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July 25, 2008
Writing music of the world
The Hebrew poetry of Jewish liturgy inspires Moshe Denburg.
CYNTHIA RAMSAY
If multicultural is how you'd describe British Columbia, then musician Moshe Denburg epitomizes the spirit of the province – and of Canada, for that matter.
Denburg grew up in Montreal, but he has travelled worldwide, living and studying in the United States, Israel, India and Japan. His musical career – which includes composition, performance, music education and artistic direction – spans almost four decades and his accomplishments represent as wide a range as his travels. He has studied music extensively and written a large number of works for a variety of instruments from non-Western cultures (East Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic and more), which have been performed and broadcast at festivals and on the radio both in Canada and abroad. He writes, performs and records with Tzimmes, a Jewish music ensemble he established 20 years ago. He is an associate composer of the Canadian Music Centre and the founder of the Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra (VICO), presently serving as its artistic director.
"The folk/popular aspect of my work is embodied in the repertoire of my Jewish music ensemble, Tzimmes – songs and instrumental pieces with largely Jewish content," Denburg told the Independent. "The classical Western compositions are works which I have been commissioned to write for various Jewish and non-Jewish ensembles, other than Tzimmes. The intercultural compositions I have written utilize my Jewish sensibilities, but also draw upon my experiences studying the music of the world, especially the music of India. Here a great many non-Western instruments are utilized."
With Tzimmes, Denburg has recorded KlezMyriad (1998), A Lid for Every Pot (1995) and Sweet and Hot (1993). The Orchid Ensemble CD Road to Kashgar (2004) includes three Denburg works: "The Road to Kashgar," "The Endless Sands of the Taklimakan" and "The Winged Horses of Heaven." He has been involved in other recordings and said that one of the reasons he finds intercultural music so compelling is that it functions, at least in part, to overcome isolation.
"Some years ago, after some significant travels in the East, studying music, I felt that the most important contribution of art is to help people overcome a sense of isolation one from another," said Denburg. "Music can help us reclaim our rightful place in the world, to be individuals among many, without relinquishing a sense of unity. Taking this seriously, an individual needs to look for ways to overcome his/her own isolation from others. For me, learning about other cultures and experiencing a great beauty, one that does not come solely from the culture I was given 'with my mother's milk,' so to speak, is a small step in the direction of overcoming isolation and all of its corollaries: superiority, bigotry, petty envy and so on – all the negative emotions we are heir to."
One of the issues when composing intercultural music, of course, is the role of oral versus written tradition in various cultures and religions.
"Actually," explained Denburg, "I like to use the words aural versus written, though much of the aural traditions of the world are transmitted orally as well. But this is an aside. Aural and written traditions are different processes, and difficult in practice to bring together – hard to explain why in a sentence or two.
"In the Jewish cantorial tradition, the cantor improvises upon certain modes of prayer, though he may begin and end with certain fixed melodies. He adds ornaments, scalar figures and even creates new melodies while singing - this is an example of an aural tradition, though most cantors can read some music as well. Classical Western musicians have no improvisational training to speak of, but they are unbelievably adept at reading written music. Diametrically opposite is the tradition of India, where musicians spend 20 years perfecting technical skills that include incredibly high levels of improvisation."
In this vein, Denburg was asked at the New Views on Canada's Jews conference, which took place at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver on June 1, whether the term "Jewish music" had any meaning.
"In my workshops and lectures on Jewish music, I usually end by asking everyone in the room what 'Jewish music' is to them," Denburg told the Independent. "The gamut of responses really encompasses all that Jewish music is: music at life passage events, music and song which celebrate Jewish cultural experience, music which is referenced in liturgical contexts, music as a means of elaborating prayer and Jewish rituals, music which has a 'crying voice' in it, and so on.
"My view is that Jewish music celebrates Jewish experience in some manner or another, and probably is originally rooted in religious culture, though this may go back several generations for some people. In this context, 'White Christmas' is not really 'Jewish' music, though it was written by a Jew, Irving Berlin. There may be some Jewish influence in the music, as analyzed by congenial musicologists, but it cannot be called Jewish, not functionally."
In addition to the more scholarly aspects of his life being connected to Judaism, Denburg, who grew up in a religious family, said that, "Judaism is kept alive in my life mainly by my involvement with Jewish music. Music has always been what I connected to in Judaism, and the Hebrew poetry of the liturgy has always served as an inspiration. This is where my intimation of beauty and truth was born, and what I resonate with still."
Denburg remains active with Tzimmes, "doing weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs, communal events, occasional concerts and working on a new album." He is also "in the midst of composing several newly commissioned works for small intercultural ensembles here in Vancouver."
As part of an ongoing VICO series called Music of the Whole World, which takes place at the Vancouver Public Library's main branch, Denburg will present on Aug. 6, from 7-8:30 p.m., Jewish Music in the Intercultural Orchestra, a program highlighting the challenges of integrating Jewish music into an intercultural context. It is an educational evening of music listening, appreciation and live performance, offered free of charge.
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