# #188: Journey through Music's Mysticism, Sound & History - featuring Alex Clare

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/history-for-the-curious-the-jewish-history-podcast-4092442/188-journey-through-music-s-mysticism-sound-history-featuring-alex-clare
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/history-for-the-curious-the-jewish-history-podcast-4092442/188-journey-through-music-s-mysticism-sound-history-featuring-alex-clare.md
Podcast: [History for the Curious - The Jewish History Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/history-for-the-curious-the-jewish-history-podcast-4092442)
Published: 2026-03-04T12:21:35+00:00
Episode link: https://rabbiaubreyhersh.podbean.com/e/188-journey-through-musics-mysticism-sound-history-featuring-alex-clare/
Audio file: https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/p6iegrxfwwckzmmg/HC081_-_Ep_188_-_Music_Assembled_mixdown8diuo.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/history-for-the-curious-the-jewish-history-podcast-4092442/episodes/188-journey-through-music-s-mysticism-sound-history-featuring-alex-clare
Duration seconds: 4021

## Resource

What makes music such a powerful medium? How was music used to attain prophecy? Has AI destroyed pure music? Did Beethoven use our Kol Nidrei? How do you create a 'hit' song? How influenced is our music by non-Jewish musical patterns and culture? Is music art, emotion or transcendant? And how did Italian Jews start a music revolution 500 years ago? Timestamps: 0:00:46 — Podcast intro 0:01:22 — Topic setup: music in Torah and Levites. 0:02:58 — Music’s role in prophecy, Kabbalah, Vilna Gaon. 0:05:00 — Historical examples of music’s influence/appropriation. 0:10:00 — Music’s emotional power, simcha, halachic issues. 0:15:44 — Western (Renaissance/Baroque) and medieval Jewish music. 0:19:07 — 16th–17thC Italian controversy over Hebrew polyphony. 0:24:00 — Choirs, organs, cross-cultural musical borrowing. 0:30:00 — 19thC Jerusalem ban on wedding instruments (reasons). 0:35:19 — Interview with Alex Clare begins. 0:36:41 — Alex on nature of music, AI, sincerity. 1:00:00 — Music, memory, spirituality, and timelessness. 1:15:00 — Jewish vs. secular music, cultural influences. 1:25:00 — Alex on his music, kids’ songs, audience. 1:35:19 — Closing and contact info.

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## Transcript

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