek and Chazzan Kalich during his tenure at “Ozny.”

Please feel free to contact me or leave a comment on this post if you have any additional information about Cantor Kalman Kalich, a”h.

Additional Sources (besides those cited in the main article):

• ‘The art of Cantor Kalmen Kalich’, vinyl released with serial number GRC298, by The Greater Recording Company in 1976
• Cantor Josef Rosenblatt at Judaica Sound Archives (http://faujsa.fau.edu/rosenblatt_josef), retrieved 13 February 2012
• Josef (Yossele) Rosenblatt 1882 – 1933 at geoffreyshisler.com (http://geoffreyshisler.com/Rosenblatt.html), retrieved 13 February 2012
• Proceedings of the 15th annual conference-convention of the Caors Assembly of America – dedicated to “The
• Hazzan and his Ministry” May 13th-17th 1962. Retrieved from http://www.cantors.org/JSM/1962.pdf, page 26 on 13 February 2012
• Cantor Kalmen Kalich Cantorial Selections at MJH Collections http://collection.mjhnyc.org/index.php?g=detail&object_id=8057, retrieved on 7 February 2012