[HANASHIR:9710] RE: new melodies

[Fifth Avenue <jbielan...>]

I just wanted to echo what others have already said.  As Rachel so
wisely stated, objections remind us of the passion evoked by music.

As I write this, I've just gotten off the phone from a conversation with
my Cantor, in which we went over our final musical itinerary for Rosh
Hashanah.  As I'm sure is the case with some of you, ours is an eclectic
musical itinerary.  Along with some of the settings which I've composed,
we're using selections by Issacson, Friedman and a host of other fine
composers.  We're also doing many familiar melodies.

Some of the selections will feature our whole musical ensemble.  Others
will be a cappella Cantorial pieces.  Some will feature the Cantor and
his wife (who also has an exquisite voice) with myself on piano, while
still others will feature full choir.  We are also doing some choral
quartet selections - with and without accompaniment.

Our motives when doing arrangements, melody and setting selections are
to make choices which we hope will legitimately inspire congregants, and
well as emotionally move them.  For many, traditional melodies feel like
home.  Others have told me that some of the more eclectic selections
contribute to making services feel more pertinent to them.  I can't
count how many times congregants have come-up to me after services
having exact opposite reactions to the same piece!  (".... jeez, did you
have to do 'Ein Kelohenu' again?" versus "...when you did that piece, it
reminded me of when I was a child sitting in shuel."  Or - "... I loved
that new melody of
'Bar'chu'... it brought me to tears"  versus ".... that new melody was
nice - but couldn't you have just done something more familiar?")

Bottom line: you're not going to please all the people all the time.
The fact of the matter is that, along with all its other extraordinary
components,  music - liturgical or otherwise -  is still art and will
therefore be received on an individually subjective basis.  Someone's
gonna hate what someone else loves - and there's no way to change that.

My personal opinion is that we need not continually attempt to invoke
the wisdom of King Solomon in making musical selections. We work as hard
as possible, pray for guidance and do the best that we can: period.
I'd like to think that each of us holds the esteemed positions which we
do because God wants us to be there.  As a result, we go with our hearts
and our God-given musical intuition as to what will best contribute to
the holiness of each moment.  If God trusts us, I guess we have to trust
ourselves - no matter what the macher (sp?) in the third row says.

For some, my congregation's High Holidays instrumentation is far too
radical.  Accompanying our esteemed cantor Ron Li-Paz (who has an
utterly magnificent voice) we have a thirty-five voice choir plus myself
playing piano, classical guitar, flute and three violins.

A friend of mine who regularly attends services at Chabad came to one of
our services a few years ago.  At the conclusion of the service, I asked
him what he thought.  His reaction was,
"...it was very nice.  However, you didn't tell me I would be attending
'Rosh Hashanah - The Musical'!"

For him, as I'm sure it would be for some on this esteemed list, what we
do doesn't suit him.  However, for many others in this era of exciting
"Friday Night Live" Shabbat services and instrumentations and music
designed for many contemporary worshippers, maybe we're quite as radical
as we used to be.  The fact of the matter is that we draw 1,400 people
for High Holidays year after year - so I guess it must be working for
someone.

And for me, because our congregation doesn't do second day Rosh Hashanah
services, on those days  I often wind-up worshipping at conservative
Valley Beth Shalom in Encino or orthodox Chabad of the Conejo.

No flutes, no violins.

Who knew?

Jack Bielan