MUS 314 – Music of the Jewish People

The Cambridge Dictionary of Judaism and Jewish Culture is an authoritative and accessible reference work for a twenty-first-century audience. Its entries, written by eminent scholars, define the spiritual and intellectual concepts and religious movements that distinguish Judaism and the Jewish experience; they discuss central personalities and places, formative events and enduring literary and cultural contributions and they illuminate the lives of ordinary Jewish men and women. Essays explore Jewish history from ancient times to the present and consider all aspects of Judaism, including religious practices and rituals, legal teachings and legendary traditions and rationalism, mysticism and messianism. This reference work differs from many others in its broad exploration of the Jewish experience beyond Judaism. Entries discuss secular and political movements and achievements and delineate Jewish endeavors in literature, art, music, theater, dance, film, broadcasting, sports, science, medicine and ecology, among many other topics from the Bible to the Internet.

The term 'Jewish music' has conveyed complex and diverse meanings for people around the world across hundreds of years. This accessible and comprehensive Companion is a key resource for students, scholars, and everyone with an interest in the global history of Jewish music. Leading international experts introduce the broad range of genres found in Jewish music from the biblical era to the present day, including classical, religious, folk, popular, and dance music. Presenting a range of fresh perspectives on the subject, the chapters explore Jewish liturgy, Klezmer, music in Israel, the music of Yiddish theatre and cinema, and classical music from the Jewish Enlightenment through to the postmodern era. Additional contributions set Jewish music in context and offer an overview of the broader issues that arise in its study, such as questions of Diaspora, ontology, economics, and the history of sound technologies.

Jewish music from the Bible to the present, with musical illustrations and an audio CD Most of us have experienced Jewish music, whether it's through synagogue attendance, a Bar Mitzvah celebration, a klezmer concert, or the playing of Hava Nagila at a baseball game. The many different kinds of Jewish music are reflected by the multitude of Jewish communities throughout the world, each having its own unique set of experiences and values This book helps put all of that music into a context of Jewish history, philosophy, and sociology. Edelman begins 3,000 years ago, with a brief discussion of music in the Bible, and moves on to examine the nature of folk and liturgical music in the three major Diaspora communities that evolved over centuries, after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. From there she explores music of the 20th century, discussing the explosion of popular music in North America and Israel and its enormous impact on Jews and their musical identities, within the synagogue and outside it. This book will be enjoyed by a wide range of readers with interests in Jewish culture, history, philosophy, and music. unfamiliar with the terminology. At the same time, students of music will appreciate the book for its more than 150 musical illustrations, and its intelligent juxtaposition of the many aspects of Jewish life and practice that combine to provide a stage for Jewish music. All will appreciate the accompanying audio CD.

Noted musicologist Velvel Pasternak has worked to capture and transmit the musical traditions of world Jewish communities. The Jewish Music Companion is dedicated to those topics that represent the broad panorama of Jewish music. Written in an easily understandable manner, the book is comprised of four sections: An Historical Overview; Jewish Music Artists; Annotated Folk songs; and an Appendix. Transcriptions of music with chords are included, as well as a CD with 14 selections representing the spectrum of Jewish folk songs.

Jewish Music: Its History, People, and Song details the importance of instrumental and vocal music to the Jewish people. Rabbi Ronald Isaacs surveys Jewish history and provides a broad study of music in Jewish life.

The purpose of this book is to present a survey of Jewish music to illuminate its special role as a mirror of history, tradition, and cultural heritage. The 27 topical chapters have been placed within a modified chronological perspective to present a historic picture of virtually every important development in Jewish music. The book represents a culmination of several decades of the author's dedicated labor and scholarly study in this field.

This volume examines music's place in the process of Jewish assimilation into the modern European bourgeoisie and the role assigned to music in forging a new Jewish Israeli national identity, in maintaining a separate Sephardic identity, and in preserving a traditional Jewish life. Contributions include "On the Jewish Presence in Nineteenth Century European Musical Life," by Ezra Mendelsohn, "Musical Life in the Central European Jewish Village," by Philip V. Bohlman, "Jews and Hungarians in Modern Hungarian Musical Culture," by Judit Frigyesi, "New Directions in the Music of the Sephardic Jews," by Edwin Seroussi, "The Eretz Israeli Song and the Jewish National Fund," by Natan Shahar, "Alexander U. Boskovitch and the Quest for an Israeli Musical Style," by Jehoash Hirshberg, and "Music of Holy Argument," by Lionel Wolberger. The volume also contains essays, book reviews, and a list of recent dissertations in the field.

The metamorphosis of one Jewish melody, an ancient prayer. We follow its many incarnations -- and finally to the dramatic point where we learn of its connection to the national anthem of the State of Israel.

Draws upon many traditions: klezmer, jazz, Middle-Eastern, Epirus-Albanian and Azerbaijani, and ... bluegrass and Appalachian music. ... An eclectic urban folk-music based upon the Eastern European Jewish tradition.

Illustrates the influence that 19th century European music exerted on Jewish music of that period, filmed in Vienna and St. Petersburg.