Music in Jewish History and Culture surveys the broad sweep of music among Jews of widely diverse communities from Biblical times to the modern day.  Each chapter focuses on a different Jewish cultural epoch and, against the background of its principal historical and cultural traits, explores the music and the way it functioned in that society.  Proceeding more or less chronologically, the fifteen chapters cover a variety of Jewish musical expressions.  Topics considered include performance practices of the ancient Temple, the relationship of Jewish and early Christian music, cantillation, Jewish music in the worlds of medieval Islam and Christianity, Yiddish and Ladino folk music, growth and development of the synagogue liturgy, cantorial song in Europe and the United States, Yiddish theater in Europe and North America, klezmer, Jews in the concert world of the past two centuries, music of the Holocaust, American synagogue music, and music in modern Israel.  A unique feature of the book is its carefully placed historical interludes, while illustrations, charts, and a glossary of technical terms supplement the text.  Since both authors have long experience lecturing to general audiences as well as teaching this material in college courses, they have structured the book as both a college text and an informative guide for the lay reader.

About the Author

Emanuel Rubin (d. 2008) was professor of Judaic Studies and Music History at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he was also active as a composer.

John Baron is Schawe Professor of Music and director of the graduate program in musicology at Tulane University in New Orleans where, among other subjects, he has
taught Jewish music for thirty years.

DMM/SM 47 / 420p / 0-89990-133-6 / Hardcover / 2006 / $45.00

__________________________________________________

REVIEWS 

“Music in Jewish History and Culture traces a solid musical tradition through centuries of assimilation…A theme throughout this study is the adaptability of the Jewish community to surrounding cultures, using from them what will serve its own needs.  It’s a long, long way from the psalms to Tin Pan Alley, Tzvi Avni or Shulamit Ran’s opera The Dybbuk.  That circuitous route through space and time is mapped out for us by Rubin and Baron.”

The Hymn

“The coverage of the book is impressive…Music in Jewish History and Culture is…a timely and useful book…It is one of the best available…[presenting] a  comprehensive study of Jewish music.”

MLA Notes

“an ideal structure to be used in the modern college classroom…Here in one book is a very good, solid overview of the scope of Jewish music laid out in clear, unbiased language…In terms of breadth and factual content, it is, by far, the best book in English of its genre on the market today.”

Jewish Music WebCenter