Re: What is Jewish Music redux?

[Alex J. Lubet <lubet001...>]

Responding to the message of <F761Gj03oHMwVN7miR900002136 (at) hotmail(dot)com>
from jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org:
> 
> I admire George's bracing take on this subject--and his exulting in our 
> music's variety today ("Philo-Semitic music"--a great coinage!  Can I borrow 
> it?), but I differ with him in his first principle!  If one accepts Richard 
> Neuman's definition, which I've proferred before, that Jewish music is "the 
> music of Jews in a given time and place"--i.e., Jews know/determine what 
> Jewish music is--than we *don't* have to answer "Who Is a Jew?" in order to 
> answer "What Is Jewish Music?"  And in the case of any given piece of music, 
> you don't have to determine the Jewishness (or not) of the composer (or 
> transmitter, or adapter, or whatever) to get a sense of whether the music is 
> considered by amcha to be Jewish music.
> 
> This understanding parallels, by the way, a definition I read of folk music 
> generally--it may have been by the same Norm Cohen I've cited elsewhere, but 
> I'm not sure--as music which folk music audiences accept as folk music!  
> It's really a pretty close parallel, in fact.
> 
> A (related) footnote, btw:  I *don't* accept Pete Rushefsky's view that 
> "Non-Jews can determine for themselves that a music is Jewish, even if no 
> Jew agrees with them."  Richard Neuman's definition suggests that that's 
> almost exactly, 180 degrees (or is it 360?--I'm never sure) not so:  Only 
> Jews determine what's Jewish music.  Only you can prevent forest fires.  But 
> you don't have to be Jewish to love Jewish rye--or Jewish music.
> 
> Obviously losing it,
> 
> Robert Cohen
> 
> 
> To be blunt, in order to
> >answer the question, "What is Jewish music?" we have to be willing to
> >answer a more fundamental and dangerous question, "What is a Jew?"
> >
> >I'm not revealing any secrets when I say that question is a minefield.
> 
> _________________________________________________________________
In my younger days, I accepted a few commssions from churches on the condition 
that I approve the texts, which had to be 'Old Testament' and in a translation I
found acceptable.  I had much better luck getting these commissions, from 
churches where people thought that having something 'Jewish-sounding' would 
connect them with their 'roots.'

I won't do it now.  I've seen too much misappropriation of Jewish culture and I 
simply refuse to advance Christian worship through my work.  (On the other hand,
as much as I reject all Christian teachings, I wouldn't call something many of 
my friends believe in wholeheartedly 'narishkeyt,' out of the same respect for 
their believe that I wish they would have for mine.)

None of this should surprise us, by the way.  Our entire Torah has been 
appropriated and interpreted in ways that violate our intent and interests for
2K years.  And by the way, McDonald's defines the 'classic bagel' as one topped 
with ham and cheese.

 

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)

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