The New York Times ran this feature below on the Idelsohn Society’s ‘TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE HANUKKAH: THE MUSICAL BATTLE BETWEEN CHRISTMAS AND THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS”. While this 2 CD set features both Christmas and Hanukkah songs, there is a deeper story to tell: the history of Hanukkah in America but also the influence of Jewish songwriters and singers on America’s Christmas canon. According to Idelsohn’s Roger Bennett:
“We are asking a lot of different questions with this,” Mr. Bennett said. “You have non-Jews singing Hanukkah songs and cantors singing Christmas songs and Jews performing Christmas songs in Yiddish and Hebrew. It really asks the question: ‘Why are they doing what they are doing?’ and ‘Are only the Hanukkah songs Jewish, or can you make the case the Christmas songs are the most Jewish songs?’ ”
SKOPE IT HERE!
