Emotions in Jewish Music

Personal and Scholarly Reflections

Edited by Jonathan L. Friedmann

Not available to order

Publication date:

15 February 2012

Length of book:

118 pages

Publisher

UPA

ISBN-13: 9780761856764

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.

Preface
Introduction
Jonathan L. Friedmann
1. Naomi Shemer’s Artistic Expression: Poetry, Prayer, or Both?
Meeka Simerly
2. Why Nusach Still Matters
Mark S. Goodman
3. Davening and Congregational Song
William Sharlin
4. A Wandering Musician
Roni Kripper
as told to Jonathan L. Friedmann
5. Emotions, Cohesion, and Synagogue Song: A Durkheimian Approach
Jonathan L. Friedmann
6. Golden Links in an Unbroken Chain: The Role of Music Memory in Adult Jewish Education
Sharon Eve Colbert
Bibliography
Index
About the Contributors

Emotions in Jewish Music presents a subtle and panoramic survey of sacred sound in Jewish thought and practice. The insights Friedmann and fellow contributors offer about music—and its role in Judaism particularly—are unique and multi-dimensional. This clear volume will surely enhance the reader’s appreciation of music and its many aspects, no matter one’s level of musical literacy. —Brad Stetson, Ph.D., lecturer in religious studies, California State University, Long Beach