Fwd: Response to Rootsworld commentary, re: Wieder Magan

[Joel Bresler <jbresler...>]

For the information of the group.

Best, Joel

>Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2000 09:42:45 -0500
>To: Joel Bresler <jbresler (at) ma(dot)ultranet(dot)com>
>From: cliff <cliff (at) rootsworld(dot)com>
>Subject: Response to Rootsworld commentary
>
>Below is Aaron Howard's response to your comments (and those in the guest 
>book)
>These are also posted on the web site now.
>
>Thanks again for your thoughtful comments and our further conversations on 
>this and other subjests.
>
><private message, snipped>

>thanks again
>
>
>cliff
>
>---------------
>
>I thank the two gentlemen for their criticisms of my review.
>
>Of course Mr. Bresler is correct when he says that Jewish cantorial music 
>predated Christian chant by centuries. But my point is that Jewish 
>cantorial music and Christian chant are two separate traditions. I agree 
>that,at the least, Jewish cantorial music would have been known to 
>Christians. But when Mr. Bresler asserts there is a body of scholarship 
>suggesting that "Jewish chant" had an extremely powerful influence on 
>Christian chant, I must ask: when? Certainly Eric Werner in his 
>magnificant book "The Voice Still Heard" does not suggest that happened. 
>Neither does Heskes, Idelsohn or anyone else I am familiar with.
>
>In order for Jewish liturgical music to have had an influence on Christian 
>music, there must have been a time and a setting where there was a free 
>intermingling of the communities-at least among the musical communities. 
>There is scant evidence that this happened. In fact, until the example of 
>Benedetto Marcello in 17th century Venice, borrowing from Jewish music by 
>Christian music was extremely rare.
>
>Mr. Bresler is also correct when he points out that both niggunim and 
>certain sections of the Jewish services are sung solo. But what I was 
>clumsily pointing out is that the Jewish sacred song tradition is 
>essentially a communal art, not a solo art. Ms. Magan's "lone female voice 
>stretching into the darkness" is very much a 20th century expression. 
>Whether the religious songs came from the service, from the pizmonim 
>composed by the composers from Iberia or Safed or the Hassidic niggunim, 
>my point is the thrust of Jewish religious music is not "the lone voice" 
>but a communal voice.
>
>Mr. Cohen is correct that Ladino folk melodies were the special province 
>of women. I never said or meant to imply anything different. In every 
>Jewish community, there was a musical repertoire that was recognized as 
>male and a repertoire that was recognized as female. The fact is that men 
>and women generally were separated in both religious and life cycle 
>observances. The fact remains that until the 19th century, sacred song 
>remained a male domain.
>
>I stand corrected on my text error. I listened over and over to Ms. Magen 
>on my earphones and what I heard was "lachen", not "rachem". I couldn't 
>figure out where this was coming from as Mr. Bresler is correct that the 
>word does not appear in the text. This was a serious error on my part. 
>-Aaron Howard
>
>
>********************
>
>Cliff Furnald, editor
>RootsWorld, the online magazine of the world's music
>cliff (at) rootsworld(dot)com
>
>Submit a Link to "The Search For Culture" at http://www.hear.com
>Vote in the RootsWorld Readers' Poll at http://www.rootsworld.com/rw/
>
>RootsWorld, Box 1285, New Haven CT 06505  USA



Joel Bresler
250 E. Emerson Rd.
Lexington, MA 02420 USA

Home:           781-862-2432
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