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The Making of a Reform Jewish Cantor: Musical Authority, Cultural Investment »

Book cover image of The Making of a Reform Jewish Cantor: Musical Authority, Cultural Investment by Judah M. Cohen

Authors: Judah M. Cohen
ISBN-13: 9780253353658, ISBN-10: 0253353653
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Date Published: November 2009
Edition: (Non-applicable)

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Author Biography: Judah M. Cohen

Judah M. Cohen is the Lou and Sybil Mervis Professor of Jewish Culture and Assistant Professor of Folklore and Ethnomusicology at Indiana University Bloomington. He is author of Through the Sands of Time: A History of the Jewish Community of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.

Book Synopsis

The Making of a Reform Jewish Cantor provides an unprecedented look into the meaning of attaining musical authority among American Reform Jews at the turn of the 21st century. How do aspiring cantors adapt traditional musical forms to the practices of contemporary American congregations? What is the cantor's role in American Jewish religious life today? Cohen follows cantorial students at the School of Sacred Music, Hebrew Union College, over the course of their training, as they prepare to become modern Jewish musical leaders. Opening a window on the practical, social, and cultural aspects of aspiring to musical authority, this book provides unusual insights into issues of musical tradition, identity, gender, community, and high and low musical culture.

Table of Contents

Introduction A moment of transformation 1

1 To fashion a cantor 24

2 Seeking the tradition 46

3 Constructing a tradition 68

4 Through the prism of the practicum 113

5 A prism of cantorial sound 154

6 A prism of cantorial identity 197

Conclusion Cantors in Israel and the structure of musical authority 226

App. A Ashkenazic and Sephardic pronunciation table 243

App. B Selections on compact disc 245

Notes 247

Bibliography 277

Index 291

Subjects