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1
composer: Yehezkel Braun
title: Psalm Verses (Eighteen Canons)
publisher: Israel Music Institute
catalogue number: IMI 6403
voicing: any combination of voices (2 to 5 parts)
accompaniment: a cappella
language: Hebrew (alternate English)
text: Psalms
year of composition: 1982
timing: depends on which canons are chosen
recordings: none
statement: Each of these little gems is a setting of a verse or two from the
Psalter. The simpler ones are two-part canons at the unison. The more complex
canons involve up to five parts, are in mixed meter, have entrances in
different keys and involve inversion of the subject. A word of warning to the
conductor: the composer has written many of these in the form of "puzzle
canons;" you'll need to figure out their solutions. But it's worth the effort.
These are fun to sing and lovely to listen to. Use your imagination in
selecting a sub-set of the eighteen, allocating them to various combinations
of voices, and arranging ways to bring each canon to a conclusion.
2
composer: Joseph Hadar (arranger Jack Klebanow)
title: Erev Shel Shoshanim
publisher: World Music Press
catalogue number: WMP 03
voicing: SATB
accompaniment: piano
timing 3:15
language: Hebrew
text: Moshe Dor
year of arrangement: 1986
recordings: The Songs We Sang (HZ-906)*
statement: "Erev Shel Shoshanim" is an Israeli song, conceived in a "folk"
style, and tremendously popular both in Israel and the Diaspora in the 1960s.
The text of this secular love song is a paraphrase of verses from the Biblical
Song of Songs, in which the poet entreats his lover to join him in the
fragrant garden for an "Evening of Roses." This one is quite easy to learn,
and has achieved great popularity among U.S. high-school choirs; the tempo is
slow, the meter remains quadruple, the mode is Dorian, and voice parts are
simple. The trick here is to perform the work with a warm tone and expressive
legato phrasing.
3
composer: Robert Starer
title: Song of Praise
publisher: MMB
catalogue number: MMB 89001
voicing: mostly unison (some two-part), any combination of voices
accompaniment: piano (or harp, violin and cello)
timing: 4:40
language: Hebrew and English
text: from Psalm 92
year of composition: 1988
recordings: none
statement: Robert Starer belongs to the generation of young Jewish musicians
who fled Austria in the 1930s. After spending a decade in Jerusalem, Starer
eventually settled in the United States. "Song of Praise" is one of Starer's
many works in which he alternates Hebrew and English lyrics. The writing is
basically tonal (or modal), but frequent and unexpected modulations are
common. The voicing is flexible enough so that this piece works equally well
with all-male, all-female or mixed choirs, large or small.
4
composer: Tzvi Avni
title: Mizmorei Tehillim (Psalm Songs)
publisher: Transcontinental Music Publications
catalogue number: 991377-12
voicing: SATB
accompaniment: a cappella
timing: 6:25
language: Hebrew (alternate English)
text: from Psalms 47, 48, 150
year of composition: 1967
recordings: Zamir 25 (HZ-907)*
statement: This three-movement work was commissioned for the 1967 Zimriyah
International Choral Festival in Israel. Its texts reflect both the uniqueness
of the host nation, and the joy a foreigner experiences when coming to the
Holy Land. This is one of the last works from Avni's "Mediterranean" style
period, incorporating the rhythms and modes of the Middle East. The first
movement is set in a lively 5/4 meter. The second movement evokes the
Palestrina ideal in its polyphonic texture made up of independent, lyrical,
flowing lines. The finale returns to the mood of the opening: joyous homophony
in mixed meters. This colorful work is very rewarding for more advanced
choirs.
5
composer: Ernest Bloch
title: Silent Devotion and Response (from "Sacred Service")
publisher: Broude Brothers
catalogue number: BB 179
voicing: SATB
accompaniment: a cappella (optional prelude for organ)
timing: 2:15
language: Hebrew (alternate English)
text: Psalm 19:14
year of composition: 1933
recordings: The entire Sacred Service can be heard on SONY SM2K47533.
statement: This octavo is a brief excerpt from Bloch's magnum opus, "Sacred
Service" ("Avodat Hakodesh"), one of the only truly great choral-orchestral
settings of the Jewish liturgy. The brief prelude ("silent devotion") for
keyboard (actually a reduction of the orchestration) may easily be omitted.
This neo-romantic work gives the chorus the opportunity to show off its blend
and its ability to phrase expressively. The tempo is slow, the mood is
contemplative and the mode is Dorian.
6
composer: Yehezkel Braun (arranger Joshua Jacobson)
title: Durme, Durme
publisher: HaZamir
catalogue number: 982012
voicing: SSATBB
accompaniment: piano
timing: 2:00
language: Ladino
text: traditional
year of composition: 1981
recording: Sepharad 92 (HZ-903)*
statement: In 1981 Israeli composer Yehezkel Braun composed "Seven Sephardic
Romances," a song cycle for soprano and piano. This work was based on love
songs from the ancient traditions of Jews who lived in Spain prior to the
sixteenth century. The Ladino language is a jargon combining elements of
Castillian Spanish and Hebrew, with the former predominating. In 1990 Joshua
Jacobson arranged the entire cycle for mixed chorus. In "Durme, Durme" a
troubadour sings to his beloved. The arrangement is not difficult, but does
call for the choir to divide into six parts.
7
composer: Yehezkel Braun
title: Shir Hashirim (Cantici Canticorum Caput III)
publisher: Transcontinental Music Publications
catalogue number: 992035-25
voicing: SATB, solo soprano
accompaniment: a cappella
timing: 13:00
language: Hebrew (alternate English)
text: Song of Songs, chapter 3
year of composition: 1973
recordings: none
statement: Yehezkel Braun's fascination with chanting is evident in many of
his compositions, including this one. Braun's textures are frequently woven of
chant-like lines which are soaked in colorful modalities and seem to float
above any sense of terrestrial meter. This six-movement work is a setting of
the entire third chapter of the Biblical Song of Songs. It is a beautiful
evocation of amorous dreams, the lively dancing of lovers, and the splendor of
King Solomon's court.
8
composer: Nira Chen (arranger Joshua Jacobson)
title: Dodi Li
publisher: World Music Press
catalogue number: WMP 017
voicing: SATB
accompaniment: clarinet, flute, percussion
timing: 3:30
language: Hebrew (alternate English)
text: after Song of Songs 3:6, 4:9, 4:16, 6:3.
year of arrangement: 1993
recordings: The Songs We Sang (HZ-906)*
statement: When European Jews began to return to the land of Israel at the
beginning of the twentieth century, they were determined to create an ideal
new life, based on the ancient Hebrew civilization. Among the manifestations
of this new life-style was a body of popular secular songs whose texts were
taken from the Old Testament and whose melodies were in tune with the rhythms
and scales of the Middle East. Nira Chen's Dodi Li provides an excellent
example. The text is taken from the greatest Biblical love song, the Canticle
of King Solomon. The exoticism of the melody is reinforced by the repeated
horah rhythm and the modality, vacillating between Dorian and Aeolian. In this
arrangement, the amorous quality of the text is the springboard for a sensuous
interpretation. The tempo is slow and languid, the dynamics expressive.
9
composer: folk (arranger Joshua Jacobson)
title: Adijo Kerida
publisher: HaZamir
catalogue number: WMP 016
voicing: SATB (div.)
accompaniment: piano
timing: 3:45
language: Ladino
text: traditional
year of arrangement: 1991
recordings: Sepharad 92 (HZ-903)*
statement: It is unclear whether the origin of this song is from ancient Spain
or Violetta's aria "Addio del passato" from Verdi's La Traviata (1853).
Whatever its history, this sad ballad of unrequited love is well known among
the Sephardim (Jews who trace their ancestry to medieval Spain) living in the
Balkan countries. The Ladino dialect is more than five hundred years old and
is related to the language spoken by the Jews of Spain before their expulsion
by the Inquisition in 1492. In this setting, the piano imitates the sound of a
Spanish guitar. The voice parts can be handled easily by most choirs.
10
composer: Michael Gelbart (arranger Matthew Lazar)
title: I Have a Little Dreydel
publisher: HaZamir
catalogue number: 982002
voicing: SATB, T solo
accompaniment: piano (optional bass and drum set)
timing: 3:00
language: English
text: Michael Gelbart
year of arrangement: 1989
recordings: LIGHTS (HZ-901)*
statement: Originally written in Yiddish, Michael Gelbart's "I Have a Little
Dreydel" has proven to be a popular children's song for Chanukah. In English
translation it has captivated several generations of American children, as
well. Utilizing the styles of 1950s rock-'n'-roll, this lighthearted
arrangement conveys the joyous aura of the Festival of Lights. After a
deceptively simple a cappella introduction by the choir, the piano boldly
enters in 12/8 rhythms. The soloist carries the melody for the most part,
while the chorus enjoys the sounds of "doo-wop."
11
composer: Joshua Jacobson
title: Shavu'ot
publisher: Transcontinental Music Publications
catalogue number: 991455-8
voicing: SATB (divisi)
accompaniment: a cappella
timing: 4:45
language: Hebrew
text: Exodus 20 and a hymn by the eleventh-century German Rabbi Meir Ben
Yitzhak
year of composition: 1991
recordings: Seasons of Our Joy (HZ-908)*
statement: The holiday of Shavu'ot celebrates the first harvest of Spring and
commemorates the giving of the Decalogue at Sinai. This composition is an
attempt to convey some of the mystery surrounding the theophany, the
revelation of the Lord's presence. The text of the Ten Commandments is
preceded and followed by verses from an eleventh-century hymn which is chanted
in the synagogue on Shavu'ot. Traditional Ashkenazic melodies for both texts
have been utilized in this composition. The antiphonal effects of this piece
work best if the choir abandons the stage and surrounds the audience on
opposite sides of the hall. The aleatoric sections are meant to simulate a
deep reverberation, as if the voices were being echoed in an extremely
resonant chamber. This piece works best with a large choir performing in a
reverberant venue.
12
composer: Max Janowski
title: Avinu Malkeynu
publisher: Friends of Max Janowski
catalogue number: F-053
voicing: SATB, T solo
accompaniment: piano (or organ)
timing: 3:20
language: Hebrew
text: synagogue liturgy
year of composition: 1967
recordings: none
statement: Janowski's affinity for the Eastern European styles of synagogue
music is apparent in this setting of the penitential prayer, "Avinu Malkeynu"
("Our Father, Our King"). The soloist's line, in the Aeolian mode, is replete
with melismatic ornaments. In the traditional manner, the choir alternatively
gives the cantor harmonic support or repeats the main melodic ideas. The
keyboard part (piano or organ) is not technically demanding, but is of great
interest in its exploration of various colorful modal harmonies.
13
composer: Louis Lewandowski
title: Mah Tovu
publisher: Broude Brothers
catalogue number: CR-69
voicing: SATB, T (or bar) solo
accompaniment: organ (or piano)
timing: 3:00
language: Hebrew (alternate English)
text: liturgy
year of composition: circa 1882
recording: Majesty of Holiness (HZ-912)*
statement: Louis Lewandowski was the first musician to serve the Jewish
synagogue as a choirmaster serves a church. In 1864 the building in Berlin of
the Oranienburgerstrasse Temple, which was equipped with an organ, offered
Lewandowski the opportunity of creating an entire new service with organ
accompaniment --- a task never before undertaken. The culmination of his career
came in 1882 with the publication of his magnum opus, Todah W'Simrah (Thanks
and Song), a setting of the entire liturgical cycle for four-part choir,
cantor and organ. "Mah Tovu" is the prayer recited upon first entering a
synagogue. Its homophonic style, somewhat reminiscent of Mendelssohn, evokes
the pomp and formality of worship in nineteenth-century Berlin.
14
composer: Martin Rosenberg (arranger: Joshua Jacobson)
title: Tsen Brider
publisher: Transcontinental Music Publications
catalogue number: 991433-12
voicing: SATB
accompaniment: piano
timing: 4:30
language: Yiddish
text: Martin Rosenberg
year of composition: 1942
recordings: Hear Our Voices (HZ-909)
statement: Martin Rosenberg, a conductor and educator in pre-war Poland and
Germany, was arrested by the Gestapo in 1939 and sent to the Sachsenhausen
concentration camp where he was brutally tortured. As soon as he recovered, he
organized and conducted a clandestine chorus of prisoners. When it became
known that the Jewish prisoners of Sachsenhausen were to be transferred to the
death camp at Auschwitz, Rosenberg composed this gruesome parody on an old
Yiddish folksong called "Tsen Brider." In Rosenberg's version, which he called
a "Jewish Requiem," the ten brothers are murdered, one after the other, in the
gas chambers. This rearrangement of "Tsen Brider" for mixed chorus conveys the
horror and irony of this Holocaust lament in a musical language that is simple
and direct.
15
composer: Salamone Rossi
title: Halleluyah
publisher: Broude Brothers
catalogue number: CR-25
voicing: SATB
accompaniment: a cappella
timing: 2:30
language: Hebrew (alternate English)
text: Psalm 146
year of composition: 1982
recordings: ROSSI (HZ-910)*
statement: Salamone Rossi (c. 1570 - c.1630) was a Mantuan violinist and
composer in the employ of Duke Vincenzo Gonzaga. He was also the first
composer to publish a collection of polyphonic motets for the synagogue. The
thirty-three motets, set for three to eight voices, include psalms, hymns and
prayers for synagogue services or for sacred concerts. "Halleluyah" is
included in the liturgy for Sabbath and festival morning services. Rossi's
setting is largely homophonic, similar in style to church music composed by
his Christian colleagues.
16
composer: Moshe Wilensky
title: Uri Tsiyon
publisher: Transcontinental Music Publications
catalogue number: 992019-8
voicing: SATB
accompaniment: a cappella
timing: 2:30
language: Hebrew
text: Isaiah 52:1
year of composition: 1959
recordings: Zamir 25 (HZ-907)*
statement: One of the favorite themes of the "enlightened" Jews of the
nineteenth century and the Zionist Jews of the early twentieth century was
that of the Jewish people awakening from centuries of slumber to begin a new
life. The words of the ancient prophet Isaiah ("Awake, O Zion! Clothe yourself
in splendor -- arise, shake off the dust, sit on your throne, Jerusalem!") were
exceedingly relevant to this modern audience. Moshe Wilenski's setting of
these lyrics captures the excitement of this renaissance. "Uri Tsiyon" is
based on the Mixolydian mode and is replete with the syncopated rhythms of the
horah dance. There is a great deal of variety in this little piece: homophony
and polyphony, dynamic changes, modulations. A rousing way to end or begin a
concert program.
17
composer: (and arranger) Paul Ben-Haim
title: Roni Akarah (Sing, O Barren)
publisher: Israel Music Publications
catalogue number: IMP 313
voicing: SATB, solo SATTBB
accompaniment: a cappella
timing: 9:30
language: Hebrew
text: Isaiah 54
year of composition: 1956-57
recordings: RCA International (Camden) LP INTS 1365
statement: This four-movement motet is one of Ben-Haim's finest choral works.
Paul Ben-Haim, who emigrated to Palestine in 1933, is generally regarded as
the father of the "Eastern Mediterranean" school of composition, and "Roni
Akarah" is a fine example of that style. The modes, rhythms, melodies and
textures are reminiscent of he Middle East, while the forms are those of
European art music. This work will challenge the finest choirs, and leave a
stirring impression on the audience.
 | Zamir is funded in part by a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council,
a state agency which also receives support from the
National Endowment for the Arts. Zamir's Executive Director can be emailed at execdir@zamir.org Zamir's Artistic Director, Joshua Jacobson, can be emailed at jrj@neu.edu. This page maintained by Andrew Greene. |