Re: Debbie Friendman in New Orleans (fwd)a question

[Adrian A. Durlester <durleste...>]

On Thu, 15 Dec 1994 HEBASS (at) jtsa(dot)edu wrote:

> I love Debbie Friedman's music and I have several of her tapes myself.
> But when I am davvening, I rarely resort to her compositions.  I would
> like to hear people's oppinions about this.  I know that Philip did not
> have this discussion in mind when he wrote his message, but maybe it is
> time that we talk a little about what do we expect from Jewish music.

Frankly, I think it boils down to this: what works for you. I am the
keyboard player for our congregation (admittedly, Reform, but as is common
in small town, fairly traditional in spirit.) We use quite a bit of
Debbie's music in the service, along with works by Jeff Klepper, Julie
Silver, and other contemporary artists. We can get in to the discussion
about whether one can truly play the keyboard and daven at the same time,
but lets put that aside for now. For me, when I play, I pray. The music
really takes me to a higher plane, and often I get to the end of a song
and never know how I got there.

Also, not all prayer need be introspective. More "up" tunes can be just
as appropriate for certain parts of the service.

However, sometimes the mechanics of making music can interfere. No doubt
about it. But it happens with non-contemporary melodies just as well as
modern ones!

I've more to say on this, but have little time. Hope to continue this
discussion when I can be a little more thoughtful and less speaking
impromptu.

Adrian A. Durlester

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