MUSEUM OF TELEVISION & RADIO LISTENING SERIES, THE:
ONE PEOPLE, MANY VOICES: JEWISH MUSIC IN AMERICA,
PACKAGE 3: AMERICAN JEWISH MUSIC COMES OF AGE
Summary
One in this series of radio broadcasts from National
Public Radio, hosted by Theodore Bikel, which traces the
music, history, and heritage of the American Jewish
people. "American-Jewish Music Comes of Age" explores
the renaissance and evolution of Jewish music in
America from the 1960s through the 1980s. Highlights
include the following: Bikel's observations about the
characteristic Jewish style of absorbing and
transforming the music of a surrounding culture; a
review of Jewish music during the last quarter century;
a recording by Dave Tarris and His Trio; characteristics
of Sephardim music; examples of the Ladino tradition;
recordings by Laura Pomerantz and by Voice of the
Turtle; an explanation from musician Henry Sepoznik
about the way klezma music changed over decades to
include a vocal repertoire; a recording by the Seattle
klezma combo, the Mazel-Tones; an example of the
"pizmon," a song with Hebrew words skillfully set to a
borrowed melody, usually Arabic; observations from
musician and researcher Velvel Pasternak about the
emergence of Hasidic music into mainstream Jewish
life; recordings by Hasidic singer and composer Benzion
Shenker, and by midwestern Jewish folk music group
Electricity; recordings from singer/guitarist Shlomo
Carlbach, who created music with a Hasidic flavor that
is accessible to young Americans, and comments from
David Nulman about Carlbach; a sampling of the new body
of folk music that arose in the Orthodox Jewish world in
the late 1950s and early 1960s; a smattering of
non-traditional Jewish music, which has been fused with
folk, rock, and jazz; and comments by David Shneyer,
director of the Jewish Folk Arts Society near
Washington, D.C., about the expressive nature of Jewish
bluegrass music, as well as a sample of the music.
Next, recordings from the following musical artists are
played: the Diaspora Yeshiva Band; Jewish reggae band
Boston Safam; Cindy Plotkin; cantor Nathan Lamm; Jeff
Klepper and Dan Friedlander; and a prayer song by
Richard Botton and the Rochester Singers. Other
highlights include: the way summer camps have become
fertile ground for a new Jewish folk liturgy; an example
of the way composer Michael Isaacson combines the
classical and folk styles of synagogue music; recordings
of synagogue music by Alvin Wainhouse, of melodies by
Sephardic Jews in North Africa, and of a song honoring a
new birth; samples of new liturgical poems in English; a
recording by composer Shlomo Zelty; Bikel's assertion
that modern mainstream Jewish composers heed the
voice of Jewish past and present in their craft; audio
clips by composers Steve Reich, Abraham Kaplan, and
David Amram; examples of the growing trend toward
incorporating Sephardic and Oriental Jewish influences
into classical, folk, and pop music; recordings from the
play "Fiddler on the Roof," and an explanation from
Bikel on the musical's universal appeal; examples of
music inspired by the Holy City of Jerusalem, including
selections from composers Elizabeth Swados
("Jerusalem"), Robert Starer ("Ariel" -- sung by Roberta
Peters), and Paul Simon; the impact of Soviet Jews'
ongoing suffering on contemporary Jewish music, with
an examplar recording by Morris Moshecotel; and a
recording of Charles Davidson's "I Never Saw Another
Butterfly," sung by the Beth Abraham Youth Chorale.
Bikel concludes the program by stressing the diversity
and unity of the Jewish people and their music.
Cataloging of this program made possible by the Hearst
Corporation, 1998.
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: November 30, 1994
- RUNNING TIME: 1:55:00
- COLOR/B&W: N/A
- CATALOG ID: R:12681
- GENRE: Radio - Music; Radio - Public affairs/Documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: Bluegrass music; Jazz; Jews - History - 1945-; Music and musicians; Religious music; Reggae music; Rock
- SERIES RUN: NPR (National Public Radio) - Radio series, 1985-1986
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Richard Siegel … Executive Producer
- Steve Rathe … Senior Producer, For Murray Street Enterprise
- Perez Luna, Elizabeth … Producer
- Robert Cohen … Associate Producer, Writer
- Diane Dorf … Associate Producer
- Henry Sepoznik … Production (Misc.), Program concept by, Music (Misc. Credits), Music Consultant
- Michael Isaacson … Composer
- David Amram … Composer
- Charles Davidson … Composer
- Abraham Kaplan … Composer
- Steve Reich … Composer
- Robert Starer … Composer
- Benzion Shenker … Composer
- Paul Simon … Composer
- Elizabeth Swados … Composer
- Shlomo Zelty … Composer
- Mark Slobin … Music (Misc. Credits), Music Consultant
- Theodore Bikel … Host
- David Nulman … Guest
- David Shneyer … Guest
- Velvel Pasternak … Guest, Music Consultant
- Abraham, Beth, Youth Chorale
- Boston Safam
- Richard Botton
- Shlomo Carlbach
- Diaspora Yeshiva Band, The
- Eclectricity
- Dan Friedlander
- Jeff Klepper
- Nathan Lamm
- The Mazel-Tones
- Morris Moshecotel
- Roberta Peters
- Cindy Plotkin
- Laura Pomerantz
- Rochester Singers, The
- Benzion Shenker
- Paul Simon
- Tarris, Dave, and His Trio
- Voice of the Turtle
- Alvin Wainhouse