Synagogue choristers in Great Britain, South Africa and Australia would be familiar with Francis Lyon Cohen as the co-author of The Voice of Prayer and Praise, commonly known as the Blue Book.
It is the chorister’s bible, first published in 1899.
Francis Lyon Cohen studied at the Jewish Theological Seminary in London with a focus on Jewish liturgy.
Synagogue music was a passion throughout his life and in addition to writing numerous articles about Jewish music he composed many choral arrangements for the synagogue which are published in the Blue Book.
As his career advanced, Rev. Cohen accepted a ministerial position at South Hackney Synagogue in London from 1883-1885, then to Dublin Synagogue from 1885-1886, and then a longer appointment at Borough New Synagogue in London from 1886-1904.
In 1904, Reverend Cohen was invited to become Chief Rabbi of the Sydney Great Synagogue and following his ordination in London, Rabbi Francis Lyon Cohen moved to Australia and took up his position as Chief Minister in 1905.
A position he held until his death in 1934.
But lesser known is his record in military matters.
Francis Lyon Cohen was born in 1862 in Aldershot in the vicinity of an army camp.
As a boy he became fascinated with soldiers in the camp, not their military might, but their colourful uniforms, the military pageantry and the martial music.
First Jewish Chaplain
As Francis Lyon Cohen became more involved in Jewish affairs in Britain, he became more aware of latent antisemitism in the British Army.
Not until 1889 did Judaism receive formal recognition by the British Army as a distinct religious body.
There were Jewish soldiers, but most of them concealed their origin as Jews until Reverend Cohen undertook the task to formalise Jewish recognition in the British Army.
Following a letter of introduction to General Wood, Commander of the camp in Aldershot, by Lord Rothschild in 1892, Rev. Cohen was appointed the first Officiating Jewish Chaplain to the British forces.
Almost at once, he embarked on a campaign to encourage Jewish enlistment in the British forces as he was deeply disturbed by allegations that Jews were unpatriotic.
Enlistment in the forces was the best evidence of Jewish loyalty to Britain.
“I have noticed that Jewish soldiers and sailors almost invariably concealed their origin because of outside prejudices, and still more through their own people’s feeling about the difficulties in observing certain religious duties.”
The Blue Book
The initiative for the publication of the Blue Book came from the United Synagogue in London, who determined that Shule services would be greatly enhanced if traditional Jewish melodies were sung musically, rather than just being chanted.
The choral arrangements by Rabbi Francis Lyon Cohen (F.L.C) and David Montague Davis (D.M.D) comprise most of the collection, with choral renditions for all Jewish services throughout the year.
This beautiful rendition of ‘Shema Koleinu’ expresses the sensitivity of a truly fine musician pleading for mercy and compassion.
