George Aziz: The Pioneering and Rare Recordings of a Maronite Priest
Rev. George Aziz
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| Rev. George Aziz, 1903, Buffalo, New York. Buffalo Courier, 6 December 1903. Courtesy of Newspapers.com |
For years music historians and ethnomusicologist have
claimed that pianist, composer, and later record company founder, Alexander Maloof held significance in part because his Victor #17443 A & B, A Trip to
Syria and Al-Ja-Za-Yer, represented the first record marketed to an
Arabic-speaking audience. This claim took hold because Maloof
recorded on Victor before any other known Arab American or Arabic-speaking
musician in the United States. Careful examination of the physical 78 rpm disc,
however, demonstrably proves this assertion to be inaccurate. All known copies
of Victor #17443A & #17443B, are completely in English. There is neither a
combination of Arabic and English or only Arabic on the well-known and
sometimes photographed label. We know that when Victor wished to sell songs to
an Arab American fan base, it had the ability and capacity to print a
combination of Arabic script, transliterated title, and artists name.
This was not the case.
Maloof’s first Victor disc reportedly sold poorly, but
this was likely not a result of an uninterested, apathetic, or cash-strapped audience or clientele. Executives missed the target when they marketed
Alexander Maloof to only an English-speaking/reading audience. Sure, some English-speaking
Syrian/ Lebanese Americans likely purchased some copies of this record,
but most, if not all Maloof's recordings for Victor were printed in English.
The honor of the first Arab American to record on 78 rpm for an Arabic-speaking audience goes to Naheem, Nahum, Nahim, or Naim Simon, the popular Lebanese Jewish singer who recorded on Victor and Columbia. The ubiquity and commonality of Naim Simon makes this performer difficult to track with any degree of certainty or accuracy but it's believed that the success of his career allowed him to do what mean others dreamed and that is earn enough money to return home and live comfortably. One of the earliest Arab American singers to record for Arab-language customers was Reverend George Aziz, who recorded on Columbia Records
39380/39381 as a part of Columbia’s E series (or Ethnic Series) on 14 May
1914. Until Simon and Aziz came along, Arab-language 78 rpm records were performed by well-known
classical Arab musicians Yusuf el Manyalawi, Saleem Higazi, Cemil Bey, or Abdel el Hilmy
in Beirut, Istanbul/Constantinople, or Cairo. Aziz recorded at Columbia’s New York studios at 233
Broadway in the Woolworth Building. Until now, little has been written about
Rev. George Aziz. From where did he come? Where did he live in the United
States? Why is there such little documentation of his death? How is his story
different or similar to his fellow Lebanese and Syrian Americans?
Rev. George Aziz was born to Merhi Aziz 27 September
1872 at Mount Lebanon. The son of Merhi Aziz. After studying for the ministry,
he taught University-level music courses, was consecrated, and became a Maronite
priest. He immigrated to the United States where he arrived in September 1902
from Beirut via La Havre for the expressed purpose of ministering to the
growing Syrian and Lebanese immigrant populations that settled in Buffalo, New
York, along Seneca Street. By 1903, some fifty Syrian and Lebanese families or 200
people resided in the city.
Concerned about his inability to appropriately serve this
particular growing demographic, in the late 1890s, Rev. Michael P. Connery arranged,
first for a priest from another parish, Rev. Antoun A. Zoghby, to hear
confessionals and officiate baptisms, weddings, and funerals at Saint Columba
Church. Connery and Mr. K. Ghanim shepherded
the campaign to help residents convert a three-story-brick building at 454
Seneca Street, between Louisiana and Spring streets, into St. John Maronite
Church. The first floor served as the
sanctuary, the second as a school and meeting hall, and the third floor as the
residence for Father Aziz. On 23 March 1904, Bishop Charles H. Colton laid the
cornerstone, assisted by Rev. Aziz and Rev. Zoghby. Workers hoped to have the remodel of the
sanctuary completed by 10 April 1904 when the church scheduled its first mass
the Sunday following Easter; however, the dedication and first services took
place 26 June 1904. Catholic clergy came from Niagara Falls, and as far away as
Scranton, Pennsylvania. The Syrian community especially thanked Father Connery
for his role in bringing the church to fruition and Connery in turn remarked,
“the occasion seemed more happy, because of the fact that this church is the
result of efforts on the part of people who, we may say, were the first
Christians and who now speak the tongue supposed to have been used by our dear
Lord himself.”
Before the workers even had time to complete the remodel
job, Rev. George Aziz’s reputation as an enthusiastic, golden-voiced Priest
from the homeland had circulated around the community and throughout up-state
New York. Parishioners also knew him to translate Greek and Italian music into
Arabic. Several newspaper accounts note that the service did not deviate from
traditional Catholic services, but the music had a distinct “Oriental style”
and flair.
Regular services administered and led by Rev. Aziz,
midnights masses from 11:30pm to 1:00 am on Christmas and Easter and a host of
social events held at Saint John appeared in the press regularly. The church
also created an annual Bazaar where members of the church and larger community
purchased baked goods, food, and other items. With the addition of Saint John
and the tireless work by Aziz, the community experienced a surge that doubled
its Syrian population to 400.
In the February 1906, Fr. Aziz caused a wondrous stir in
the community when he supposedly healed the sick and dying infant of one of his
parishioners. The infant daughter of a Mr. & Mrs. Michel Wehbey fell
“suddenly and violently ill” and had stopped breathing for fifteen minutes.
Aziz, with a recently received relic said to have been from Pope Pius X and
believed to contain bone fragment from Saint John Maron in tow, prayed over the
baby, “dipped the relic in water”, and placed it on the infant who was then
revived “as though she had never been ill.” Interestingly, this was not the
only time the newspaper reported on Aziz’s healing ability. A month before,
Aziz used the same relic and methods to cure a Miss Cathryn Crawley of a tumor.
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| Rare photograph of Saint John Maron's Syrian Church in Buffalo, New York, 1904. Buffalo Courier, 12 June 1904. Courtesy of Newspapers.com |
Reverend Father George Aziz served Saint John Maron Church from
1904 to 1908 when he returned to Lebanon for several years in March 1908, the
duties and responsibilities that needed his attention remain unclear, but his
absence overlaps with the Young Turk revolution that attempted to put an end to
the Ottoman Empire’s absolute monarchy under Sultan Abdul Hamid II and
democratize the government under the a multi-party constitutional system. As
the movement splintered into various competing factions, the so-called "Three
Paschas” took control of the Ottoman Empire. Aziz left Lebanon, pastored in
Massachusetts for a short time and in 1913 settled in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Here, once again, Aziz worked with the local Syrian American community to move
Saint Ann Maronite Church into its new home at 204 Sumner Avenue in West
Scranton. Among the hundreds in attendance at the new building dedication on 24
August 1913 were Naoum Mokarzel, editor of Al-Hoda newspaper, and Philip
Naufal from the Syrian American newspaper in Boston. Saint Ann’s sanctuary
could seat an estimated 500.
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| A freshly shaven, Rev. George Aziz, 1913. The Times Tribune (Scranton), 16 August 1913. Courtesy of Newspapers.com |
In the spring of the following year, Aziz recorded two
Christmas songs for Columbia Records E-series. While Columbia and Victor had
previously recorded professional Arab singers in the Middle East Columbia had
yet to record an Arab immigrant to the United States. Victor had only in 1913,
recorded Alexander Maloof, but these were 1) only piano solos with no vocals,
and 2) Victor only printed Maloof’s labels in English. Aziz with violin
accompaniment recorded Columbia E Series 1867, # 39380/#39381 – Sabeho Elrab b/w
Samawty Yabatoulatt on 15 May 1914. His only other known commercial recording was on Maloof# 901A & B in March, 1925. A number of news accounts, described Reverend
Aziz’s effort to organize choirs at the church and his extraordinary singing voice. On more than one occasion, betrothed couples
or their families requested that Aziz sing and play the organ or piano at a
wedding, the most publicized of these being the Margaret Kalish’s marriage to Solomon
Karam in back in Buffalo, New York in January 1918. Other priests often invited
Aziz to direct their church’s choirs for funerals and weddings.
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| Rev. George Aziz, Columbia E Series 1867, # 39380/#39381 – Sabeho Elrab b/w Samawty Yabatoulatt Sabeho Elrab #39380 - https://youtu.be/CvyhFSjDrrY Samawty Yabatoulatt #39381- https://youtu.be/P1WQ3mhd_fU |
Nineteen fourteen was a busy year in Aziz’s life for other
reasons as well, yet his primary job remained the creation of healthy and
enjoyable religious and cultural spaces for the Syrian/Lebanese community of Scranton.
Fourteen days after Rev. Aziz recorded for Columbia Records, he became a
naturalized citizen of the United States. Ironically, the courts had not
settled the issue of how the federal government would racially classify
Syrians/Lebanese yet. Rev. Aziz opened the doors of his church to other pastors,
but actively labored to make Saint Anne’s a comfortable social space for his
church’s members and others Syrian in West Scranton. Aziz instituted regular
Euchre tournaments and visitors also played tawleh or backgammon. During the winter
months, Saint Ann also held what the newspapers described as “ old time dance
and entertainments ” and also an annual bazaar or “Oriental Fair.”
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| An article announcing the dedication of Saint Ann Maronite Church in West Scranton, Pennsylvania, referred to Rev. Aziz as the "canary of the church" and noted his "splendid singing voice." The Scranton Truth, 16 August 1913. Courtesy of Newspapers.com |
Some of Aziz’s personal and professional connections serve
as a reminder that the Syrian/Lebanese mahjar stretched beyond the borders of
the United States. Rev. Sekrolla Morad, a Maronite priest from Mexico visited
Saint Ann in October, 1913. Rev. Morad
was a friend of Aziz from Syria. Syrian/Lebanese immigration to Mexico
stretched back to 1892, around the same time Lebanese immigrants began coming
to the United States in any significant number. By 1930, approximately 100,000
Lebanese/Syrian immigrants had come to Mexico. The majority, like those who
came to the United States, identified as Maronite, Melkite, or Orthodox
Christians. In 1919, Aziz visited Sekrolla in Mexico City and conducted other
business including the collection of personal debt.
Reverend Aziz also visited Maronite churches in other states
and travelled south for much needed breaks. According to the work of Professor
Philip Hitti, some 37 Maronite churches operated in the United States in
1924. Of course, cities familiar to
students of Syrian/Lebanese American history scholars, maintained congregations
including Brooklyn and Manhattan, Michigan City, Detroit, Atlanta, several
cities in Massachusetts, and a number of cities in Ohio and Pennsylvania. In fact, Fr. Francis Wakim of Saint Joseph's Maronite Church at 57 Washington Street, in New York City's Little Syria, vouched for Rev. Aziz on a 1919 Passport application (The cornerstone for Saint Joseph was uncovered in the rubble of the World Trade Center in 2002 and now sits in Brooklyn's Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Cathedral). In the summer of 1914, Aziz went on a much-deserved
holidays in Texas, Missouri and Louisiana. At the time, there were no Maronite congregations
any of these states although they all had Syrian/Lebanese populations.
Officiating weddings, funerals, and serving as a
representative of the church at local, regional, and state events occupied much
of Reverend Aziz’s time whether it was his early years in Buffalo, his time in
West Scranton, a brief stint in Cleveland, or the last twelve years of his life
mostly in Birmingham, Alabama. At one funeral in 1917, a robbery of the
churches “poor box” exacerbated an already sorrowful event. Other funerals
filled Aziz’s schedule as immigrant generation Syrian/Lebanese in the
communities Aziz served aged and passed on. Equally somber, but less sorrowful
were meeting of the Maronite and Catholic clergy or those such local
dignitaries. In 1930, Aziz, along with
dozens of other clergy and state politicians, attended the installation of St.
Bernard’s College new President Bernard Menges. Not only did Aziz serve his own
parishioners, he married Syrian Maronite couples from as far away as Nashville,
Tennessee. For instance, the Boakle and Rasha marriage was the talk of the town
in the Fall 1931.The Michael Mansour-Mayme Bohorfoush wedding stood out as one
of the largest in the city in 1932. Finally, when prominent business man,
wholesaler, and long-time Birmingham resident from Zahleh, Salime G. Tobia died
in 1933, Aziz officiated the service. Priests celebrated with families during
their joyous highs and grieved with families during their mournful lows.
Birmingham, Alabama’s Saint Elias church retained Reverend George
Aziz twice from 1920 to 1923 and again from 1929 to 1934. According to Saint Elias
Church history, during his first tenure Father Aziz “rewrote the music and
Arabic phonetically so the choir and parishioners could fully participate in
the Liturgy.” Increasingly, second generation US-born Arab Americans may have
spoken and understood spoken Arabic, but were less likely to read Arabic
script. These generational changes and assimilation, especially in smaller
communities that did not take in newer waves of Arab immigrants, no longer read
handwritten or printed Arabic. By providing transliterated Arabic, younger
people could hold onto traditions that many smaller communities of Syrian and
Lebanese Americans eventually lost.
Second of two passport applications filed by Rev. George Aziz. This one in 1921. Courtesy of Ancestry.com
In between his time in Birmingham, Aziz completed a brief
stint in Cleveland, Ohio, at Saint Maron’s where he directed the choir and Fr.
Louis Zouain served as the pastor. Aziz recorded Maloof # 901 "Mt. Lebanon National Song" on a 10" disc and later "Lebanon" on a 12" Maloof disc in 1925 in Gennett’s
New York recording studio. While in New York, Aziz visited with long-time
friend and fellow priest, Rt. Rev. Msg. Francis Wakim at Saint Joseph’s
Maronite Church on 57 Washington Street in the heart of New York City’s Little
Syria.
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| Rev. Fr. George Aziz appears to have recorded for two Maloof sessions. Dick Spottswood lists "Lebanon" as a 12" disc recorded for Maloof in March 1925. We recently acquired this 10" disc "Mt. Lebanon National Song" by Rev. Fr. Aziz. Courtesy of Richard Breaux collection. |
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| From the collection of Richard Breaux. https://youtu.be/s1wNyYZBG_w |
In 1935, Reverend
George Aziz returned to Lebanon for what, it turns out, would be his last time.
Exactly why he left Saint Elias in Birmingham, Alabama remains unclear. Despite
all the time he spent in the United States and his US citizenship, Rev. George
Aziz died in Mount Lebanon, Syria, 23 March 1936. The only documentation
related to his death we could locate was a lone announcement in the Scranton
Republican newspaper.
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| Announcement of "Rev. George Aziz's death," 2 May 1936, Scranton Republican. Courtesy of Newspapers.com |
Richard M. Breaux
© Midwest Mahjar
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