Opera on the Move in the Nordic Countries during the Long 19th ...

Rachel the Jewess in Copenhagen
235
When a little later Jacob is to perform his part in this ceremony, his pronunciation
of the benedictions are described as being in “the curious singing
tone that befits this”; then he proceeds to the “artificial rhythmic declamation”
of the verse, which was selected by chance for him on that day.
While Goldschmidt’s descriptions are obviously not meant to ridicule
these Jewish vocal performances, he nevertheless employs a rhetorical
strategy that stresses their “strangeness” when heard by “outsiders”: the
performances sound “curious”, “artificial”, more like “a burglary” than music.
This rhetorical strategy prepares for a more outspoken sense of alienation,
when Jacob, while studying in Copenhagen, gradually distances himself
more and more from what he perceives as the superstitious religious
traditions of his family.
Thus, the sound of the Jewish voice may, in such contexts, be understood
as a voice marked by its cultural difference, belonging to a ghetto culture
which is “problematic” or “provocative” in the sense that its traditionalism
is also perceived as indicative of an attitude of resistance to “modern”
Christian culture (a quality to which Wagner and Goldschmidt related in
quite different ways).
But the same category of Jewish voice(s) may also be experienced from
the opposite perspective, stressing a sense of community, familiarity and
belonging. In a description of a Passover ceremony in Jacob’s childhood
home these aspects are very much emphasised; in fact, the descriptions of
the ecstatic, transformative power of the singing almost remind us of Hans
Christian Andersen’s descriptions of the ensemble scenes in Jødinden,
quoted above:
The joy increased and became almost wild; Danish, German and Hebrew
were mixed in the singing; […] Louder and louder the jubilant cries; the
elderly sang with tears in their eyes, the child beat the rhythm on the
table with a glass in one hand and a bottle in the other and cried with joy
[…]. 23
udtog Thora, under Menighedens lydelige Bønner. Den, som havde hørt Forsamlingens
høie Raab i dette Øieblik og ikke forstod Ceremonien, skulde troet, at Forsangeren
vilde begaae Indbrud, og at de Øvrige ved deres Advarsler søgte at afholde ham derfra.”
(Goldschmidt 1845/1896, 110)
23 ”Glæden steg og blev næsten vild; man sang Dansk, Tydsk og Hebraisk imellem
hinanden; […] Høiere og høiere hvirvlede Jublen; de Ældre sang med Taarer i Øinene,
Barnet slog Tact i Bordet med et Glas i den ene Haand og en Flaske i den anden og
græd af Jubel […].” (Goldschmidt 1845/1896, 29)