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Chapter 3 - Jewishness

from Part I - Bernstein’s World

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2024

Elizabeth A. Wells
Affiliation:
Mount Allison University, Canada
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Summary

Jewish related works form a significant part of Bernstein’s oeuvre. He draws from Hebrew texts taken from the bible and liturgy and also uses traditional Jewish melodies. Bernstein had a strong Jewish upbringing in his synagogue, Mishkan Tefila in Boston. Throughout his life Jewishness provided an approach to express his heritage and larger humanitarian ideas. This chapter discusses the Jewishness in Bernstein by investigating various works, including his three symphonies. In 1945 Bernstein was commissioned to write a setting of the Hashkiveinu prayer for a Friday evening service by the Park Avenue Synagogue in New York. This piece is discussed as a demonstration of various compositional styles that Bernstein applies that are not derived from Jewish tradition. Through differing approaches of direct use of melodies and text from the Jewish tradition, Bernstein provides an example of Jewishiness in art music with a complex and varied approach.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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  • Jewishness
  • Edited by Elizabeth A. Wells, Mount Allison University, Canada
  • Book: Leonard Bernstein in Context
  • Online publication: 06 April 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108891349.004
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  • Jewishness
  • Edited by Elizabeth A. Wells, Mount Allison University, Canada
  • Book: Leonard Bernstein in Context
  • Online publication: 06 April 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108891349.004
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Jewishness
  • Edited by Elizabeth A. Wells, Mount Allison University, Canada
  • Book: Leonard Bernstein in Context
  • Online publication: 06 April 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108891349.004
Available formats
×