2017/07/03 by Boaz Tarsi · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · #Diverse Musicological Studies #Music History and Culture #Musicology and Musical Analysis
paper · doi:10.1080/01411896.2017.1340033
openalex publication_date 2017/07/03 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2025/11/06
The study of liturgical music of the Jewish Ashkenazi tradition raises some interesting methodological issues with respect to music theory. Ashkenazi practice may be understood as an applied version of a music theory that has yet to be conceptualized and articulated. Foundations for the modern endeavor to formulate a theory of Ashkenazi liturgical music, one based on the concept of modes or scales, were laid by the work of pioneering ethnomusicologist A. Z. Idelsohn. Although his ideas still exercise a profound influence on the field, Idelsohn’s ideological and methodological preconceptions about the Magen Avot prayer mode have introduced a variety of stumbling blocks that have impeded progress in understanding the music-theory underpinnings of Ashkenazi liturgical music.