Jewish Post, Indianapolis, Marion County, 3 January 2003 — Page 16

NAT 12 January 1. 2003

As I Heard It Travel A bit batty, a little bubbly f/ie Florida Keys: A different experience Happy Secular New Year!

By MORTON GOLD I have not been listening to any Jewish CDs this last week. Less than two weeks ago I was asked to conduct a performance of "Die Fledermaus" on New Year's Eve. I must have

been a bit batty to agree to do it. For one thing, the last (and only) time I heard and saw a performance of this bubbly work was more than 20 years ago. For another, it meant dealing with solo singers, each of whom had their own ideas about how the music should be sung, which while each might have some justification dramatically, each was not at all what Mr. Strauss put down on paper! And as my great teacher Pierre Monteux once remarked, "They can do what they like, but I must play just what is written." (Bravo!) This cavalier attitude towards what the composer actually wrote is endemic these days. This attitude permeates the performance of music in our synagogues and temples. Few know or care what the composer actually wrote, even such illustrious composers as Lewnadowsky, Sulzer, Naumbourg, et al. What we place a premium on these days is congregational participation and individual expression. Any tawdry tune that the audience (err, the congregation) likes and can sing is ipso facto a great tune. Also, any tune that is repeated often enough, e.g. Friedman's "Mi Shebeyrach" can become a flagship anthem of a splinter "stream" of Judaism. No, there is nothing wrong with the latter tune; it just strikes me as a milchigdik kind of tune which has gained popularity, I suspect, more for its mixture of Hebrew and English text as much as anything else. Since many a congregation these days consists of people who barely know an aleph from a bet, they look for leadership from their spiritual leaders. The rabbis and those who serve as cantors (whether

they are real cantors or not) use as a yardstick what will be the most accessible and popular with the congregation. Thus has come to pass in most temples the demise of significant works actually composed for the service, music that calls for cantor, mixed choir, and organ. Where there still remains a choir, mixed or not (meaning men and women), they usually have very little, if anything, to do. The organ, that majestic instrument, is deemed to be too majestic. Some even revise the 18th century argument that it sounds too Christian. These people are unaware that one Pope, once upon a time, remarked that it sounded too Jewish. Besides, these days, there are precious few organists around, Jewish or not, who are able and/or willing to put up with the mrishkeit that comes with any kind of permanent position. The same observation may be made for cantors and even rabbis. Was it only 50 or so years ago when the primary consideration for a cantor was that he have a beautiful voice and knew nusach? Was it only 50 or so years ago that the primary qualification for a rabbi was that he be a Torah scholar? The af^swer, my friends, must be written somewhere else other than in the wind. Returning to the problem of the opera performance, I will follow the dictum of a very wise Orthodox cantor who suddenly found himself singing with a choir on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Speaking to the choir leader, he said, "Please, let me do mine, and when I finish, you can do yours!" As far as I am able (without doing injury to Mr. Strauss), 1 intend to play what he wrote with the orchestra. The singers can then do what they like (just like in shul). Should they finish before or after me, we will chalk that up to their inspiration and interpretation. It should be an interesting performance. Since champagne will be served to toast in the secular new year, a good time will be had by one and all. By all, that is, if you do not count the composer. And we all know that he has as much influence as a baker in an auto body shop. Continued on page 14

By HAROLD JACOBSON The word "Keys," as in Florida Keys, may not be linguistically related to the English word of the same spelling (it's actually a corruption of a Spanish word), but it does unlock a special kind of experience for vacation travelers eager for a unique holiday. The favored route to the Keys from Miami is by car, either southward on U.S. 1 (an exhausting experience because of traffic density and lights) or on the Florida Turnpike, which bypasses U.S. 1 and brings the motorist to the lush farmlands near Homestead, one of the richest agricultural areas in the United States. As of December 2002 it is now possible to take a two and a half hour Catamaran boat ride from Bayside in Miami to Islamorada, a community at the very center of the Keys. For those not in a hurry, however, U.S. 1 through the Keys is the preferred route. The stunning beauty of what must be the United States's most scenic roadway is enervating. On those parts of U.S. 1 unobstructed by brush and small trees (placed there by engineers as a buffer against cyclonic winds in hurricane season) drivers will find themselves surrounded by two bodies of water. On the left during the southbound trip is the Atlantic Ocean, a pellucid, shimmering mirror of glass reflecting a blue-green luminescence; on the right the Gulf of Mexico, subtlety different in its translucent coloring, competes for attention. Sunglasses are a must because of the glare caused by the prismatic play of the sun's rays on the two bodies of water. Travelers accustomed to the more turbulent wave action of ocean waters on both coasts of Florida will be surprised to discover that (except for hurricanes) the same waters in the Keys are generally much calmer - due in part to the proximity of the warming action of the famous Gulf Stream as well as the great barrier reefs which are strung out from eight to ten miles offshore and which prevent choppy waters from reaching the shore. Two oceans separated only by a thin strip of land make for ideal fishing, and that is one of the major raison d'etre of the

Keys. Fully one half of the commercial outlets on U.S. 1 offer fishing paraphernalia. That includes a department store-size facility near Islamorada, one of the most exclusive communities on the Keys, situated at mile markers 85-81, the Keys's curious but understandable address system. Islamorada (pronounced "eyelamorada" by locals) is not as large as Key Largo (the latter made famous by Humphrey Bogart's film of the same name), but nature has provided it with half a hundred species of birds and fishing grounds so plentiful that barracuda, bonefish, small sharks, and several varieties of snapper can actually be seen from peers and docks in the area. One of those peers is situated at Cheeca Lodge, one of the best-kept secrets in the Florida Keys. The Lodge (which can barely be seen at mile marker 82) is a four-star luxury hotel with a genteel ambience and a community conscience. In recent years it has sponsored a cystic fibrosis fishing competition which raised more than $200,000 for research and drew anglers from the sports and entertainment world, notably television personalities Ed Marinaro and James Siking, as well as dozens of professional athletes from the football, basketball, and baseball worlds. John Havlicek, the former Ohio State and Boston Celtics hoop star, participated in the fishing tournament. As befits its ecological philosophy, the Cheeca Lodge Cystic Fibrosis Fishing Derby required participants to throw back the redbone fish they caught - after recording the vital dimensions of the catch. No one, however, puts anything back from the Lodge's highly touted Sunday brunch, which features 35 different food delectables - an extravaganza with so wide a reputation that New Yorkers will come down to Cheeca just for the brunch. The Lodge is a fisherperson's delight. From its 50-foot-long jetty, huge cormorants perched on railings and posts seem to urge on guests to

haul in sea bass, sardines (with nets), snapper, grouper, barracuda, bonefish, sailfish, and baby sharks. The more ambitious among the fishing aficionados can try their hand at fly fishing in the "flats" (shallow waters) or take the Lodge's boat out to the reef for deep sea fishing. For the less adventurous, the Lodge offers a sandy beach with waters shallow enough for toddlers to navigate, a huge swimming pool just off the beach area, and an outdoor restaurant with an impressive wine list and gourmet menu. For those looking for a little nap after lunch, there are two wonderful hammocks available on the beach. The rooms at Cheeca Lodge are luxurious without being ostentatious and are designed to take advantage of ocean breezes and bright sunlight. One of the great attractions of the Keys from Key Largo to Key West is the setting sun experience. Is it really different from what one observes in the northern hemispheres? The answer is a resounding yes. Since there are no major factories (hence no pollution or smog) or high-rise buildings in the Keys, an unobstructed view of the sunset in a clear sky is possible. ’ In Key West visitors congregate on the docks to witness the oval red flame disappear over the horizon. In places like Key Largo, Islamorada and Marathon, sunset boat tours anchor a few hundred yards offshore to provide an even more spectacular view. The starry skies of the southern hemisphere with their constellations at a slightly different axis are seen with great clarity. Jewish tourists to the Keys will be interested to learn that that there are synagogues in Key Largo and Tavernier and a Lubavitch center in Key West. Their phone numbers are found under the yellow pages of the respective community directories and should be called because services tend to be irregular. There is also a small selection of kosher food items in the various minimarkets on the Keys.

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