FROM THE EDITORS
Volume XXIV of Musica Judaica offers original scholarship in Jewish Music with a new feature. This issue contains five articles, along with our customary Jewish Music Forum events and Musica Judaica Online Reviews. Our new feature is called “Perspectives.” In this section, articles discuss a new way in Musica Judaica to convey information: these two “Perspective” articles, by composer Alex Weiser and editor and conductor Joshua Jacobson, offer important insights into Jewish music via their research as well as their personal creative work.
The first article is Jesse Rosenberg’s “Opera as a Jewish-Black Encounter: Jan Meyerowitz, Langston Hughes and Esther.” The opera Esther was a collaboration between composer Jan Meyerowitz and author Langston Hughes which dramatized the biblical story. The premiere took place on Purim in 1957 at the University of Illinois. The opera explores many themes, among them religion, race, and politics. While they worked on other projects together, Esther was the most sustained artistic collaboration for Hughes, who made contributions to the music as well as the libretto, with Meyerowitz contributing to the text. Their collaboration on this opera is a remarkable and fascinating encounter of the Jewish and Black experience.
Dov Bergman’s article, “From Shtetl to the Spotlight: The Integration of Hazanut in Hasidic Life,” discusses the integration of hazanut in Hasidic life in the modern period, highlighting the evolution of hazanut and its significance for shtetl Jews in Eastern Europe and the United States. The author discusses the adaptation and integration of hazanut in America during its Golden Age, emphasizing the communal role of the Hazan and changing landscapes of hazanut among Hasidim. Drawing upon many studies and sources, Bergman weaves a narrative that includes some key historic moments which focused on specific concerts in the first half of the twentieth century. An important contribution is his focus on the Orthodox community’s interaction with the Hasidic community, through the commonality on the life and work of Hazanim. A fresh portrayal of music in Hasidic life emerges.
Sarah Grabiner’s article, “Hashamayim M'sapp'rim K'vod Eil: Psalm 19 and the Music of the Heavenly Spheres,” offers a penetrating examination of the opening verses of Psalm 19. The heavens produce sounds that praise the Creator, but can these sounds be heard by humans? Grabiner traces how rabbinic exegesis unfolded over the centuries and compares Jewish and Greek thought regarding this and related philosophical questions, citing midrashic texts, Plato and Aristotle. Rashi, Moses Ibn Ezra and his relative Abraham Ibn Ezra, Radak, Maimonides, and others. The discussion also includes insights from modern scholars such as Shiloah, Idelson and Werner. She concludes, that despite the diverse opinions expressed, “Psalm 19 is clearly a focus for speculation, integrating the music of the heavenly spheres with Jewish philosophical thought.”
Yosef Goldenberg’s article, “Polyphonic Settings of Early Songs of the Land of Israel,” explores polyphonic arrangements of monophonic Israeli songs in Hebrew, from the early phase of the genre known as “Songs of the Land of Israel” (SLI). It focuses on the repertoire composed in the 1950s and earlier, during the period of Mandatory Palestine. Goldenberg sees the development of a more independent Israeli style within the folksong repertoire in the late 1920s. His discussion includes a history of SLI, mentioning the contexts of the singing performances and specific ensembles, as well as how various composers presented arrangements and compositions of SLI using different techniques of polyphony, melodic and rhythmic imitation, and various harmonic approaches within the polyphonic complexities. Goldenberg concludes that the broad significance of polyphony in early SLI will invite further study.
Michael Lukin’s article, “The Serial Folk Songs of Yiddish Speakers,” discusses the cultural meaning of a distinct repertoire of serial folk songs among Yiddish speakers from premodern times through the Holocaust. The term “serial” refers to the structure of the text where strophes form a coherent series with repeated syntactical patterns and a common theme. Lukin focuses on the musical and semantic meanings of these songs whose texts range from serious to jovial to mundane to absurd. Rather than examining their archival history, he compares Yiddish serial songs to other Ashkenazic synagogue songs, and their influences from other traditions, including non-Yiddish ones.
Alex Weiser’s contribution, “Composing with Yiddish Folksong: A Composer’s Perspective,” discusses the influence of past music on new compositions, highlighting the use of Yiddish folksongs as a source of inspiration in the composition of new Jewish music. He traces YIVO’s history and legacy to promote Yiddish songs, and discusses his role there as a program developer and curator. In addition, he surveys a 100-year history of Yiddish art song compositions by focusing on specific works that use Yiddish folksongs as a basis for their music – his own work included. This perspective offers an insider’s view of how he and his colleagues have found inspiration in traditional melodies, using different approaches to create something new.
Joshua Jacobson writes as a conductor and editor of Salamone Rossi’s choral music in his article, “Editing Rossi.” Salamone Rossi, a Mantuan Jew, was a pioneering composer who wrote a pathbreaking collection of synagogue motets in Hebrew in 1622. He worked at the ducal palace in Mantua and was well known for his compositions, in addition to performing as a violinist/violist. Jacobson’s article surveys various solutions to the conundrum of editing 17th-century music and adapting it for modern performance. Questions abound, among them issues of meter, pitch, ornamentation, the use of bar-lines, and the setting of Hebrew texts. The article also provides music of various Rossi publications from 1622 through 2003. Rossi’s music continues to be performed and admired today for its elegance and beauty. Jacobson’s perspective is a revealing introduction to the publication history of Rossi’s sacred choral music.
The editors would like to thank Dr. Gordon Dale and Dr. Samantha M. Cooper for serving as Assistant Editors to Musica Judaica, Volume XXIV. They provided invaluable help in curating the content of this issue and facilitating its completion.
In conclusion, we wish to express our appreciation to all of our authors, and we look forward to receiving manuscripts which will advance the research and study of Jewish music, and our appreciation of its many facets and beauties.
Arbie Orenstein and Mark Kligman
Co-Editors
Volume XXIV of Musica Judaica offers original scholarship in Jewish Music with a new feature. This issue contains five articles, along with our customary Jewish Music Forum events and Musica Judaica Online Reviews. Our new feature is called “Perspectives.” In this section, articles discuss a new way in Musica Judaica to convey information: these two “Perspective” articles, by composer Alex Weiser and editor and conductor Joshua Jacobson, offer important insights into Jewish music via their research as well as their personal creative work.
The first article is Jesse Rosenberg’s “Opera as a Jewish-Black Encounter: Jan Meyerowitz, Langston Hughes and Esther.” The opera Esther was a collaboration between composer Jan Meyerowitz and author Langston Hughes which dramatized the biblical story. The premiere took place on Purim in 1957 at the University of Illinois. The opera explores many themes, among them religion, race, and politics. While they worked on other projects together, Esther was the most sustained artistic collaboration for Hughes, who made contributions to the music as well as the libretto, with Meyerowitz contributing to the text. Their collaboration on this opera is a remarkable and fascinating encounter of the Jewish and Black experience.
Dov Bergman’s article, “From Shtetl to the Spotlight: The Integration of Hazanut in Hasidic Life,” discusses the integration of hazanut in Hasidic life in the modern period, highlighting the evolution of hazanut and its significance for shtetl Jews in Eastern Europe and the United States. The author discusses the adaptation and integration of hazanut in America during its Golden Age, emphasizing the communal role of the Hazan and changing landscapes of hazanut among Hasidim. Drawing upon many studies and sources, Bergman weaves a narrative that includes some key historic moments which focused on specific concerts in the first half of the twentieth century. An important contribution is his focus on the Orthodox community’s interaction with the Hasidic community, through the commonality on the life and work of Hazanim. A fresh portrayal of music in Hasidic life emerges.
Sarah Grabiner’s article, “Hashamayim M'sapp'rim K'vod Eil: Psalm 19 and the Music of the Heavenly Spheres,” offers a penetrating examination of the opening verses of Psalm 19. The heavens produce sounds that praise the Creator, but can these sounds be heard by humans? Grabiner traces how rabbinic exegesis unfolded over the centuries and compares Jewish and Greek thought regarding this and related philosophical questions, citing midrashic texts, Plato and Aristotle. Rashi, Moses Ibn Ezra and his relative Abraham Ibn Ezra, Radak, Maimonides, and others. The discussion also includes insights from modern scholars such as Shiloah, Idelson and Werner. She concludes, that despite the diverse opinions expressed, “Psalm 19 is clearly a focus for speculation, integrating the music of the heavenly spheres with Jewish philosophical thought.”
Yosef Goldenberg’s article, “Polyphonic Settings of Early Songs of the Land of Israel,” explores polyphonic arrangements of monophonic Israeli songs in Hebrew, from the early phase of the genre known as “Songs of the Land of Israel” (SLI). It focuses on the repertoire composed in the 1950s and earlier, during the period of Mandatory Palestine. Goldenberg sees the development of a more independent Israeli style within the folksong repertoire in the late 1920s. His discussion includes a history of SLI, mentioning the contexts of the singing performances and specific ensembles, as well as how various composers presented arrangements and compositions of SLI using different techniques of polyphony, melodic and rhythmic imitation, and various harmonic approaches within the polyphonic complexities. Goldenberg concludes that the broad significance of polyphony in early SLI will invite further study.
Michael Lukin’s article, “The Serial Folk Songs of Yiddish Speakers,” discusses the cultural meaning of a distinct repertoire of serial folk songs among Yiddish speakers from premodern times through the Holocaust. The term “serial” refers to the structure of the text where strophes form a coherent series with repeated syntactical patterns and a common theme. Lukin focuses on the musical and semantic meanings of these songs whose texts range from serious to jovial to mundane to absurd. Rather than examining their archival history, he compares Yiddish serial songs to other Ashkenazic synagogue songs, and their influences from other traditions, including non-Yiddish ones.
Alex Weiser’s contribution, “Composing with Yiddish Folksong: A Composer’s Perspective,” discusses the influence of past music on new compositions, highlighting the use of Yiddish folksongs as a source of inspiration in the composition of new Jewish music. He traces YIVO’s history and legacy to promote Yiddish songs, and discusses his role there as a program developer and curator. In addition, he surveys a 100-year history of Yiddish art song compositions by focusing on specific works that use Yiddish folksongs as a basis for their music – his own work included. This perspective offers an insider’s view of how he and his colleagues have found inspiration in traditional melodies, using different approaches to create something new.
Joshua Jacobson writes as a conductor and editor of Salamone Rossi’s choral music in his article, “Editing Rossi.” Salamone Rossi, a Mantuan Jew, was a pioneering composer who wrote a pathbreaking collection of synagogue motets in Hebrew in 1622. He worked at the ducal palace in Mantua and was well known for his compositions, in addition to performing as a violinist/violist. Jacobson’s article surveys various solutions to the conundrum of editing 17th-century music and adapting it for modern performance. Questions abound, among them issues of meter, pitch, ornamentation, the use of bar-lines, and the setting of Hebrew texts. The article also provides music of various Rossi publications from 1622 through 2003. Rossi’s music continues to be performed and admired today for its elegance and beauty. Jacobson’s perspective is a revealing introduction to the publication history of Rossi’s sacred choral music.
The editors would like to thank Dr. Gordon Dale and Dr. Samantha M. Cooper for serving as Assistant Editors to Musica Judaica, Volume XXIV. They provided invaluable help in curating the content of this issue and facilitating its completion.
In conclusion, we wish to express our appreciation to all of our authors, and we look forward to receiving manuscripts which will advance the research and study of Jewish music, and our appreciation of its many facets and beauties.
Arbie Orenstein and Mark Kligman
Co-Editors