RE: College level Jewish Music course

[Jewish Music Institute <jewishmusic...>]

Alex Knapp has been teaching Jewish music at University in London for the
last ten years. He is probably the only full time lecturer in Jewish music
in any major mainstream University in the world, (unless anyone knows
different!)  He is on sabbatical this semester but would be able to give you
a very good survey of what he considers such a course should entail.  Write
to him at Alex Knapp the School of Oriental and African Studies, University
of London Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG. (He wrote some
of the articles you mention in New Groves I believe).  He has lined up a
project of writing a textbook (when he is finished his book about Bloch).
Geraldine



-----Original Message-----
From: owner-jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org
[mailto:owner-jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org]On Behalf Of
SamWeiss (at) bellatlantic(dot)net
Sent: 28 May 2002 05:03
To: World music from a Jewish slant
Subject: Re: College level Jewish Music course

At 12:28 PM 5/17/02, you wrote:
>Jewish Musical Traditions by Amnon Shiloah, a paperback published by Wayne
>State University Press, which has some helpful material but is rather
>idiosyncratic in its treatment of the subject, I think.

"Idiosyncratic" is too kind a description of this book.  It reads like the
first draft of a poor PhD thesis, and should be used, if at all, with
caution.

Not a history, but a much-overlooked excellent Jewish Music survey book is
"HERITAGE OF MUSIC: The Music of the Jewish People" by Judith Kaplan
Eisenstein, first published in 1972.

Its tone is excellent for an advanced high school class on the subject, but
it can also serve as a core resource book for a college course.  It has 28
short chapters and includes 129 musical examples, most with simplified
arrangements.
You can see the complete contents at
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/detail/-/books/0685565319/slide-
show/104-2822148-1847156#reader-link

_____________________________________________________________
Cantor Sam Weiss === Jewish Community Center of Paramus, NJ


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