The music of Israel

First published in 1949, Peter Gradenwitz's monumental work on the rise and growth of Jewish music - covering 5,000 years of history - received critical praise as the first comprehensive book on the subject. In this new edition, completely revised and enlarged, the author surpasses the scope of the previous volume, introducing new material on music of the Holocaust and on Jewish composers in modern Israel and the world over.

Incorporating the most recent historical discoveries and research of both Israeli and international scholars, Gradenwitz traces the rise and growth of Hebrew and Jewish music from its earliest beginnings to the present and examines the background and state of musical life in Israel today.

As in the previous volume, the author explores all historical and musical aspects of ancient, medieval, and modern Hebrew liturgical and Jewish secular music, pointing out Jewish contributions to world music and examining musical cross-relations between the Jews of the Holy Land and those of the Diaspora.

Covering the music of the synagogue and ghetto, of the shepherd boy of Judea and that of Mahler and Schoenberg and of contemporary Jewish composers, the book remains the first and most complete study of its kind. With a foreword by Leonard Bernstein and a preface by Yehudi Menuhin, The Music of Israel will serve as an important reference for those interested in discovering the rich musical heritage of the Jewish people.