Jewish Identities mounts a formidable challenge to prevailing essentialist assumptions about "Jewish music," which maintain that ethnic groups, nations, or religious communities possess an essence that must manifest itself in art created by members of that group. Klára Móricz scrutinizes concepts of Jewish identity and reorders ideas about twentieth-century "Jewish music" in three case studies: first, Russian Jewish composers of the first two decades of the twentieth century; second, the Swiss American Ernest Bloch; and third, Arnold Schoenberg. Examining these composers in the context of emerging Jewish nationalism, widespread racial theories, and utopian tendencies in modernist art and twentieth-century politics, Móricz describes a trajectory from paradigmatic nationalist techniques, through assumptions about the unintended presence of racial essences, to an abstract notion of Judaism.

"Examines the nature and significance of synagogue music in contemporary Jewish life, with special emphasis on Cantor William Sharlin"--Provided by publisher.

How do you know when someone or something is really, authentically Jewish? This book argues that what is authentically Jewish is continually changing in response to historical and cultural developments, the shifting attributions of meaning that individuals make, and the negotiations that occur as different groups struggle for recognition.

Emotions in Jewish Music is an insider’s view of music’s impact on Jewish devotion and identity. Written by cantors who have devoted themselves to the study and execution of Jewish music, the book’s six chapters explore a wide range of musical contexts and encounters. Topics include the spiritual influence of secular Israeli tunes, the use and meaning of traditional synagogue modes, and the changing nature of Jewish worship. The approaches are both personal and scholarly, describing the experiential side of Jewish music in both practical and philosophical terms. Emotions in Jewish Music reveals much about the emotional aspects of Jewish musical expression.

DIV With National Socialism's arrival in Germany in 1933, Jews dominated music more than virtually any other sector, making it the most important cultural front in the Nazi fight for German identity. This groundbreaking book looks at the Jewish composers and musicians banned by the Third Reich and the consequences for music throughout the rest of the twentieth century. Because Jewish musicians and composers were, by 1933, the principal conveyors of Germany’s historic traditions and the ideals of German culture, the isolation, exile and persecution of Jewish musicians by the Nazis became an act of musical self-mutilation. Michael Haas looks at the actual contribution of Jewish composers in Germany and Austria before 1933, at their increasingly precarious position in Nazi Europe, their forced emigration before and during the war, their ambivalent relationships with their countries of refuge, such as Britain and the United States and their contributions within the radically changed post-war music environment. /div

In this landmark of musical scholarship, the leading 20th-century authority on Jewish music describes and analyzes its elements and characteristics, and chronicles its development from the earliest appearance of Semitic song 2000 years ago to the early 20th century. Liberally illustrating every type of music discussed, the book examines the music as a tonal expression of Judaism, Jewish life and the spiritual aspects of Jewish culture.

By Elias Friedman, O.C.D. Preface by Msgr. Eugene Kevane Introduction by Ronda Chervin, Ph.D. Jewish Identity is a prophetic reading of the signs of the times, the fruit of a lifetime of prayer and study by Father Elias Friedman, O.C.D. The author, a Jewish convert, analyzes with scholarship and spiritual insight the great drama entailing the apostasy of the Gentiles and the return of the Jews to Palestine. Political and Spiritual Zionism, the role of Israel in salvation history, and the self-understanding of the Jews are all treated in this book. The new international organization founded by Father Elias, the Association of Hebrew Catholics, is an early manifestation of the spiritual insights contained in this work. In a paral-lel development, the Church, beginning with Vatican Council II, has been updating its teaching regarding Jews and Judaism. The relevant material, included in the book's ap-pendix, bears witness to the thought of Father Elias.

Quotations on Jewish Sacred Music is a collection of over 700 quotations culled from an array of sources, including rabbinic and theological texts, sociological and anthropological studies, and historical and musicological examinations. The book is divided into five chapters: What Is Jewish Music?; Spirituality and Prayer; Hazzan-Cantor; Cantillation-Biblical Chant; and Nusach ha-Tefillah-Liturgical Chant. Taken as a whole, these quotations demonstrate both the centrality of music in Jewish religious life and the diversity of thought on the subject. They can be used with profit in sermons, speeches, and papers, and may be read in order or selectively. This is a valuable and easy-to-use reference book for scholars, musicians, synagogue staff, and anyone else seeking concise thoughts on major aspects of Jewish sacred music.

A myth exists that Jews can embrace the cultural components of Judaism without appreciating the legal aspects of the Jewish tradition. This myth suggests that law and culture are independent of one another. In reality, however, much of Jewish culture has a basis in Jewish law. Similarly, Jewish law produces Jewish culture. Roberta Rosenthal Kwall develops and applies a cultural analysis paradigm to the Jewish tradition that departs from the understanding of Jewish law solely as the embodiment of Divine command.

Explores the cultural connection between Syrian Jewish life and Arab culture in present-day Brooklyn, New York, through liturgical music.