Fridoy, February 7, 1958
JEWISH   WESTERN BULLETIN
Page Five
MwnUstf gwfiiU WMf in WtiUm. etutada.
CULTURAL SUPPLEMENT
^ Books   ^ Music   ^ Drama    ^ Art    ^ Humor
First Int'l Jewish Music Congress to liglit impressive achieyements
This is on editoriol reprinted from the Reconstructioriist Magazine
''HE recent congress on Jew-   of its high functionaries as unofficial
ish Music which was held in Paris, was also a significant "first." For the first time both Jewish composers and musicologists rendered accounts to the wide world, without apologetics or limitations to Jewish Centres.
As one who was present at the event, this writer states emphatically that, neither from' the artistic nor from the scholarly point of view, had we Jews any reason to be ashamed of our achievements. Qiiite the contrary! The French and general press acclaimed not only the international character of the congress but also its high artistic standards. It is nO'secret that the Vatican had delegated one
observer.
The more evidence there is of Jewish musical talent, the greater is the need- to call attention to the role of the creative musical artist in giving expression to Jewish spiritual values. It is significant that the great cantata Kol Nidre, by: Arnold Schoenberg, was enthusiastically acclaimecj^.by the entire press at its firist European performance. But it is all the more regrettable that here in America, where the work was written "and commissioned, little recognition has been accorded to it by United States Jewry.
Schoenberg's posthumous opera, Moses and Aaron, h^d its worid-pre-miere in Zurich last summer and was
V.
generally acclaimed as a masterwork of monumental dimensions. After his manifold identification with the ideas of Judaism it is no exaggeration to 'view Arnold Schoenberg as perhaps the greatest representative of Judaism in the field of modern music.
Much needs to be done to make the Jewish community aware of the possibility of enriching Jewish life by employing the greatest, not'the most popular talents available. Here as in so many areas of contemporary cultural activity it is vital that the public be given not merely what they want, but also what they might well want after having had the opportunity of being confronted with first rate works of art.
Record reviews
An eliciting Israeli album and centuries old Jewish music
By DR. HARRY WiNROB
ISRAELI COMPOSER CREATES NEW SYMPHONY WITH AID OF AN OLD LAMENTATION
By URI EPPSTEIN
(Reprinted from Isroel Life ond Letters)
THE performance of Joseph   folk tunes. The common practice was Tal's First Symphony was a       ^"o*® such a tune in the course major musical event in Israel last composer Would
February, nearly two years after P^'^*^ *n"ch as he
its world premier in Brussels. i*' merely adding orchestra-
Later presented in Sweden and harmonic accompaniment.
Germany, it was received warm- Taking an existing folk-melody, ly by audiences and critics every-   however beautiful, and quoting it in
where.
Tal — whose former name was Gruenthal — is well known abroad, principally through performances in London, New York, Vienna and Hamburg, of his opera" cbncertante, Saul atEndor.
Like every composer in Israel,   Tal confronts the question' of what the musical language of an Israeli composer should be. Should he write j music that could have been writ- I ten an]ywhere else in the world, or should there be something special about it—and in what way?
Many composers, both in Israel* and abroad, have attempted to solve this problem of national music by using
JOSEPH TAL
a symphony with proper orchestration, is.following the line of least resistance. The' composer who contents himself with it becomes a mere arranger. Anyone who masters this technique can readily compose folksy —even impressive—symphonies or symphonic poems, if his tunes are only pleasant and his effects brilliant enough—even if he has nothing of his own to say. His work may even, on first hearing, seem characteristic of the national idiom, and therefore representative o^ the nation whose folk-melodies have been used.
TAL'S APPROACH
This method is rejected by Tal, who regards it as a form of provincialism substituted for genuine national values in music. This does not mean that Tal rejects musical folklore as a source. On the contrary, Tal examines the tune closely, looking for features that give it a specific flavor —a characteristic interval, a typical
sequence of tones, or a significant rhythmic figure.
This material serves him as a motif which is developed, transformed, and transfigured freely, much as the composer might have developed a theme of his own invention. And most important, the particular way in which the composer develops this motif is his own.
RESULT IS CONVINCING
Tal's Symphony is a convincing example of a work composed in this spirit. The composer used a very old Persian-Jewish, lamen to furnish motif material. In the first part, short sections of the song may be found. These are freely altered and enlarged, and new formations are developed.
Only the second part quotes the song in its original form—as a theme for variations, since Oriental themes do not, by their very nature, lend 'themselves to harmonization. The variations are provided simply by instrumental combinations.
In the third part, major portions of the first movement'are brought in as recapitulation, but with the addition of intricate and stirring dance rhythms. Here again ijone of the patterns of Oriental dance is used, but their main features—irregularity and complexity—are used in a general
(Continued on page 8^
ONE of the finest collections of Israeli songs is to be found on a new Capital release, 12.inch LP, No. 10105. CaUed "Israel Today", the recording features a new song group called the "Trio Aravah".
The songs are, without exception, immediately appealing and one can guess that they have widespread popularity amongst young and old alike in Israel today. Still they should not be regarded as popular songs in the sense of our own hit parade tunes. While recently composed, they have all the features of folk melody.
In their various ways, they all depict scenes and attitudes which mirror life of this new and moderti nation. In style, too, there is to be found here a uniqueness which points to the rapidly developing national character of Israeli popular music. One is amazed by the rapidity with which so many diverse elements with divergent backgrounds are being fused into a musical unity. Truly a melting pot operating at boiling point temperature.
While many of the selections presented here have been recorded elsewhere, none exceed the vitality and high spirit that the Trio Aravah possesses. The arrangements are exciting and dramatic. Harmony and voice blending is a noteworthy feature and always in good taste.
The recording was made in a studio in France during the group*s 1957 personal appearance tour. The sound is first rate, capturing every nuance, every note, with a clarity and intimacy beyond reproach. Highly recommended!
*      * *
By way of contrast, we now consider another Capital label record, 12 iisch LP No. 10C64, called ""Jewish Music.** Certainly not modern, compared with Israel songs, for much of this music is centuries, old, still it has
modern appeal.
It forms part of our heritage because it was part and parcel of the musical life of our fathers and grandfathers. For many of us, even of the so-called younger generation, this music was inexorably bound up with our home life. For this reason, denials to the contrary, we understand it and feel it with an intimacy and a love that shatters all argumentations, which would deny the values of Yid-dishkeit and replace it by so-called newer Jewish values.
Arguments let's have, but that which is in us and of us cannot be destroyed, no matter how clever the arguments.
Now for the recording itself. It consists of a collection of Yiddish folk songs, all very familiar, plus Hatikvah and Kol Nidre. the unusual feature here is that they are* not sung but played by a full orchestra under the direction of Benedict SilbMrnan. While the record jacket refers to a chorus, its role is merely to chime in here and there with a hmnming, tra-la-la, di-di-di, type of contribution.
The arrangements are highly colorful, lush but not extravagant. The recorded sound is crisp and clear throughout.
This is a recording that will find easy acceptability. Before very long, its infectious spirit may have you unconsciously humming or whistling along.
*      * *
MGM presents Cantor Bela Hers-kovifs in a selection of cantorial and secular songs on a 12-incIi LP No. E3424. Cantor Herskovits achieved some fame through sponsorship by Eddie Cantor and his appearance on the popular American TV program "This is Your Life.**
When he restrains himself Cantor Herskovits displays a voice of considerable power with a wide vocal (Continued on page 9)"
THE MUSICAL HERITAGE OF JEWISH LITURGY
By IRENE HESKES
This' article explains the origins ORd influence of synagogue music as it proceeds to review a new book on the subject: The Contillation of the Bible by Solomon Rosowsky, published by the Reconstructioiiist Press (670 pages). The article is reprinted from Congress Weekly.
ACCORDING tov the Zohar, there is a Temple in Heaven that is opened only through song. Indeed, the Talmud scorns those who read the Holy Scriptures Without melody and study its words without singing.
Jewish liturgy has an uninterrupted continuity of 4,000 years. A dominant portion of any Jewish religious service always has been musical, based upon the chanting of Hebrew Bible passages, as well as prayers by the readers or cantor, together with the various responses by the congregation. Early synagogue music was a decisive factor in the development of music in our western civilization. The architects of Christianity adapted ancient Hebrew musical customs, with which many of them had been intimately familiar, to their newer purposes.
FUNDAMENTAL. RfiELODIC ELEMENTS
The codification and notation of the elaborate system of ancient Hebrew Biblical chant was the monumental contribution of the Masoretes, the Hebrew grammarian scholars of
the 9th century. For centuries before, exclusive reliance on strict oral traditions had preserved the continuity of these fundamental melodic elements. Basically, the Masorete editions of the Biblical texts appear as they do today, preserved faithfully throughout the world by all Jewish traditions, complete with the neume signs, or musical notation code, attached to every word in the Bible, as well as the vowel signs above and below the letters.
The neumes (from the Hebrew n'ima \*hich means sweetness or melody) originated out of the hand signs and finger motions which were a Near Eastern singing custom, and which still accompany the religious singing of many Yemenite Jews. Chanting in ancient times assured pleasantness of voice, afforded an excellent memory aid, implied special respect for the text, and required absolute concentration. Since each of the neumes indicated a specific melodic pattern, a well-tutored reader was able to weave a very intricate line of melody, and to repeat this music in the same
manner whenever the particular passage was chanted.
Originally there were three systems of Biblical neumes (also called (ropes): the Tiberian, which has survived to (Continued on page 6)
HIIHPWillillilli
RECORDS FOR JEWISH MUSIC MONTH
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