A 4-part Interdisciplinary Conference Series on the Relationships between Religion and the Arts, organized by Prof. Mark Kligman (UCLA) and Dr. Ruthie Abeliovich (The University of Haifa)
Part 4: Kol Nidre's Many Spaces: From the Synagogue to the Archive
The Kol Nidre ritual event and its depictions in literature, music and film provide valuable examples of artistic expression. This session will explore through film, music and performance, the rare moments of inclusion during a time of solemn devotion. Kol Nidre has been a source and subject in theatre performances for over 100 years. Theatre provides a unique opportunity for Kol Nidre’s theological, social and cultural expressions of the sacred to intersect with secular depictions and re-enactments, as a result new possibilities emerge.
Presenters:
“Vocal Communities in the Twilight: Kol Nidre Before Total Eclipse”; Ruth HaCohen (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
“Presentation and Performance: Kol Nidre on the Bima and the Bine”; Amanda (Miryem-Khaye) Seigal (The Graduate Center, City University of New York)
Mark Slobin (Wesleyan University, Emeritus), Discussant
This 4-part online conference aims to foster an interdisciplinary dialogue on the performance and artistic creativity of “Kol Nidre” across historical periods, aesthetic forms, mediums and cultural contexts. We seek to gain fresh perspectives on the audio-visual entanglements of the performance of the “Kol Nidre” prayer. Focusing on its various artistic iterations within popular culture, as well as its numerous adaptations, we aim to rethink the theatricality and musicality of the ritual, untie the affective qualities of the ritual, explore its social performances and analyze how its inherent dramaturgical structures configure communities.
This event is made possible by the Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, and is part of the DYBBUK project at the University of Haifa, that has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant agreement No. 948150). It is co-sponsored by the UCLA Alan D. Leve Center for Jewish Studies. Additional support is provided by The International Forum for Jewish Music Studies, Cantors Assembly, European Cantors Association, Jewish Music Forum and the UCLA Center for the Study of Religion.