RE: what is Jewish Music?

[Jewish Music Institute <jewishmusic...>]

For your interest the Jewish Music Institute uses the following 
explanation/definition
for its work in Jewish Music

What is Jewish music?
Jewish music stems from ancient prayer chants which are the most ancient forms 
of
notated music known to musicologists, and yet are still in current practice 
today.
Jewish music includes both sacred and secular music - ethnic and folk, 
classical, and
popular as well as all variations of religious and liturgical music used in the
Synagogue and in the home. Jewish music has been an important influence on the 
music of
other religions and cultures and in turn it has been inspired and influenced by 
the
indigenous traditions where Jews have lived. Therefore, to consider Jewish 
music is
always to consider history, geography, religion, society, culture, nationality,
linguistics, psychology, identity and emotion, alongside the familiar musical
categories.  Jewish music today encompasses a wide diversity of musical 
traditions and
Jewish songs are sung in many different languages.

Geraldine Auerbach MBE
Director, Jewish Music Institute
The School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG
Tel +44 (0)20 7898 4308   Fax +44 (0)20 7898 4309
E-mail jewishmusic (at) jmi(dot)org(dot)uk
Website www.jmi.org.uk

Don't forget KlezFest London 1-4 july
http://www.jmi.org.uk/klezfest





-----Original Message-----
From: owner-jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org [mailto:owner-jewish-music (at) 
shamash(dot)org]On Behalf Of
Elrosen (at) aol(dot)com
Sent: 02 May 2001 04:10
To: World music from a Jewish slant
Subject: Re: A nice surprise?

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



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