Re: Non-Jewish Composers of "Jewish music"

[moshe denburg <denburg...>]

>In article <96Feb8(dot)015323-0800pdt(dot)205212-11912+549 (at) 
>orb(dot)direct(dot)ca>,
>moshe denburg <denburg (at) direct(dot)ca> wrote:
>>authored by anyone but the one Creator. Thus, Schubert, Beethoven,
>>Bernstein, and the Modjitzer Rebbe, are all nought but vehicles of a
>>timeless Divine gift. I don't think there are too many musicians who would
>>argue with this sentiment, though in our search for self-identity we slip up
>>again and again, and limit the N'gina by the limitations of the relatively
>>trivial spheres of our various cultures.
>
>I will argue with this sentiment.  I'm Jewish.  There's no One
>Creator.  And when I compose music, it's hard work.  The evidence from
>Beethoven's sketch books show that it was hard work for him, too.  So
>musical composition is a "Divine Gift" in exactly the same sense that
>clean toilets at the end of the day are a "Divine Gift."
>
Further to the above discussion: 
Though I disagree with your assertion that there is no One Creator, the
sentiment that I expressed does not depend on prior acceptance of this basic
tenet of Judaism.
It is held by many to be a philosophical and psychological truth that our
human will is weaker than we generally admit. I too know the hard work of
composing, or bringing to fruition a creative endeavour; but is this
experience of effort and inconvenience proof that we *will* these creations
into being ourselves? I ask myself this question: when a piece of music that
I make really works, when it feels perfect and beautiful, does that
experience come from my will alone, or am I more of a witness to an event
that transcends my individual will? In other words, don't we, as musicians,
have the experience of 'the whole being more than the simple sum of its
parts'? This is what I intend to point to in my statement, and many, greater
musicians than I have spoken in similar terms.

To wit, Ravi Shankar has spoken of the experience of music making, when
there is an inspired moment, as there being nothing but God playing. Giora
Feidman has explained the term 'Klezmer', which stems from the Hebrew words,
'kli zemer' (meaning - an instrument of song) as alluding to the musician's
experience of being a vehicle of the music - an *instrument* of music. Our
efforts and hard work are all we have, it's true. One can predict that there
will be very little to enjoy without these. But the experience of great joy,
of great beauty, is not so predictable.

Yours,

Moshe Denburg

Moshe Denburg
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