kaddish in two-part harmony
A conversation between an anthropologist and a musician along with a growing virtual minyan, on themes of death and dying, grief, ritual, and the interplay between music and words.about
Tag Archives: musicology
daily kaddish: for Lev Kogan on his Yahrtzeit
The “kaddish in two-part harmony” project takes Lev Kogan’s “Kaddish” for solo horn as its musical focal point. Kogan died on this day in 2007. Continue reading
Posted in kaddish in two-part harmony, podcasts
Tagged Lev Kogan, musicology, yahrtzeit
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daily kaddish: a moment of silence for the missing beat
In a lengthy, geeky post the other day, I wrote about discovering a missing beat in one bar of Lev Kogan’s “Kaddish.” Tonight’s Kaddish has a moment of silence where I think that missing beat ought to be. Continue reading
Posted in kaddish in two-part harmony, podcasts
Tagged kabbalism, musicology, numerology
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the mystery of the missing beat: on meter in Kogan’s “Kaddish”
How I came to notice that Lev Kogan’s “Kaddish” for solo horn is missing a beat. After TWENTY-FIVE YEARS of caring passionately about the piece. Hm. Continue reading
Posted in essays, kaddish in two-part harmony
Tagged kabbalism, magic, musicology, numerology
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what is it about words? a rant in response to a preamble
Music sits alongside religion as an opiate for the masses, and when music joins religion, it’s a truly powerful drug—one that scares the crap out of me sometimes.
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recent kaddishim: on connection and music
Something unexpected happened a few weekends ago. I asked Mira to record the text of the Mourner’s Kaddish for me, and she did, and then everything changed. We are nearing the end of the first three months. We have almost ten months to go on this daily musical exchange, according to the Julian calendar, because this is a leap year in the Hebrew calendar, which adds not just a leap day but a whole leap month. And after what felt like a lifetime of awful recordings to both of us, we’re both starting to enjoy the music. Continue reading
gregorian chant, jesus fulfilling prophecy, and easy listening
Last Sunday’s “Kaddish” recording (kaddish_2010.12.19_veniEmmanuel) explores and tests how the nusach of “Kaddish” blends into Gregorian chant; see “a musicological view of kogan’s ‘kaddish’” and commentary passim for discussion. Historical analysis As I mentioned in the analysis, in Gregorian chant … Continue reading
a musicological view of kogan’s “kaddish”
A musicological analysis of Kogan’s “Kaddish”; looking at the composition from a music historical and theoretical point of view. Continue reading