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Re: Max Bruch, Penny's worth
- From: Spudicmikhl <Spudicmikhl...>
- Subject: Re: Max Bruch, Penny's worth
- Date: Thu 31 Jan 2002 14.27 (GMT)
In a message dated 1/31/2002 3:19:31 AM Eastern Standard Time,
combrink (at) herzlia(dot)com writes:
> At the risk of offending every-one on the list, my penny's worth. I am
> Catholic but work at a Jewish School in South Africa. Why should it seem odd
> for a non-Jew to write a "Kol Nidrei", and why would it have to be placed in
> a "repulsion-fascination" paradigm?
>
Hi Albert,
Believe me Albert, as much as it is fascinating that you are a
Catholic working at a Jewish School in South Africa, please be aware that
there are a mulitude of opinions expressed on this list from people of every
background, including non-Jewish. It would be hard to offend every-one on
this list.
As to the question of why it should seem odd for a non-Jew to write a
"Kol-Nidrei" and that this question should be placed into a
"repulsion-fascination" paradigm, I'm wondering how you inferred this issue
from the discussion thus far. As this is a list concerned with Jewish music,
and historical antecedents such as the European holocaust do have
implications upon the further development of a tradition of Jewish music, I
believe it is relevant to discuss issues such as Wagner's anti-semitism.
Or in a more latent sense, the idea that a non-Jew would write music
based on Jewish sources (perfectly plausible) and in the context of
pre-holocaust Europe? Is it not relevant to examine what it was that would
cause Bruch and later his family to double over backwards to explain that
they weren't Jewish. I just found the explanation in this comprehensive
biography a little bit "dry" and unyielding on this subject. Also I'm not
trying to imply that Bruch and his family needed to be absolute philo-semites
in order for me to enjoy his setting of the "Kol Nidrei." Bruch lived
through the Bismarckian period and was a champion of German Unification, was
very much a nationalist, and with that political foundation it should come as
no surprise that he would enjoy the musical mileage that his setting of the
"Kol Nidrei" would garner among Jewish communities around the world (witness
his letter that I cited, whereby Bruch mentions this "added bonus") while at
the same time, find it expedient to deny that he was Jewish when the topic
would come up. Of course, with Hitler's ascension to power, his family found
it even more than expedient to contact the appropriate authorities to
formalize their Christian status.
Finally, on a more personal note, as someone raised Catholic in New
York, I truly understand the universalist thrust of your email, and the
issues raised. But again, I respectfully disagree that there ever was a
focus upon whether a non-Jew can set the "Kol-Nidrei." In light of the
murder and expulsion of millions of Jews from Christian Europe, I would not
purport to sit here and explain what were the roots of that. However, when
participating in a forum that has a focus upon Jewish music (and by extension
Jewish culture and history), I truly believe that the mindset of a Max Bruch
is truly interesting when considering the Jewish/German historical
experience, not to mention the physical and psycological onus of being a Jew
in Europe into the 1930s. Yes, being a musician and looking at music from a
musician's perspective is most valid and relevant. But without more context,
one fails to see the greater forest (or sorry to say often greater wasteland)
from the humble trees. That context does not have to question the artistic
greatness of an artist's work, but can inform us at other levels that clearly
enrich the aesthetic experience.
PS You mentioned Albert that you had never heard of the "Kol Nidrei" being
performed during religious services. On this list, there was a discussion
about the theremin several months ago, and someone wrote that in Los Angeles,
there is a tradition at one of the synagogues of listening to Bruch's setting
of the "Kol Nidrei" as performed on a theremin! That's America, that's
eclecticism, and I guess that is the complex situation of the multitude and
variety of music heard in synagogues around the world.