Herman Wohl (; 1877âÂÂ1936) was a JewishâÂÂAmerican composer closely associated with the American Yiddish Theatre.
Wohl was born in Otyniia near Stanislavov (now called Ivano-Frankivsk) in eastern Galicia, now Ukraine. He was raised in a Chasidic home and studied with cantors from the age of 9. He soon began composing, directing choirs, and singing as a Hazzan himself. At the age of 16 he joined Kalman Juvelier's troupe in Galicia, acting, singing in the chorus, and writing songs for their repertoire.
In 1896 he was brought to America to teach; he soon began writing for several theater troupes. He partnered with Aaron (Arnold) Perlmutter and over the course of 16 years they wrote music for many operettas including , and dozens of others by Moshe Hurwitz (Horowitz), Anshel Shor's (The Widow) and (One should be a decent person) also Motashevski's , and
Working with Edelstein in the People's Theater, he composed music to
Some of his hundreds of songs, most composed with Arnold Perlmutter, are listed at Florida Atlantic University's website:
Besides being a Second Avenue songwriter and composer in the Yiddish Theater District, Wohl continued to work as a synagogue choirmaster and liturgical composer. For many years he conducted the choir for the most widely acclaimed and revered cantor of the timeâÂÂand probably of all timeâÂÂYossele Rosenblatt. His many cantorial-choral compositions for Sabbath, High Holy Days, and Festivals remain in manuscript, and the whereabouts of many of these are not even known. He died in 1936.