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Jewish Music
What is Jewish music? Just as Jewish people are very diverse, there is not just one kind of Jewish music, but rather many, many diverse traditions. Some Jewish music is religious, and some is secular. Some is music for services and large gatherings, some is sung in the home around the Shabbat. Some Jewish music uses instruments, but in traditional communities songs for Shabbat and holidays are for voices alone, as it’s forbidden to play instruments at these times.
Jewish rituals that take place in the home also involve song. The kiddush (blessing over wine before Shabbat dinner and lunch) and grace after meals are chanted or sung. Religious songs called zemirot are frequently sung around the table on the Sabbath and holidays. There are special songs and melodies for different festivals, some of which you can hear on The Jewish Way of Life CD-ROM.
There is also much Jewish secular music. On The Jewish Way of Life CD-ROM, you will hear music for weddings and celebrations, Sephardi songs, klezmer music, which came from Jewish communities in Eastern Europe, Israeli songs and modern Jewish music by new bands. Today, Jewish music is popular among both Jewish and non-Jewish musicians, and new Jewish music is continually being created.
We know about the first Jewish music from references in the Bible, including the Song at the Sea (Exodus 14:30-15:21), the soothing effect of King David’s lyre (1 Samuel 16:23), and many references to music in the Psalms. Music also formed an important part of the ceremonies of the first and second Temples in Jerusalem, using instruments including the harp, trumpets, drums and cymbals.
Today, music remains a fundamental part of Jewish worship. In a traditional synagogue, the majority of the service is chanted or sung out loud, and the Torah reading is chanted. Different melodies are used for the prayers and Torah readings on weekdays, Shabbat and holidays. These melodies form a kind of calendar in song: even without hearing the words of a prayer, someone who knows the melodies well can tell exactly what time of year it is by hearing the melodies of the prayers and the songs of specific festivals.
But this is not the only variation in synagogue music: different Jewish communities also bring songs reflecting their own heritage: in a Sephardi synagogue you might hear music of Moroccan or Iraqi origin; in an Ashkenazi synagogue you could hear German or Russian melodies. Some congregations like older music; some use popular new melodies. The service is led by a chazzan (cantor) or a shaliach tsibbur (literally ‘emissary of the community’). A cantor has undergone formal training in chazzanut, the art of the cantor, and will decorate the melodic rendition of the prayers with ornaments and embellishments, bringing out the meaning of the words.
To see details of of music is contained on the Jewish Way of Life CD-ROM see the Music on the CD-ROM page.
To find out more about Jewish music, and to find opportunities to hear different types of Jewish Music in the UK visit the website of the Jewish Music Institute: http://www.jmi.org.uk/
Dr Abigail Wood
Joe Loss Lecturer in Jewish Music
Department of Music, SOAS