Re: What is Jewish Music?

[wiener <wiener...>]

I haven't read Wiesel on this subject, but I'm sure that he knows of
the Haggadah's passage "B'chol dor vador".  To quote from just one
Haggadah's notes, "when Jews recite it [the Haggadah], they are
performing an act not of remembrance but of personal identification in
the here and now."

Far be it for me to equate my empathy for Holocaust survivors to being
a survivor, but I do believe that as Jews we see ourselves as a people
with a shared history and experience.  I would encourage those who are
not survivors themselves (or children of survivors) to attempt to
understand and feel the Shoah as they do.  And if music facilitates
that process, I would encourage them to make and listen to such music.
To say, you can never understand, so don't even try, is, I think,
counter-productive.

Bob

BTW, this thread resonates with my study of the relationship of Blacks
and Jews in music.  Some feel that Jews have no right to sing the
blues.

-----Original Message-----
From: AGREENBA (at) aol(dot)com <AGREENBA (at) aol(dot)com>
To: World music from a Jewish slant <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
Date: Tuesday, June 05, 2001 10:53 PM
Subject: Re: What is Jewish Music?



<< Elie Weisel has written on this subject.  As I recall, he's pretty
circumspect
about much of the 'Holocaust art' done by non-survivors.  As a
non-survivor
who
addressed the unspeakable, I'm curious as to the experiences of others
on the
list. >>

Interestingly, when I performed with/led my synagogue?s youth klezmer
ensemble at our town?s Holocaust remembrance this year, people
complimented
me profusely on the presentation. Although most always grateful and
gracious
when accepting compliments I felt very uneasy about these compliments.
I feel
that such performances  aren?t or shouldn?t be really up for
evaluation on
such occasions. Additionally, I was asked if I enjoyed someone else?s
performance. I said quite frankly it wasn?t right for me or up to me
to give
a response as the occasion shouldn?t entertain criticism, either way.

To further address how others experience their own performances or
performances of others, I can say that I do feel much more comfortable
with
my group?s current Shoah presentation than I have with any other
(professional) offering in past years because our violinist, child of
survivors, brings her father?s experience as narrative in front of our
musical offering, while we (including Cookie of course as well) weave
the
music in and out of the story line, although not always directly
relating to
the actual prose. What?s important for me is that the focus is quite
different and doesn?t therefore beg the question of whether our music
is
performed well or whether the selections as a whole or individually
are
appropriate - or....not. The music serves the narrative and is there
as the
?right? backdrop for the poignancy of our presentation - we hope.
Changing
the focus and having Cookie move us in the right direction relieves me
of
much of the angst that could possibly be associated with my not being
a child
of survivors, not ever being able to express what she can in a
Holocaust
?concert.?


Adrianne (Klezical Tradition)

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