Re: The Jewish-American experience

[Rita Klinger <rklinger...>]

Hello Dan-
Thank you for your thoughtful response. Perhaps I wasn't clear, but I am
looking for reference books (or recordings) that contain more than
single pieces of music. Certainly the music you have chosen *is*
representative (your rationale is clear!), but you have identified
individual pieces of music (having, of course, individual composers...)
This compilation is going in a different direction. For instance, if I
needed World Jewish (in general!) material, I might want to
include the recording Shashmaqam (Jewish music from Bukhara and central
asia) or something of FLory Jagoda (Jewish music from Sarajevo). Israeli
material, being more plentiful, might be harder to narrow down, but I
might include:
The Very Best of Israel. (1990). Israel: NMC Music. This cassette
recording contains a variety of popular Israeli songs composed in the folk
style and performed, often by the Israeli artists who originally recorded
each song. Yerushalayim Shel Zahav, Tzena, Hava Nagila, etc.

For book sources, certainly the work of Abraham Binder, Peter Gradenwitz,
Ruth Rubin... but is any of this work distinctly "American?" (!)
So...should I include something ofthe Yiddish theatre period in NY? (I
don't know a source off hand...) Should I include the music of Debbie
Friedman???
What are your thoughts (all the listers!!)
Thanks,
Rita Klinger

On Fri, 22 Mar 1996, Dan Kazez wrote:

> Rita Klinger asks the impossible:
>
>    >If you had to choose only three sources of music
>    >that best represents the Jewish-American musical
>    >experience, what would you include?
>
> Here are my picks:
>
> 1. Harold Arlin, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"
>
>      This was composed by a Jew who was the son of the
>      celebrated cantor Samuel Arluck.  He grew up
>      listening to synagogue music.  Because the most
>      common Jewish-American experience is assimilation
>      and a search for "the good life," this surely
>      makes sense as a top-3 pick.
>
> 2.  Aaron Copeland, Rodeo
>
>      Again, composed by a Jew.  Another common Jewish-
>      American experience is conscious and deliberate
>      celebration of Americana.
>
> 3.  Ernest Bloch, "Schelomo"
>
>      I include this out of guilt--the feeling that I
>      really should include at least one piece of music
>      that "sounds Jewish."
>
> Dan Kazez
>
>    --------------------------------------------------------------------
>    -----------------------Music-on-Jewish-Themes-----------------------
>    --------------------------------------------------------------------
>    ------------------------Daniel-Kazez-cellist------------------------
>    --------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>     1995-96 CONCERTS:  Prague, Berlin, Rome, Florence, Paris, Salzburg,
>     Brussels, London, DeKalb, Toronto, Dayton, Akron, Columbus, Bombay
>
>     Daniel Kazez / Associate Professor of Music
>     Wittenberg University / Springfield, Ohio 45501
>     kazez (at) wittenberg(dot)edu / tel:  513-327-7354 / fax:  513-327-6340
>