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jewish-music
Re: A nice surprise?
- From: Alex J. Lubet <lubet001...>
- Subject: Re: A nice surprise?
- Date: Wed 02 May 2001 03.37 (GMT)
Responding to the message of <e5(dot)5bf29b3(dot)2820d47b (at) aol(dot)com>
from jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org:
>
> In a message dated 5/1/01 9:07:23 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
> Warschauer (at) aol(dot)com writes:
>
> << Hmmmm... does this question lead to a quagmire as sticky as the question
> "what is Jewish Music?" ;-) >>
>
> I'm sure this question has been addressed before on the list and probably
> been endlessly debated, but since Jeff did bring it up.... How would everyone
>
> here define Jewish music?
> I'm inclined to follow the Idelson approach and say that the inclusion of
>
> a Jewish mode would merit the title "Jewish Music". But, after being attacked
>
> by many of my peers for excluding the music of R' Carlebach, MBD, Avraham
> Fried etc.("How can you not call it Jewish Music?!?!?! It's written by Jews,
> and we listen to it!!!"), I'm forced to rethink my position. Just because
> Jews listen to it, does the music deserve to be identified from a
> musicological standpoint as being "Jewish"? Would the music of those whose
> names I mentioned above, in addition to that of modern songwriters such as
> Debbie Friedman (though I am not too familiar with her work) be considered
> Jewish?
> If a Jewish songwriter composes a tune in swing rhythm, but includes passages
>
> from psalms or the prayer book would that make it Jewish? What if the
> audience is mostly Orthodox? Many make the (somewhat shaky) assumption that
> they are the ones whose ties to Jewish CULTURE are the strongest (the
> division of Torah and culture is another debate altogether). If most Orthodox
>
> Jews do listen to it, has it attained the status of being "Jewish"? This is a
>
> question I'm forced to reply to almost every day.
>
> Kol Tuv,
> Elie
>
>
>
> . An article on Wolf Krakowski, forthcoming in Polin, takes a utilitarian
stance on this issue, noting that music used by Jews to propagate Jewish life is
Jewish music. Pretty inclusive, I know, but better that than divisiveness.
Having written the article myself, I tend to agree with the author (as I do most
of the time).
Alex Lubet, Ph. D.
Morse Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor of Music
Adjunct Professor of American and Jewish Studies
University of Minnesota
2106 4th St. S
Minneapolis, MN 55455
612 624-7840 612 624-8001 (fax)
---------------------- jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org ---------------------+
- Re: A nice surprise?, (continued)
- A nice surprise?,
Reyzl Kalifowicz-Waletzky
- A nice surprise?,
Lori Cahan-Simon
- Re: A nice surprise?,
WINSTON WEILHEIMER
- Re: A nice surprise?,
Warschauer
- Re: A nice surprise?,
WINSTON WEILHEIMER
- Re: A nice surprise?,
Elrosen
- Re: A nice surprise?,
Alex J. Lubet
- RE: A nice surprise?,
Reyzl Kalifowicz-Waletzky
- RE: A nice surprise?,
Trudi Goodman
- RE: A nice surprise?,
HNetsky