A Season of Singing: Creating Feminist Jewish Music in the United States

by Sarah M. Ross

Overview

In the 1960s, Jewish music in America began to evolve. Traditional liturgical tunes developed into a blend of secular and sacred sound that became known in the 1980s as “American Nusach.” Chief among these developments was the growth of feminist Jewish songwriting.

In this lively study, Sarah M. Ross brings together scholarship on Jewish liturgy, U.S. history, and musical ethnology to describe the multiple roots and development of feminist Jewish music in the last quarter of the twentieth century. Focusing on the work of prolific songwriters such as Debbie Friedman, Rabbi Geela Rayzel Raphael, Rabbi Hanna Tiferet Siegel, and Linda Hirschhorn, this volume illuminates the biographies and oeuvres of innovators in the field, and shows how this new musical form arose from the rich contexts of feminism, identity politics, folk music, and Judaism. In addition to providing deep content analysis of individual songs, Ross examines the feminist Jewish music scene across the United States, the reception of this music, challenges to disseminating the music beyond informal settings, and the state of Jewish music publishing.

Rounding out the picture of the transformation of Jewish music, the volume contains appendixes of songs and songwriters a selection of musical transcriptions of feminist Jewish songs, and a comprehensive discography.

This book will interest scholars and students in the fields of American Jewish history, women’s studies, feminism, ethnomusicology, and contemporary popular and folk music.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781611689594
Publisher:	Brandeis University Press
Publication date:	08/16/2016
Series:	HBI Series on Jewish Women Series
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

SARAH M. ROSS is professor of Jewish music studies and director of the European Center for Jewish Music at the Hannover University of Music, Drama, and Media in Germany.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
PART 1
Who Sings unto God? Pioneer Feminist Jewish Singer-Songwriters in the United States
The Feminist Jewish Music Scene
PART 2
Feminist Voices in the Lyricists’ Choice: A Content Analysis
The Musical Conception of Feminist Jewish Songwriting
Conclusion: Feminist Jewish Music: Balancing between Jewish Tradition and Feminist Innovation
Appendix A: A Note on Fieldwork
Appendix B: The Source Materials
Appendix C: A List of Selected Feminist Jewish Songs
Notes
Glossary of Hebrew Terms
References
Index

What People are Saying About This

Tina K. Ramnarine

“A Season of Singing is a highly sophisticated analysis of the different factors shaping feminist Jewish songwriting in America, offering careful reflection on the spaces for Jewish feminist musical culture, and drawing attention to the politics and practices of gendered expression, especially in the intersections between gender and spirituality.”

Ellen Koskoff

“Sarah Ross has brought a wealth of knowledge, insight, and analytic creativity to this study of Jewish music and feminism in the United States during the second half of the twentieth century. Connecting various political, ritual, and musical identities and practices with the rise of Jewish feminism, Ross shows how these changing identities opened a creative space for the blossoming of new liturgical and popular musics during this time. Based on years of fieldwork among Jewish feminist composers, cantors, rabbis, and audiences, this book presents, for the first time, a comprehensive history and cultural analysis of this exciting time in Jewish musical history.”

Editorial Reviews

Sarah Ross has brought a wealth of knowledge, insight, and analytic creativity to this study of Jewish music and feminism in the Unites States during the second half of the twentieth century. Connecting various political, ritual, and musical identities and practices with the rise of Jewish feminism, Ross shows how these changing identities opened a creative space for the blossoming of new liturgical and popular musics during this time. Based on years of fieldwork among Jewish feminist composers, cantors, rabbis, and audiences, this book presents, for the first time, a comprehensive history and cultural analysis of this exciting time in Jewish musical history.”—Ellen Koskoff, professor of ethnomusicology, Eastman School of Music

From the Publisher