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JEWISH MUSIC 101:WHAT IS JEWISH MUSIC ?

A PROGRAM OF THE LOWELL MILKEN FUND FOR AMERICAN JEWISH MUSIC AT THE UCLA HERB ALPERT SCHOOL OF MUSIC

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CONCEPTUAL FR A ME FOR‘DEFINING’ MUSIC

WHAT IS JEWISH MUSIC?

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YOSSELE ROSENBL AT T

Cantor Yossele Rosenblatt became the most recognizable

cantor in America as well as a superstar celebrity among

non-Jewish audiences.

• Born 1882 , Belaya Tserkov, Ukraine

• Died 1933 , Palestine

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Debbie Fr iedman

“Here is the music of jubilation and confirmation. It is a call to

community that rages against darkness and spreads l ight .”

Peter Yarrow (Peter, Paul & Mary)

• Born 1951, Utica, NY, grew up in St . Paul, Minnesota

• Died Januar y 9, 2011 (Shabbat Shira)

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Craig Taubman

Craig’s songs bridge traditional Jewish themes and ancient

teachings with passages and experiences of contemporar y

Jewish l ife.

• Born 1958, Mill ington, TN

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IRVING BERLIN ( ISR AEL BEILIN)

"Ir ving Berlin has no place in American music - he is American

music."

Jerome Kern

• Born 1888, Tolochin, Byelorussia (presumed)

• Died 1989, New York

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M A X CHRISTIAN FRIEDRICH BRUCH

“... I became acquainted with Kol Nidre i … in Berlin through

the Lichtenstein family, . . . Even though I am a Protestant , … I

deeply felt the outstanding beauty of these melodies and

therefore I gladly spread them through my arrangement .”

• Born 1838, Cologne

• Died 1920, Berlin

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CONCEPTUAL FR A ME FOR‘DEFINING’ MUSIC

SONIC: Uti l izes elements l ike scales, rhythms, and ornamen-

tation that are generally considered to “sound Jewish” but

not necessarily specific tunes, etc.

For example, John Zorn’s Masada project consists of original

melodies composed in Ashkenazi l iturgical modes (e.g., Ahava

Raba, Misheberakh, etc.)

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CONCEPTUAL FR A ME FOR‘DEFINING’ MUSIC

MEANING: Music based on a Jewish text, value or concept.

Music that uses a Jewish text or programmatic music (music that itself tells a story, ie. Bruch’s Kol Nidre i .) We wil l see

how Bernstein’s Jeremiah symphony uses both.

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CONCEPTUAL FR A ME FOR‘DEFINING’ MUSIC

CONTEXT: Music by Jews or music in Jewish social/religious

contexts.

For example: Music by (Jewish composers) such as Debbie

Friedman or Craig Taubman, whether or not based directly on

a Jewish text, sung in Jewish camps and synagogues is/

becomes Jewish music.

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Bereishiyt bara elohiym et hashamayim v'et ha'aretz

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Bereishiyt bara elohiym et hashamayim v'et ha'aretz

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Bereishiyt bara elohiym et hashamayim v'et ha'aretz

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Bereishiyt bara elohiym et hashamayim v'et ha'aretz

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WHAT IS ART MUSIC?

Music that has been careful ly crafted,using advanced musical techniques

and concepts.

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LEONARD BERNSTEIN

"A work of art does not answer questions, it provokes

them; and its essential meaning is in the tension between

the contradictory answers."

• Born August 2 5, 1918, Lawrence, Massachusetts

• Died October 14, 1990, N.Y.

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Barukh atah adonai eloheynu melech ha'olam. Asher bachar binvi’im tovim.V'ratza b'divrayhem hane'emarim be'emet. Barukh atah adonai. Ha'bochairba'torah uv'moshe avdo. Uv'yisrael amo. U'vinvi’ay ha'emet va'tzedek.

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B E R N S T E I N S Y M P O N Y N O . 1 ME FOR ‘DEFINING’ MUSIC

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YIDDISH THE ATER‘DEFINING’ MUSIC

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Y I D D I S H T H E A T E R , B E I M I R B I S T U S H E I N ME FOR ‘DEFINING’ MUSIC

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THE ANDREWS SISTERS SINGING BEI MIR BISTU SHE IN

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OFER BEN A MOTS

An inter weaving of folk elements with contemporar y textures

creates the dynamic tension that permeates and defines

Ben-Amots' musical language.

• Born 1955, Haifa

• Currently teaches music composition and theor y, Colorado

College, Colorado Springs

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O F E R B E N A M O T S ME FOR ‘DEFINING’ MUSIC

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“Jewish music is a reflection of individualand/or collective Jewish experience

in a particular historical moment.”

OFER BEN AMOTS

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Stories of Musicis brought to you by

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For centuries, Jews have come to America from all parts of the globe, bringing with them the mu-sical and cultural heritages of their countries of birth. Then things changed.

How has the American experience shaped Jewish life and culture in America? Understanding the evolving nature of Jewish Music helps shed light (and sound) on that question.

Learn more at: https://schoolofmusic.ucla.edu/resources/lowell-milken-fund-for-american-jewish-music/

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With more than 600 works by 200 composers, the Milken Archive of Jewish Music is one of the largest collections of music and historical materials devoted to exploring the American Jewish experience.

Learn more at: www.milkenarchive.org

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This lesson was created by:

Rabbi Barry Lutz, M.Ed, Curriculum Consultant

Mark Kligman, PhD, Mickey Katz Endowed Chair in Jewish Music, Chair, Department of Ethnomusicology, Director of Lowell Milken Fund for American Jewish Music, Professor of Ethnomusicology and Musicology, UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music

Jeff Janeczko, Curator and COO, Milken Archive

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With additional thanks to our partners at