Re: Jewish music

[Rick Fisel <rfisel...>]

Shalom,

I'm Rick Fisel, sometime Yiddish singer and at times, accordion player. I've
sung solo and with the Zamir Chorale of Boston and folk-oriented Yiddish
choirs in the San Francisco area. I've studied Yiddish language and music, and
look eagerly for snippets of history on the Yiddish theater. Lately, I have
been less involved as a performer of Jewish music (I'm working on a Broadway
score), but I still love to listen.

I am not religious, but I have found many religious pieces musically delightful,
especially the older cantorial repertoire. I must admit, however, my heart is
usually in the folky, secular pieces.

Intro completed, I wanted to respond to a recent post that said:

> I do not think that Klezmer is inherently Jewish.
> Recently I came across some Turkish music, and if you shut your
> eyes, you can see (Lehavdil) Chassidim dancing around.

While it is true that Yiddish tunes and even the usual instruments and
performance practices used are similar to Greek or Turkish cultures, I don't
think that makes them less Jewish. Sharing musical material with other cultures
is typical of all folk music, and "ethnically pure" musical material is
generally impossible to come by. To neglect such music because it is shared
is to deprive one's self.

> The only Jewish music we have is the Layning (reading the Torah)
> which has a Trop (rudimentary system of encoding music) of which
> there are three or four varieties. Even these have suffered the
                                                     ^^^^^^^^
> effects of dispersement.

Or enriched by the influx of new musical ideas, take your pick.

Rick

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