The story of my encounter with Norma Brooks' music can be considered a musical shidakh. In 1996, Hazzan Natasha J. Hirshhorn introduced me to Norma's "Yehalelu et Shem A'," with enormous enthusiasm. I immediately perceived one of Norma's musical trademarks: Her melodies ring true to the text. Her profound intuition makes sure that, after an agonizing analysis of the text, she makes melodic choices that remain subservient to the religious poem with which she is engaged. In fact, my first thought after hearing "Yehalelu et Shem A'" was that Norma's melody was the only possible one for that religious text. It was not the last time I would come to that conclusions. Four years later, Rachel Braun, a mutual friend, gave me a tape of Norma's songs and asked me to transcribe the music for publication. It was then that I slowly began to appreciate the variety and subtlety of her work.
Norma has an inner ear attuned to the times, and she responds to text with a modernity that never compromises the integrity of the text. Consider her "Shahar Avakeshkha" and its lavishly romantic melody and long phrases, which bring the words of Rabbi Shelomo ibn Gabirol to life.
Norma's melodies exude a rare simplicity that invites or, rather, seduces men, women, and children to sing, to be part of the prayer, to refuse to remain passively on the sidelines. Full congregational participation - one of Norma's heartfelt goals - is particularly manifest in "Ul'amtuye," "Areshet Sefateinu," "'Etz Hayyim Hi," and "Tzadik kaTamar," which busts with South American spirit, so dear to Norma. In "Shira Hadasha" and "Uvekhen Ten Pahdekha," congregants are active participants constantly exchanging with the hazzan or sheliah tzibur. The antiphonal nature of these excerpts creates an energy that a single voice can never transcend.
The intelligence and beauty that radiates from these melodies alone would have won Norma a place of significance in the Jewish liturgical arena. Yet her compositional output does not stop surprising us, challenging us, demanding from us the same level of emotional intensity that she pours into her music. The profound lyricism of "BeSefer Hayyim" and"'Ezrat Avoteniu," the meditative quality of "Yoshev beSeter 'Elyon," introspective "Tefila leShalom," and "Uvekhen Ten Pahdekha," true to the best cantorial tradition, speak incessantly to the heart, immersing us in our most intense passions.
A word of caution: Norma Brooks' melodies cannot and should not be considered background music. The texts she chooses, their musical treatment, and their performance require that we give our all, offering our hearts through our participation. "Tefila liM'dinat Israel," dedicated to Yitzhak Rabin, is perhaps the most compelling example that life is too short and too valuable to be wasted in the dark. May Norma's Your Bountiful Light illuminate your days. It has already brightened mine.