Description: With the nineteenth century came new freedom for European Jews. Enjoying an integration that had been denied since the Middle Ages, they now wrestled with the form and degree of that integration in all areas of their lives, including in their creation, appreciation, and criticism of music. The writings focus on Jewish musicology, biography, historical surveys, secular music and those songs performed in the synagogue.
Brief description: Jonathan L. Friedmann is a professor of Jewish music history at the Academy for Jewish Religion, California, and Extraordinary Professor of theology at North-West University (South Africa). He is the author, editor or compiler of eleven other books on music and religion. Visit his website at jonathanfriedmann.com.