his family, which prior to 1813 bore the name of "levi", removed to hohenems from sulz in 1748. he was educated for the cantorate, studying first under the cantors of endingen (switzerland) and karlsruhe, with whom he traveled extensively, and later under salomon eichberg, cantor at hohenems and düsseldorf. in 1820 sulzer was appointed cantor at hohenems, where he modernized the ritual, and introduced a choir. at the insistence of rabbi isaac noah mannheimer of vienna he was called to the austrian capital as chief cantor in 1826. there he reorganized the song service of the synagogue, retaining the traditional chants and melodies, but harmonizing them in accordance with modern views.