The Cambridge Companion to Jewish Music ed. by Joshua S. Walden

Abstract

MUSICS OF THE WORLD The Cambridge Companion Music. Edited by Joshua S. Walden. (Cambridge Companions Music.) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015. [xiii, 293 p. ISBN 9781107023451 (hardcover), $89.99; ISBN 9781107623750 (paperback), $29.99; ISBN 9781316434895 (e-book), $24.] Music examples, illustrations, bibliography, index.The Cambridge Companion edited by Peabody Conservatory professor Joshua S. Walden, seeks answer seemingly obvious question, What music? In course of this book, however, reader will learn that response not so clear-cut. Since Jews have lived in a multitude of countries, they have adopted and adapted numerous disparate musical styles their own ancient traditions, thereby creating a rich musical tapestry that continues evolve. Walden informs us that term Jewish comprises songs in multiple languages, dance music played by ensembles of instrumentalists, forms of religious music developed in synagogue and home in far-flung communities, methods of chanting text of Hebrew Bible, classical music written for concert hall, and commercial popular music . . . (p. 6). Indeed, Walden offers example of tune for Hatikvah in book's introduction as a means of demonstrating ubiquity of While most Jews (and some non-Jews) recognize this tune as Israeli national anthem, Walden explains that it shares a common folk song ancestor with Bedrich Smetana's Die Moldau, as well as Mozart's Ah! Vous dirai-je, maman (Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star), among several others (p. 2). In this way, he illustrates vast influences on music, explaining that what makes music its associations.This particular focus on ontology pervades book and separates it from other works on music that emphasize primarily (Abraham Z. Idelsohn's seminal tome, Music: Its Historical Development [New York: H. Holt, 1929; reprint, New York: Dover Publications, 1992]; Marsha Bryan Edelman, Discovering Music [Philadelphia: Publication Society, 2003]) or genre (for example, Mark Slobin, Fiddler on Move [Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000]). Instead, Walden utilizes a gestalt approach, allowing for a very broad yet in-depth examination of topic. The book's back cover states that it is a key resource for students, scholars, and everyone with an interest in global of music. Due detailed examination of numerous topics, however, this author feels that book best suited for musically-knowledgeable readers seeking an overview of music, or perhaps a college course on topic. Therefore, The Cambridge Companion Music similar other books in Cambridge series, which offer indepth investigations into various genres, styles, composers, and instruments.Walden divides sixteen-chapter book into three sections. Part I, entitled Conceptions of Music, attempts pinpoint its essence. Chapter 1, Ontologies ofJewish by Philip Bohlman, informs us that there are five conditions of Jewishness in music: religion, language, embodiment (contextuality), geography, and identity, adding that these definitions continue evolve as music itself also evolves. He states that music often defined by what it not, noting, Jewish music comes into being when an original text or ritual process undergoes transformation that expands upon its meaning, enhancing them within multiplying contexts of culture and history (pp. 15-16).Edwin Seroussi addresses multiple meanings of diaspora in chapter 2, asserting that the mapping out of clusters of musical styles and repertoires by simple binaries such as Ashkenazic/ Sephardic obliterated countless nuances based on place and time (p. 30). Since term has now grown to describe every possible physical or imagined, voluntary or forced displacement of individuals or communities (p. …