The Art of Sound

By Lara Torgovnik
New York University

At about 7:10 on a Friday night, once the boisterous hellos and Shabbat Shaloms have been exchanged and everyone rustles to the appropriate page, a room full of young 19 and 20 year olds opens its mouth and emits Carlebach. Many don't know the composer's name. They learned the tune from a friend their freshman year, or even heard it so long ago that it has long been indivisible from the prayer. Many don't even realize that they are singing and yet, everyone follows as the pitches of instinct rise and fall. This is the beauty of Jewish music.

It is often quoted that music is a language universal, but there is actually very little that successfully escapes the limits of time and space. In Mozart we can hear the tumultuous streets of Vienna and Tchaikovsky's dramatic flair is unmistakably rooted in the sensibilities of St. Petersburg. Every composer is compartmentalized by era and residence. However, the Jewish people have spent thousands of years without borders and so, their art inevitably transcends.

There is something especially precious when relatively complex music is met with collective understanding. People may not have studied 4th species in a rigorous theory program, but when chanting L'chu Neranena, the bass notes still resound with the counterpoint of tradition. The cantor's voice spins through both leaps and chromatics, and every congregant is able to define it as melodic. The suspensions linger in the air and even the self-proclaimed 'tone deaf' congregants can feel the sounds wash over them in sweeping waves of consonance.

The magnificence of Jewish music does not remain solely within the confines of a sanctuary and I have personally had the honor of experiencing it in many ways throughout my time at NYU. I wake up in the morning to the sounds of Idan Raichel and find ease in the evenings with the pristine harmonies of the Western Wind. From being a member of the Zamir Chorale to now starting my own Jewish choir called LEV el LEV, the music has not only impacted, but has also come to direct my actions. Jewish art is not an accessory to life, but rather, for me, a creative necessity.

Lara Torgovnik is a student of the Gallatin School in NYU, pursuing a career in songwriting. She sings with the Zamir Chorale and is happily active in NYU's Jewish community.

[Posted 9/29/08]