Re: Rossi

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

Responding to the message of 
<4(dot)2(dot)0(dot)58(dot)20010627133946(dot)00b038f0 (at) jtsa(dot)edu>
from jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org:
> 
> 
> >
> >3) I think the Schubert analogy is indeed a proper one, adjusting for=
>  different Western musical styles growing out of a different time and place.=
>  First of all, incidentally, I've never been sure whether Sulzer=
>  commissioned the piece from Schubert or the latter offered it out of his=
>  own inspiration in honor of Sulzer; I'd be grateful for more information or=
>  evidence bearing on this.  Gradenwitz says Schubert composed Psalm 92 "for=
>  the Viennese synagogue"; neither he nor any other source I consulted speaks=
>  of a commission from Schubert, though that doesn't mean that didn't happen.
> >
> >In any case, as to the (intimated) analogy itself, it referred to the=
>  (Jewish or non-Jewish) *sound* of the music in its time.  Rossi, to quote=
>  Alfred Sendrey (THE MUSIC OF THE JEWS IN THE DIASPORA), "[composed]=
>  entirely new music in the style of his time and [introduced] it into the=
>  synagogue"--or that, Sendrey says, was his intention.  And Gradenwitz=
>  observes that this was "the first step in the process of assimilation [a=
>  term which Sendrey, btw, rejects, though I'm not really clear why--perhaps=
>  more out of the negative connotation that he imputes to the word; he=
>  regards it, perhaps, as bad rather than good assimilation, to invoke a more=
>  contemporary dichotomy] which Hebrew religious music underwent in the=
>  European countries; Sulzer [that brings us next door, as it were, to=
>  Schubert], Lewandowski, Naumbourg, and others completed this musical=
>  assimilation in the nineteenth century."  Though Schubert--obviously a=
>  non-Jew--did not intend to create a new genre of synagogue music, I was not=
>  speaking of, or comparing, his and Rossi's intentions.  Rather, Schubert=
>  also set a Hebrew text, as Rossi set Hebrew texts, in the Western European=
>  art music style of *his* time and place--*that* is the analogy.  Neither=
>  "sounds Jewish" to us, at least, presumably because they don't have=
>  traditional Jewish musical elements.  In this regard, Joshua Jacobson's=
>  uncovering of what he thinks may have been an extant Jewish liturgical=
>  musical motif in one of Rossi's works is, of course, potentially=
>  significant and might modify the above; though even Jacobson, I gather, is=
>  uncertain which came first.
> >
> >No, Robert, I do not believe the Schubert analogy is a proper one. Schubert=
>  wrote masses for his religious musical expression. Whether practicing or=
>  not, he was a Catholic. Rossi was a Jew. He was known as "l'Ebreo," or,=
>  "The Hebrew," and was exempted from the sumptuary laws--hence he was=
>  recognized by his employer, the Duke of Mantua, as a Jew. While we do not=
>  know whether his music contains traditional Jewish motifs, we can identify=
>  that it is composed in a late-sixteenth century, polyphonic, a cappella=
>  style. This was certainly a Christian style and not to dissimilar from=
>  Palestrina's church music.
> 
> However, I would maintain that if he intended these motets to be an=
>  expression of his Jewish spirituality, then it is indeed "Jewish music"=
>  composed by a Jew for Jewish purposes (Curt Sachs' definition). As someone=
>  who is very familiar with Renaissance polyphony, to hear this style of=
>  music sung to Hebrew sacred texts, to me it sounds very "Jewish."=20
> 
> Eliott Kahn
> 
I've been laying out of most of this because I'm no Rossi maven, but I'm 
enjoying it nonetheless.  It's all been informed and well-considered.  What I'm 
really enjoying though is the degree to which it seems that everyone wants to 
claim Rossi as Jewish music despite its 'non-Jewish' sound.  This vindicates the
notion of Jewish purpose that is intrinsic to the way I define Jewish music.

There's a subtext to this as well.  We (and it seems to be true of all 
contributors) want to lay claim to Rossi because we feel that there is an 
artistic integrity there regardless of whether there is nusach or not.  More 
simply put, beyond the Jewish purpose inherent in its texts and uses, we claim 
it because we like it.

It seems to me that we've had similar discussions of Debbie Friedman, for whom 
the 'Jewish' case is similar to Rossi, based on test and purpose, and many on 
this list want to disown or disclaim her because they think it's shlock.  I'm 
happy to say that Debbie Friedman is Jewish music and even that I think the 
enthusiastic response she gets from many people (though not me) is good for 
Judaism.  She's also done stuff for HIV/AIDS activism and I'll bet she's a gite 
neshama.  

In any case, this thread has served us all well in sorting out some of the 
complexities of what it might mean for something to be Jewish music.  Also nice 
to change from the usual subjects.  Good going, folks.





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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