Mark Biddelman – Shiru Ladonai Shir Chadash
I am hardly an expert on the subject, but I have seen my fair share of Jewish religious records in the field. More often than not they are Cantor Recitations or Childrens camp songs. Less often I will stumble onto an acoustic folk album. Rarely do I stumble upon Folk-Rock with a bonafide drummer, let alone an electric guitar! And so we have Mark Biddelman. You can imagine my chagrin when, during my usual needle dropping routine, the wah kicked in followed by a slightly decrepit funky beat; the unfolding song had keeper written all over it.
A quick google search turned up Elaine Kahn’s Feb 2006 article in the New Jersey Jewish Standard, explaining that Cantor Biddelman’s Friday Night Rock Service was somewhat of a controversy when it was first performed at his Conservative Synagogue, Temple Emanuel of Pascack Valley, way back in 1971. In an all-too familiar struggle, pitting the younger rock’n’roll generation against the old, Mark and his able Rabbi were able to “coax” the elders into unleashing a full-on, er, Folk-Rock Assault on the Sanctuary. Enjoy the sound of revolution:
2 Comments
Holy Funk!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi,
I was a member of that congregation at the time Cantor Biddelman first performed this service. I can tell you that although it was controversial for the conservative movement at the time, the congregation loved it and would fill the sanctuary every time it was performed.
I would love to get a copy of the entire service. Would you be able to download it to a CD?
Ben