Leonard Bernstein: Jewish
America's Favorite (Musical) Son
A celebrated American composer, conductor,
teacher, and pianist who infused his work with his Jewish heritage
By Marsha Bryan Edelman
Excerpted with
permission from Discovering Jewish Music
(Jewish Publication Society).
American audiences of all backgrounds swelled with pride as
Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) became the first native son to overcome the
European hegemony over conducting positions with ranking world orchestras.
Bernstein was only 26 when he captured America's heart--and respect--by
stepping into the breach created by an ailing Bruno Walter and leading the New
York Philharmonic Orchestra in a critically acclaimed concert. The previously
anonymous, young assistant conductor was catapulted by that success into a
career unprecedented in the history of Western music of any sort. Excelling in
every venue he touched, Bernstein won praise as a conductor, pianist, teacher,
and composer of a wide variety of musical forms.
Bernstein's musical successes were as much a personal
victory for him as they were a source of vicarious accomplishment for America.
Bernstein had pursued his musical education over the strong objections of his
father, who had urged him toward more conservative pursuits. Interestingly,
despite (initially) frustrating his parents with his career choice, he did
observe one important family tradition: The Jewish heritage that had been
inculcated in him from his youth remained an important aspect of his personal
and musical identity.
A Jewish-Themes Symphony
A year before his 1943 conducting debut, Bernstein completed
his first symphony, though the work did not receive its premiere until 1944. At
the conclusion of that season, the New York critics awarded Bernstein's
Symphony No. 1 their highest accolade, pronouncing it the most impressive new
work of the year. One wonders how the critics might have received the work if
they had also appreciated its considerable Jewish musical content.
Bernstein subtitled his symphony "Jeremiah,"
signaling his intent to tell the story of the prophet who had led Israel in the
sixth century B.C.E.Jeremiah's testimony is recorded in the biblical
Book of Jeremiah, and in Lamentations, a series of five poetic odes written by
Jeremiah as witness to the horrible destruction of the First Temple and the
exile of the Jewish people into Babylonian slavery. The symphony's three
movements are labeled, not with the customary Italian titles announcing form or
speed, but with the names of the three "chapters" in Jeremiah's life:
"Prophecy" (his own), "Profanation" (as the people rejected
his message), and "Lamentation" (as the prophet's warnings came
true). The didactic intent of this symphony could have been satisfied with
these programmatic titles, but Bernstein endowed each movement with unique
Jewish musical significance as well...
Shortly after the premiere of the "Jeremiah"
Symphony, Bernstein accepted a commission from the Park Avenue Synagogue to
compose a setting of liturgy for the Sabbath service. His "Hashkivenu"
for cantor, mixed chorus, and organ was completed in 1945. An impressive
work--at times melodious and haunting, at other times dramatic and
demanding--it is Bernstein's only work "for the synagogue." Since its
premiere, its rare performances have been primarily on the concert stage.
"Hashkivenu" was also the last "Jewish" work Bernstein
wrote for many years. Then, in 1961, Bernstein began work on his third
symphony, another programmatic work that he subtitled "Kaddish"...
The Kaddish Symphony is scored for speaker (again a female),
soprano solo, adult mixed choir, boys choir, and orchestra. Bernstein wrote the
speaker's text himself and envisioned an era in which humankind was distanced
from God and on the verge of self-destruction.
The speaker decides to recite Kaddish, her own Kaddish, fearing that
there will be no one left alive to say it after her. She chides God for having
promised never to destroy the world only to allow His children to do it for
Him. God is alternately her father and her paramour (just as the rabbis
understood a "masculine" God as the romantic partner of the
"feminine" people of Israel). And she is all of humankind--a
disobedient child and an angry lover. She calls God to a Din-Torah (a
Torah judgment) for breaking Divine promises, but ultimately reconciles herself
to Him and allows herself to again speak His praise.
Bernstein's "libretto" is as replete with Jewish
tradition as any text could be. Although all of the imagery derives from the
Bible (and is thus accessible to all, albeit in its "Old Testament"
form), the speaker's identity and passions are driven by Jewish history and
philosophy, and the Kaddish itself is a uniquely Jewish text. Yet there is not
a note of "Jewish" music anywhere in the symphony. Indeed, in this
composition, Bernstein made his only forays into an exploration of the
possibilities of 12-tone music, a major leap outside the boundaries of
accustomed Western practice and Jewish tradition...
Bernstein's Mass
Bernstein's 1971 Mass appears to be as far from
"Jewish" music as a composer could get. The unorthodox work,
commissioned for the opening of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., was
vilified for its theological irreverence and, ironically, was criticized for
being too obviously in the consistent musical style of Leonard Bernstein. The
composer described the work as "a theater piece for singers, players, and
dancers" and scored it for soloist (celebrant), mixed chorus, boys chorus,
orchestra, marching band, and electric guitar. In addition to the musicians and
dancers who appeared on stage, the work opened with a prerecorded tape of mixed
choral singers and percussion played over loudspeakers positioned among the
members of the audience. With so many forces and art forms at work, this
"blasphemous" work was clearly confusing to traditional Catholics and
had many Jews wondering what "their Lenny" was trying to prove.
At least one point that Bernstein wanted to prove was that
the Catholic liturgy had clear antecedents in Jewish tradition. The Sanctus
section of the Mass has the boys choir singing "Holy, Holy, Holy is the
Lord of Hosts"--in Hebrew. Barukh haba be-shem Adonai (Blessed is
He who comes in the Name of the Lord) takes on a very different meaning in the
context of Catholic worship, but Bernstein accomplished an important
educational mission by juxtaposing the two traditions.
Bernstein realized a
long-held dream with his 1974 ballet suite, Dybbuk. For years he had
toyed with the idea of writing a composition based upon Anski's play. He had
also been eager to work again with choreographer Jerome Robbins, with whom he
had collaborated on West Side Story. By the time he approached the
project he added another ingredient to the mix, one that derived from the
premise of the story itself and that Bernstein later claimed infused every note
of the music--Kabbalah [Jewish mysticism]....
It is impossible for the listener to hear Bernstein's
kabbalistic... machinations in the music. What one does hear is a remarkable
work, at once contemporary and original, yet infused with the folk spirit of
Eastern Europe. Its movements honor the protagonists in Anski's play, but they
also pay tribute to Bernstein's forebears and to his strong sense of
connectedness to his Jewish heritage.
The workaholic Bernstein was often criticized for not
focusing on one musical pursuit. Many felt that he would have achieved even
greater success had he focused exclusively on either conducting or composing
(and excluded the teaching and piano performance that remained an important and
fulfilling part of his life). Bernstein's admirers recognized the multiple
interests that drove the man throughout his life and the unique combination of
talents that enabled him to succeed in so many venues. The Jewish community
benefited as much as any segment of the music world. In particular, Bernstein
made an important contribution to concert repertoire, demonstrating
convincingly that music can have a decidedly "Jewish" agenda while
retaining its "universal" appeal.
Marsha
Bryan Edelman is professor of music and education at Gratz College. She also
serves as director of the Tyson Music Department and coordinates the college's
academic programs in Jewish music.
Copyright
2003 by Marsha Bryan Edelman
