Berele Chagy

Jewish-American cantor and composer (born July 25, 1892 in Dagda, Russian Empire [now Latvia] - died 1954 in Newark, New Jersey, USA) The son and grandson of cantors (chazanim), Chagy studied in Riga and then served as cantor in Smolensk, at the age of only 17. In 1913, he emigrated to the United States. There, he served in synagogues in New York City, Newark, Detroit, and Boston. In 1932, he became cantor at Beth Hamedrash Hagadol in Johannesburg, South Africa. In 1941, he returned to the United States to work at one of the largest Orthodox synagogues, Beth El in Brooklyn, NY. Chagy enjoyed international renown for his superb high tenor voice and a scintillating falsetto that he used to great effect. A popular recording artist, he made more than two dozen Columbia records between 1919 and 1922 and four more for Victor between 1922 and 1925.