[HANASHIR:9711] RE: new melodies

[Rabbi Richard Schachet <lvrabbi...>]

I want to echo Jack Bielan's remarks-  Jack is a brillian musician and 
composer.  His new CD is great.  I would love to see Jack put out a book of his 
music.. as well as his arrangements of the more traditional pieces.

By the way, he speaks of his Cantor and the Cantor's wife.  I believe if angels 
could sing they would sound like them.. also with the choir of Jack's 
congregation adding to the beauty.

If you ever have a chance go to their services for a very special treat.

I for one am very moved by "Rosh HaShanah, the musical."  It adds a lot of 
spirituality to my own worship.

Yasher Koach Jack.
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Fifth Avenue 
  To: hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org 
  Sent: Monday, September 03, 2001 12:31 PM
  Subject: [HANASHIR:9710] RE: new melodies


  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