Jews in classical music

Discussion in 'Classical Music' started by tones, May 12, 2005.

  1. tones

    tones compulsive cantater

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    The following odd rambling had (to use an appropriately Old Testament term) its genesis in listening to a Bach cantata. The cantatas are, I believe, one of mankind's greatest musical achievements, yet, it occurred to me, to Jewish ears, they are not only distinctly non-kosher, but also sometimes downright blasphemous. I find this rather sad, but of course completely understandable. (We have the odd circumstance that the revival of Bach was started by a Jew, Felix Mendelssohn (grandson of the great Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn), and his performance of the St. Matthew Passion, but the Mendelssohns had converted to Lutheranism – Felix even composed a “Reformation†symphony).

    Jewish contributions to civilisation are far out of all proportion to their numbers. For good or ill, they have given the world all three great monotheistic religions (remember that in Islam, Abraham and Jesus are the second- and third-ranking prophets after Mohammed, and one of the major bases of Christianity is that Jesus fulfilled the whole Jewish law). And this year is the centenary of the extraordinary year in which a Swiss Patent Office clerk called Einstein changed forever the way the universe would be perceived.

    These extraordinary gifts apparently do not extend to music. Not that the Jews weren't fond of music. Read the Psalms – they're full of celebrating God by singing and dancing:

    praise him with tambourine and dancing,
    praise him with the strings and flute,
    praise him with the clash of cymbals,
    praise him with resounding cymbals.
    Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
    Praise the LORD.
    (Ps.150:4-6 (NIV))

    (And of course anyone who has ever attended a Jewish wedding will know what a joyous musical outpouring they can be).

    Although reconstructions of Temple music have been attempted, nobody really knows how this music was performed. The destruction of the Temple by the Romans in AD70 after the Zealot revolt and the scattering of the Jews brought that to an end. As what we now know as classical music was written initially for the church and the nobility, from both of which the Jews were effectively barred, it is perhaps not surprising that Jewish contributions to classical music are relatively thin on the ground. The art of the synagogue cantor continues to this day, and Jewish themes have intermingled with the folk and gipsy music of eastern Europe, but there was relatively little effect on mainstream classical. We all know of the prodigious number of great Jewish artists, but where are the great Jewish composers? There were some minor Jewish composers in the 18th century, but for major contributions we had to wait for Mendelssohn, Mahler and Bloch, and of these three Bloch is the only one who is consciously Jewish. There is also Lenny Bernstein. Have I left anyone out? Am I totally up the creek?

    (P.S. Having written this, I did a quick Google and found this:

    http://www.jbuff.com/c080703.htm

    which fills in some of my gaps – diodn't know Strauss was Jewish).
     
    tones, May 12, 2005
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  2. tones

    Joe

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    Bob Dylan and Lou Reed.
     
    Joe, May 12, 2005
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  3. tones

    NickM

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    Bloch - the most frustrating of composers. The first work of his I heard, long, long ago was "Schelomo". What a wonderful work that is; and I have been looking for another by Bloch that measures up to it ever since - with a conspicuous lack of success.

    The Violin Concerto is not bad; the Sacred Service has its moments; Hiver/Printemps and the first part of the Israel Symphony are pretty good (but the Israel Symphony goes rapidly downhill). I really liked the Fifth String Quartet when I was 20. It strives and struggles and eventually, in its final bars, achieves a rare serenity. But 30 years later that closing passage hardly seems worth all the effort that has gone into getting there.

    A year ago, I discovered klezmer (for the uninitiated, this is Jewish traditional music for weddings and other rites of passage - although the tradition has now branched out in all directions, resulting in a very diverse genre). An excellent primer for the many strands of contemporary klezmer is the Rough Guide CD:

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00004U1GM/qid=1115889319/026-4861656-5619621
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 12, 2005
    NickM, May 12, 2005
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  4. tones

    tones compulsive cantater

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    I didn't say decomposers!
     
    tones, May 12, 2005
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  5. tones

    Joe

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    But, but, Lou Reed had a record out on RCA Red Seal, so he must be a classical composer!
     
    Joe, May 12, 2005
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  6. tones

    tones compulsive cantater

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    No, no, Joe, you misread it, it said that he sounded like a red seal! (which, by the way, is a darn sight better than Mr. Zimmermann ever sounded).
     
    tones, May 12, 2005
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  7. tones

    Joe

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    David Bowie describes Zimmerman's voice as 'sand and glue', but he's just being kind.

    I've never heard 'Metal Machine Music', but it is clearly modelled on the works of Stockhausen and other atonalists:

    'But if one is able to listen to Metal Machine Music with an open mind, astounding patterns and textures emerge from the cacophonous roar. Amid the squealing sonic destruction lies an almost transcendent, cathartic beauty that can only be experienced from excessive noise and volume'

    Or, as Lou Reed himself said of the original vinyl album:

    'Anyone who makes it through to side 4 is even dumber than I am'.
     
    Joe, May 12, 2005
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  8. tones

    tones compulsive cantater

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    My favourite description of Dylan's voice is from "The Times" - "a cross, elderly drone".
     
    tones, May 12, 2005
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  9. tones

    Dynamic Turtle The Bydo Destroyer

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    Well, if you're goint to include Reed & Dylan, then I also think Lennon deserves a mention!!

    "Jewish contributions to civilisation are far out of all proportion to their numbers. For good or ill, they have given the world all three great monotheistic religions (remember that in Islam, Abraham and Jesus are the second- and third-ranking prophets after Mohammed, and one of the major bases of Christianity is that Jesus fulfilled the whole Jewish law). And this year is the centenary of the extraordinary year in which a Swiss Patent Office clerk called Einstein changed forever the way the universe would be perceived."

    What does this have to do with classical music, exactly? By all means, promote the (admittedly, spectacular) achievements of your people, but on another forum please!

    According to various web sources, it was the Egyptians who first proposed and embraced mono-theism! Pharoah Akhenaton (c1375bc) is largely credited with developing the concept (though this would later lead to his grizzly demise). Were his Jewish slaves forced to pray to one God and adopt their master's new mono-theistic creed? Sounds plausible to me.

    I agree with your post generally. I'd always thought there were a large number of jewish composers, but on reflection, maybe there aren't? I'm particularly fond of 20th century American composers (Copland, Gershwin etc) and the Jewish-influenced peasant music of Eastern European/Russian (especially Bartok's interpretations).

    I also agree that although Jewish composers are relatively thin on the ground. This is probably due to important & influential musical institutions and governments (headed by Christians, of course) preventing the proliferation and adoption of Jewish music into "mainstream" culture over the last half milennia.

    I believe the same situation also applies to Jewish classical art. Where are it's luminaries? Still unjustifiably classified as second-rate, it seems?

    DT
     
    Dynamic Turtle, May 12, 2005
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  10. tones

    Joe

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    I don't think Lennon was Jewish!
     
    Joe, May 12, 2005
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  11. tones

    tones compulsive cantater

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    Not a single, solitary thing, but I thought it was an interesting contrast. And I'm a Norn Irish Prod, so I don't think the local synagogue would accept me!

    Perhaps, but the original comment is still correct - whose monotheistic legacy has endured?

    For most of the last two millennia, the Jews were excluded from just about everything. Only in the last couple of hundred years have their fortunes revived. People tend to forget that the Spanish Inquisition was targeted, initially at least, specifically at Jews - the Reformation had little effect in southern Europe, so Protestant heretics to kill were somewhat lacking.
     
    tones, May 12, 2005
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  12. tones

    midlifecrisis Firm member

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    Rachel Stevens :D
     
    midlifecrisis, May 12, 2005
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  13. tones

    Joe

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    And there was me thinking you were German or summat!

    I could be wrong, but I thought the Inquisition was initially aimed at Moslems who converted to Christianity so that they could stay in Spain after the Moors were expelled by Ferdinand and Isabella, and whose 'conversion' to Christianity was in doubt. It's also true that the Moselms were more tolerant of Jews (at that time) than were the Christians.

    I'm sure there's an opera about this .... by Verdi, I think.
     
    Joe, May 12, 2005
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  14. tones

    Dynamic Turtle The Bydo Destroyer

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    Not even of Jewish descent?
     
    Dynamic Turtle, May 12, 2005
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  15. tones

    Joe

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    His dad was Irish, his mother's maiden name was 'Smith'. Are you sure you're not thinking of Brian Epstein?
     
    Joe, May 12, 2005
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  16. tones

    tones compulsive cantater

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    You're right that the Inquisition in Spain did go for Moslems, Joe, but that was later. Initially it was directed against the Jews. It was said that the first Inquisitor-General, Tomàs de Torquemada, was part-Jewish, hence his enthusiasm (to cover his tracks, as it were). When Granada, the last Moorish stronghold fell (just as Columbus set forth for "India"), the Inquisition was then extended to the Moslems, going back on guarantees that this would not be so.

    The Moors were incredibly tolerant. Christians and Jews were "People of the Book" and the only people not subject to forcible conversion to Islam. Not only were their religious rights respected but Christians and Jews rose to high positions in Moorish Spain. It totally shamed the barbaric behaviour of the "Christians" that followed - but then when you have the true faith, you can do that sort of thing, can't you? (Comparisons with current large religious lands will be avoided...).

    The intolerance of Islam to Judaism is, to the best of my knowledge, a direct result of the advent of Theodor Herzl and Zionism at the end of the 19th. Century and Arthur Balfour's Declaration in the First World War. The rest, regretfully, is history.
     
    tones, May 12, 2005
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  17. tones

    cocytus

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    How about Richard Wagner? There is this perennial theory that his Jewish stepfather was actually his biological father. Looking at all of Wagner's portraits, personally I think he looks rather Jewish.(That's a feeling I can't explain) :confused:

    http://www.revolve.com.au/polemic/wagner.html

    If it is true, then the scales suddenly tip favorably for great Jewish composers. :D
     
    cocytus, May 12, 2005
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  18. tones

    tones compulsive cantater

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    Is this why Dickie was so anti-Semitic?
     
    tones, May 12, 2005
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  19. tones

    cocytus

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    He didn't get along with his stepfather. Childhood conditioning.
     
    cocytus, May 12, 2005
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  20. tones

    midlifecrisis Firm member

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    well, those who see the Christian resurrection myth as ultimately deriving from the Osiris myth and the cult of the Virgin Mary as a descendant of the Isis cult might well still argue that Egyptian multitheism (or multi-aspect monotheism) is the survivor !
     
    midlifecrisis, May 12, 2005
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