The Jewish Music PDF

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Merlyn Vanregenmorter...

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Jewish Music Key Terms: ● Ashkenazi ● Bar-Mitzvah/ Bat-Mitzvah ● Levites ● Cantillation ● Hasidic ● Hazan (Cantor) ● Ladino ● Klezmer ● Mizrahi ● Neumes/ Ta’amim ● Rosh Hashanah ● Sephardic ● Shofar ● Yiddish ● Yom Kippur 1. Jewish History a. Jerusalem i. Center of musical and spiritual life ii. Ancient capital of Israel iii. Site of the Temple (Solomon’s Temple and then Ezrah’s Temple) 1. Bring gifts 2. Caste system of Levites (priests who sung music) iv. Destination of religious pilgrimages b. Diaspora i. Taking a culture or people and forcefully spread them out ii. Like African slaves iii. Dispersion of the Jews around the world iv. Lasted nearly 2000 years because of the Roman army v. In 70 A.D. Jerusalem was obliterated and dispersed vi. Jews integrated into other societies but retained their identity 1. Ex: Russian, Yemenite, US Jews vii. Wailing Wall- symbol of hope 1. Come and say prayers 2. Will touch and leave prayers in the cracks of the wall 3. Want the reunification of Israel 4. There is a division of women and men called Kol Isha a. Call women a serious distraction while men are trying to do their prayer business 2. Three Streams of Jewish Music a. Ashkenazi Jews (Western)

i. ii. iii. iv.

b.

Hebrew for “German” Whole bunch that settled in Rhine River in Germany in the 9th Century Today refers to Jews of the Western World Language 1. Hebrew is Biblical Language 2. Yiddish (hybrid of German, Hebrew, &?- depends where you settle) v. Klezmer Music 1. Primary music givers of the middle east 2. Means “Instruments of song” a. From Hebrew words “Klei” and “Zemer” 3. They feel they are the instruments themselves 4. Were itinerant musicians (called Klezmorim) like ramblers 5. Rarely used printed music 6. Women took an active role vi. Persecution of Jewish Musicians 1. Not in high esteem 2. Lower class despite being hired 3. After 16th Century, permits were required to play music in a certain city 4. Restrictions placed on which days they were allowed to perform 5. Limits placed on the number of musicians in a group ( some had 12-20 members) but max of 3-4 people 6. Musicians were barred from conservatories 7. Resurgence of klezmer bands in the 1970s 8. In the 1990s Russian Jews rediscovered their heritage Sephardic Jews i. Hebrew word for “Spanish” ii. Until 1492 there was a large Jewish culture in Spain 1. Spanish Inquisition a. King and queen kicked in jews out b. Columbus didn’t want to lose half their ships and decided to sail west. c. Both needed money to fund their expositions. 2. When expelled, they settled in Portugal, North Africa, and Greece iii. Language 1. Hebrew is Biblical language 2. Ladino (a 15th century version of Spanish) 3. Eventually integrated Hebrew and local words 4. Become interspersed iv. Music Samples 1. Womencherra is a romance song or lullaby “Duermo, Duermo” a. Mix between Spanish and Hebrew 2. Youtube videos

c.

3. “Morena” a. Ladino language, Celtic Mesh, Flutes b. Shows mix Mizrahi Jews i. Hebrew for “Eastern” ii. Resided in Arabic Cultures 1. Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, India iii. Language 1. Hebrew is used for songs 2. Words from local languages have also been added 3. More purist and Eastern Thought iv. Lumped with Sephardic Jews as east vs. west

3. Unique Aspects a. Retained their identity despite diaspora 4. Secular Music versus Religious Music a. Up to a couple of generations ago, it was hard to tell the difference between secular and religious music i. For example: 1. Hava Nagila a. Secular- “Lets Rejoice” b. During WWI after British had a victory in Palestine c. Now used for religious functions b. Devotional Music i. Synagogue music is primarily vocal 1. Might use an organ, piano, or guitar ii. Hazan- Cantor 1. Lead singing and responses and prayers during service of “Liturgical order” 2. Extremely good vocalists 3. Drew inspiration and closely linked to opera singers 4. Cantillation a. At 900 AD Jewish Scholars want to fix the mispronunciation of words. b. System of proper pronunciation c. Markings are the Neumes/ Ta’amim and make up the system d. Also don’t have commas and periods 5. Singing style of prayers is very middle eastern 6. Symbol of manlihood 7. Example of Liturgical Music iii. Bar Mitzvah 1. Celebration of a young boy proving that he is now a young man 2. He demonstrates this by a public recitation of the Torah during

survey 3. Usually occurs when they are the age of 13 4. In the case of females it's called a “Bat Mitzvah” c. Congregational songs i. Similar to both sides ii. Borrow lighter instruments and put sacred texts together 5.

Hasidic Jews a. Known as mystics b. European jews that formed to have an emotional ecstatic type worship c. Used music to reach spiritual transcendence d. Tried to emphasize simplicity and devout e. Didn’t care about intellectualism f. Recognize with the big black coats and hats 6. Instruments Used a. Shofar- Rams Horn i. Flatten one end ii. Used for ceremony high holy days 1. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur a. New Year b. Day of Atonement c. Day of sounding of the shofar iii. Calls aren’t found in the Bible b. Trumpet i. Like a bugle with no keys ii. Levites would play them iii. Long straight tube c. Kanor i. Related to Greek Kithara ii. 18” Instrument iii. Taken to battle, very portable d. Violin, drums, accordions are borrowed 7. Matisyahu a. Merges a whole bunch of styles of music between beep bopping and reggae and other music types b. Wouldn’t perform on Fridays...