Perspectives on Jewish Music

Secular and Sacred

Contributions by Mark S. Goodman, Jeff Janeczko, Vanessa Paloma, William Sharlin Edited by Jonathan L. Friedmann

Publication date:

03 September 2009

Length of book:

170 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

ISBN-13: 9780739141526

Perspectives on Jewish Music presents five unique and engaging explorations of Jewish music. Areas covered include self-expression in contemporary Jewish secular music, the rise of popular music in the American synagogue, the theological requirements of the cantor, the role of women in Sephardic music and society, and the personal reflections of a leading figure in American synagogue music. Its wide-ranging topics and disciplinary approaches give evidence for the centrality of music in Jewish religious and secular life, and demonstrate that Jewish music is as diverse as the Jews themselves. From these studies, readers will gain an appreciation of both what Jewish music is and what it does. This book will be useful for students, practitioners, and scholars of Jewish secular and religious music and Jewish cultural studies, as well as ethnomusicologists specializing in Jewish or religious music.

Chapter 1 Preface
Chapter 2 Introduction
Chapter 3 1. A Tale of Four Diasporas: Case Studies on the Relevance of "Diaspora" in Contemporary American Jewish Music
Chapter 4 2. The Folk and Folk/Rock Movement of the Sixties and Its Influence on the Contemporary Jewish Worship Service
Chapter 5 3. Humility, Prayer, and the Cantorial Ideal
Chapter 6 4. Gender and Liturgy in Music: Masculine and Feminine Forms of Language and Ritual in Sephardic Secular and Sacred Music
Chapter 7 5. Trust the Process: My Life in Sacred Song

The diversity of subjects addressed in the book's rich bibliography of mostly English-language sources on music in Jewish culture further emphasizes the difficulty of coming to a useful definition of 'Jewish music.'