On Hazanut Word from: David

Reading the JHSMW program left me postively reactionary-begging for an alternative to 'cool' Jewish music, for the antidote to avant-garde artists fusing various cultures and styles. Thank heaven that the Hazan (Cantor) will never be trendy. Elements of cantorial and liturgical music can be sampled, remixed, and influence musicians as diverse as Willie The Lion, Zohar Argov, and Emil Zrihan. Hazanim, like opera singers, tour and perform for small but educated audiences. However, an unique element of expression will always be confined to the synagogue and often limited to it's 'edah (ethnic or geographic community).

David Olivestone writes that "(Hazanut) is the Jewish equivalent of classical music...(and) needs to be worked at to be understood." There has always been a love of Hazanut in my family-a distant cousin of mine, also named David Druce conducts The London Cantorial Singers. Yet I too have struggled with this form of art and religous expression. Tishrei's lengthy and complex services, compared to a 'medieval poetry slam' provide ample time to cultivate this taste. An added bonus for writers, English majors, and standardized test takers is to sift through an archaic Mahzor, finding such words as 'vouchsafed' and 'wert.'

Seriously though-what should the role of a Hazan be? Should he* be a full-time employtee, and if not should the synagogue draw up on a pious man or a philanphropist? Pick a spirited young man or an elder who remembers the tunes of an earlier diaspora? Is he the 'ba'al tefila', master of prayer, a dignitary who speaks on behalf of the congregation? Is he a 'pintele yid' who leads other yidn into spasms of tears? Or is he the first among equals, a band leader who smacks the lectern while sampling popular tunes to keep everyone inspired? The Hebrew word 'Hazan' may have originated as 'Hazanu' Aramaic for official and some congregants, especially if they find the Hazan dislikable as a person or musician may feel that they are being spoken for. Worshippers who are looking for an emotional release rather than an aesthetic experience, may benefit from listening to the discordant voices around them. I often close my eyes and listen to the various accents, tones of age, and emotions near me. Try it when the Machzor's pages blur together and the clock begins to grabs your attention.

As for listening to Hazanut-just as one has to search far and wide for things like 'authentic' blues, underground rap, 'non-commerical' jazz, it takes insider knowledge and a bit of to hear quality religous music. In the New York area, an astute listener can hear the musical traditions of places like Frankfurt-Am-Main in Washington Heights, Halab (Aleppo) in Deal, Bukhara in Forest Hills, Modzitz in Flatbush. WQXR broadcasts Friday evening services from Temple Emanu-El on the Upper East Side. Israel-Music has a wide selection of discs: Syrian baqashot, Morrocan piyutim and readings of Pirkei Avot, Yerushalmi selihot, Egyptian bar mitzva songs and selections from a Yemenite Rosh HaShana service.

I rarely go to concerts, but was this convinced to attend a local synagogue's Lag Ba'Omer event. A Hazan of Morrocan origin sang songs in Hebrew, Judeo-Arabic, and Ladino. A Muslim keyboardist, accompanied him hopefully not offended by the giant picture showing the Beit HaMikdash as it would look in present-day Jerusalem. Parents danced with their children, while a video showing a Hillula in Israel played silently. For a look at the Askenazi tradition, I recommend Chazzanut Online which has substantive material that this article lacks. Cantors World has an excellent film on the life of Yossele Rosenblatt z'l. Virtual Cantor is a free way to learn the standard Ashkenazi and Israeli-influenced American 'nusach.'

*My choice of gender is deliberate. As for women Hazanim (Rahel, any thoughts?), I must admit that my perception of Hazanut is that it is a deeply masculine activity. Listening to a women read Psukei D'zimrah at Shir Hadash was something that I intellectually appreciated, but viscerally reject. Is it worth uprooting these attachments for the sake of inclusion? Is it wrong that what I demand of a religous experience that must be limiting for other worshippers? Hazanut is evolving at a slow but steady pace, but I hope to always hear a bearded man, his sonorous timbres reaching from his belly to the heavens.