Jewish and Israeli Music (main article)
Religious music:
Historical • Contemporary Piyyut • Nigun • Pizmonim Zemirot • Baqashot
Secular music:
Israeli • Israeli Folk Klezmer • Sephardic • Mizrahi
Not Jewish in Form: Classical • Mainstream and Jazz
Dance:
Israeli Folk Dancing • Ballet Horah • Hava Nagila • Yemenite dance
Music for Holidays
Chanukah • Passover • Shabbat
Israel
Hatikvah • Jerusalem of Gold
Piyyutim
Adon Olam • Geshem • Lekhah Dodi Ma'oz Tzur • Yedid Nefesh • Yigdal
Music of the Haggadah
Ma Nishtana • Dayenu • Adir Hu Chad Gadya • Echad Mi Yodea

Jewish music, the music of Jews, is quite diverse and dates back thousands of years. Sometimes it is religious in nature, other times it is not. This is because Jews are both a religion and a nation. The music of Jews vary greatly depending on origins. Image File history File links Flag_of_Israel. ... Image File history File links Star_of_David. ... Image File history File links Star_of_David. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Israel. ... This article is about the sacred and religious music of Judaism from Biblical to Modern times. ... This article is about the sacred and religious music of Judaism from Biblical to Modern times. ... This article is about contemporary Jewish religious music. ... A piyyut (plural piyyutim, Hebrew פיוט, IPA [pijút] and [pijutím]) is a Jewish liturgical poem, usually designated to be sung, chanted, or recited during religious services. ... Nigun (pl. ... Pizmonim (Hebrew פזמונים, singular pizmon) are traditional Jewish songs and melodies that praise God. ... Negara Israel akan tetap ada, namun bangsa Jahudi harus bertobat dahulu, agar Mesias dapat memerintah di bumi, di Yerusalem. ... This article is about a type of Jewish religious music, Baqashot. ... See Secular Jewish culture for the main article on secular Jewish culture. ... Modern Israeli music is heavily influenced by its constituents, which include Jewish immigrants (see Jewish music) from more than 120 countries around the world, which have brought their own musical traditions, making Israel a global melting pot. ... Klezmer (from Yiddish כּלי־זמיר, etymologically from Hebrew kli zemer כלי זמר, musical instrument) is a musical tradition which parallels Hasidic and Ashkenazic Judaism. ... The Sephardic Jews are one of the three main ethnicities among Diaspora Jews, the others being the Ashkenazi and Mizrahi. ... :This article is about the music of the Mizrahi Jews. ... See Secular Jewish culture for the main article on secular Jewish culture. ... See Secular Jewish culture for the main article on secular Jewish culture. ... See Secular Jewish culture for the main article on secular Jewish culture. ... See Secular Jewish culture for the main article on secular Jewish culture. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... See Secular Jewish culture for the main article on secular Jewish culture. ... Hora is the name of a circle dance in a number of countries. ... Hava Nagila (הבא נגילה in hebrew) is a Hebrew folk song, the title meaning Let us rejoice. ... In Yemen, where Jews were banned from dancing publicly, forms of dance evolved that are based on stationary hopping and posturing, such as can be done in a confined space. ... Chanukah music contains several songs associated with the festival of Chanukah. ... It has been suggested that Dayenu and Had Gadia be merged into this article or section. ... :This article is about a type of Jewish religious music, Zemirot. ... Hatikvah (Hebrew: הַתִּקְוָה, “The Hope”, Arabic transliteration هاتكفا), sometimes styled HaTikva(h), is the national anthem of Israel. ... Jerusalem of Gold (‎, Yerushalayim Shel Zahav) is a popular Israeli song written by Naomi Shemer in 1967. ... A piyyut (plural piyyutim, Hebrew פיוט, IPA [pijút] and [pijutím]) is a Jewish liturgical poem, usually designated to be sung, chanted, or recited during religious services. ... Adon Olam, with transliterated lyrics and melody, from the Jewish Encyclopedia. ... Geshem (גשם) is one of the Hebrew words for rain, applied mostly to the heavy rains which occur in Israel in the fall and winter. ... Lekhah Dodi (לכה דודי transliterated as Lecha Dodi, Lchah Dodi, Lekah Dodi or Lechah Dodi) is a Hebrew liturgical song recited Friday at dusk, usually at sundown, in synagogue to welcome Shabbat (the Jewish Sabbath) prior to the Maariv evening services. ... Maoz Tzur (Hebrew: מעוז צור), widely known in English as Rock of Ages, is a Jewish liturgical poem or piyyut. ... Yedid Nefesh is a name of a piyyut. ... The hymn which in the various rituals shares with Adon Olam the place of honor at the opening of the morning and the close of the evening service. ... It has been suggested that Dayenu and Had Gadia be merged into this article or section. ... Main article: Passover songs Ma Nishtana (Hebrew: מה נשתנה) are the four questions sung during the Passover seder. ... Main article: Passover songs Dayenu (Hebrew:) is a song that is part of the Jewish holiday of Passover. ... Main article: Passover songs Adir Hu (English: Mighty is He, Hebrew אדיר הוּא) is a hymn sung by Jews worldwide at the Passover Seder. ... Main article: Passover songs Chad Gadya (Aramaic: חַד גַדְיָה) is a playful cumulative song, written in Aramaic with Hebrew words interspersed. ... Main article: Passover songs Echad Mi Yodea (Yiddish: Mandabar uma nsapar) (Hebrew: אחד מי יודע echad mi yodea) (Who Knows One?) is a traditional cumulative song sung on Passover and found in the haggadah. ...

Religious Jewish music

Main article: Religious Jewish music

This section is about the sacred and religious music of Judaism from Biblical to Modern times. This article is about the sacred and religious music of Judaism from Biblical to Modern times. ...

History of religious Jewish music

Main article: History of religious Jewish music

The history of religious Jewish music is about the cantorial, synagogal, and the Temple music from Biblical to Modern times. The earliest synagogal music was based on the same system as that used in the Temple in Jerusalem. According to the Mishna, the regular Temple orchestra consisted of twelve instruments, and the choir of twelve male singers. A number of additional instruments were known to the ancient Hebrews, though they were not included in the regular orchestra of the Temple: the uggav (small flute), the abbuv (a reed flute or oboe-like instrument). This article is about the sacred and religious music of Judaism from Biblical to Modern times. ... The Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple (Hebrew: בית המקדש, transliterated Bet HaMikdash and meaning literally The Holy House) was located on the Temple Mount (Har HaBayit) in the old city of Jerusalem. ...

After the destruction of the Temple and the subsequent diaspora of the Jewish people, music was initially banned. Later, these restrictions would relax. It was with the piyyutim (liturgical poems) that Jewish music began to crystallize into definite form. The cantor sang the piyyutim to melodies selected by their writer or by himself, thus introducing fixed melodies into synagogal music. The music may have preserved a few phrases in the reading of Scripture which recalled songs from the Temple itself; but generally it echoed the tones which the Jew of each age and country heard around him, not merely in the actual borrowing of tunes, but more in the tonality on which the local music was based. For other uses, see Diaspora (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Jew (disambiguation). ... A piyyut (plural piyyutim, Hebrew פיוט, IPA [pijút] and [pijutím]) is a Jewish liturgical poem, usually designated to be sung, chanted, or recited during religious services. ... A hazzan or chazzan (Hebrew for cantor) is a Jewish musician trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the synagogue in songful prayer. ... A piyyut (plural piyyutim, Hebrew פיוט, IPA [pijút] and [pijutím]) is a Jewish liturgical poem, usually designated to be sung, chanted, or recited during religious services. ... Many religions and spiritual movements hold certain written texts (or series of spoken legends not traditionally written down) to be sacred. ...

Contemporary Jewish religious music

Main article: Contemporary Jewish religious music

Religious Jewish Music in the 20th century has varied greatly. Religious Jewish Music in the 20th century has spanned the gamut from Shlomo Carlebach's nigunim to Debbie Friedman's Jewish feminist folk. Velvel Pasternak has spent much of the late twentieth century acting as a preservationist and committing what had been a strongly oral tradition to paper. Periodically Jewish music jumps into mainstream consciousness, with the reggae artist Matisyahu being the most recent example. In the 1970s, Jewish boys choirs became popular. This article is about contemporary Jewish religious music. ... A cover of a Carlebach record Shlomo Carlebach (שלמה קרליבך) (known as Reb Shlomo to his followers) (1925 - October 22, 1994), was a Jewish religious singer, composer, and self-styled rebbe who was known as the singing rabbi in his lifetime. ... Debbie Friedman (born c. ... Velvel Pasternak is considered one of the worlds foremost experts on Jewish Music. ... Matisyahu redirects here. ...

Also, many Orthodox Jews often limit their children's exposure to music produced by those other than Orthodox Jews, so that they will not be influenced by many of the, in the parents' eyes, harmful outside ideas and fashions. A large body of music produced by Orthodox Jews for children is geared toward teaching religious and ethical traditions and laws. The lyrics of these songs are generally written in English with some Hebrew or Yiddish phrases.

Piyyut

Main article: Piyyut

A piyyut is a Jewish liturgical poem, usually designated to be sung, chanted, or recited during religious services. Piyyutim have been written since Mishnaic times.. Most piyyutim are in Hebrew or Aramaic, and most follow some poetic scheme, such as an acrostic following the order of the Hebrew alphabet or spelling out the name of the author. A piyyut (plural piyyutim, Hebrew פיוט, IPA [pijút] and [pijutím]) is a Jewish liturgical poem, usually designated to be sung, chanted, or recited during religious services. ... Jewish services (Hebrew: תפלה, tefillah ; plural תפלות, tefillot ; Yinglish: davening) are the prayer recitations which form part of the observance of Judaism. ... The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ... “Hebrew” redirects here. ... Aramaic is a group of Semitic languages with a 3,000-year history. ... An acrostic (from the late Greek akróstichon, from ákros, extreme, and stíchos, verse) is a poem or other writing in an alphabetic script, in which the first letter, syllable or word of each verse, paragraph or other recurring feature in the text spells out another message. ... Note: This article contains special characters. ...

Many piyyutim are familiar to regular attendees of synagogue services. For example, the best-known piyyut may be Adon Olam ("Master of the World"), sometimes attributed to Solomon ibn Gabirol in 11th century Spain. Its poetic form consists simply of rhyming iambic tetrameter, and it is so beloved that it is often sung at the conclusion of many synagogue services, after the ritual nightly saying of the Shema, and during the morning ritual of putting on tefillin. Another well-beloved piyyut is Yigdal ("May God be Hallowed"), which is based upon the Thirteen Principles of Faith developed by Maimonides. Solomon Ibn Gabirol, also Solomon ben Judah, is a Spanish Jewish poet and philosopher. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 11th century was that century which lasted from 1001 to 1100. ... Shema Yisrael (שמע ישראל) are the first two words of a section of the Hebrew Bible that is used as a centerpiece of all morning and evening Jewish prayer services and closely echoes the monotheistic message of Judaism. ... Tefillin (Hebrew: תפלין), also called phylacteries, are two boxes containing Biblical verses and the leather straps attached to them which are used in traditional Jewish prayer. ... Judaism affirms a number of basic principles of faith that one is expected to uphold in order to be said to be in consonance with the Jewish faith. ... Commonly used image indicating one artists conception of Maimonidess appearance Maimonides (March 30, 1135 or 1138–December 13, 1204) was a Jewish rabbi, physician, and philosopher in Spain, Morocco and Egypt during the Middle Ages. ...

Nigun

Main article: Nigun

Nigun refers to religious songs and tunes that are sung by groups. It is a form of voice instrumental music, often without any lyrics or words, although sounds like “bim-bim-bam” or “Ai-ai-ai!” are often used. Sometimes, Bible verses or quotes from other classical Jewish texts are sung repetitively in the form of a nigun. Nigunim are largely improvisations, though they could be based on thematic passage and are stylized in form. Nigun (pl. ... Voice instrumental music is the term used for compositions and improvisations for the human voice. ... Improvisation is the act of making something up as you go along. ...

A revival of interest in Nigun was sparked as part of Hasidism. Different Hasidic groups have their own nigunim, often composed by their Rebbe or leader. Hasidim gather around holidays to sing in groups. There are also nigunim for individual meditation, called devekus or devekut (connecting with God) nigunim. These are usually much slower than around-the-table nigunim, and are almost always sung without lyrics. The Baal Shem Tov, founder of Hasidism, spoke of devekus nigunim as “songs that transcend syllables and sound.” Several tunes attributed to him are still used today. Hasidic Judaism (Hebrew: Chasidut חסידות) is a Haredi Jewish religious movement. ... Rebbe which means master, teacher, or mentor is a Yiddish word derived from the identical Hebrew word רבי (Rabbi). ... This article incorporates text from the public domain 1901-1906 Jewish Encyclopedia Israel ben Eliezer Rabbi Israel (Yisroel) ben Eliezer (about 1700 Okopy Świętej Tr jcy - May 22, 1760 Międzyborz) was a Jewish Orthodox mystical rabbi who is better known to most religious Jews as...

Pizmonim

Main article: Pizmonim

Pizmonim are traditional Jewish songs and melodies with the intentions of praising God as well as learning certain aspects of traditional religious teachings. They are sung throughout religious rituals and festivities such as prayers, circumcisions, bar mitzvahs, weddings and other ceremonies. Pizmonim are traditionally associated with Middle Eastern Sephardic Jews, although they are related to Ashkenazi Jews' zemirot. The best known tradition is associated with Jews descended from Aleppo, though similar traditions exist among Iraqi Jews (where the songs are known as shbaִhoth, praises) and in North African countries. Jews of Greek, Turkish and Balkan origin have songs of the same kind in Ladino, associated with the festivals: these are known as coplas. Pizmonim (Hebrew פזמונים, singular pizmon) are traditional Jewish songs and melodies that praise God. ... Set of implements used in the performance of brit milah, displayed in the Göttingen city museum Brit milah (Hebrew: בְרִית מִילָה [bÉ™rÄ«t mÄ«lā] literally: covenant [of] circumcision), also berit milah (Sephardi), bris milah (Ashkenazi pronunciation) or bris (Yiddish) is a religious ceremony within Judaism to welcome infant Jewish... Celebration of Bar Mitzvah at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. ... Language(s) Yiddish, Hebrew, Russian, English Religion(s) Judaism Related ethnic groups Sephardi Jews, Mizrahi Jews, and other Jewish ethnic divisions Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim (Standard Hebrew: sing. ... Negara Israel akan tetap ada, namun bangsa Jahudi harus bertobat dahulu, agar Mesias dapat memerintah di bumi, di Yerusalem. ... Location of the governorate of Aleppo within Syria Aleppo (Arabic: [ḥalab], ) is a city in northern Syria, capital of the Aleppo Governorate. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...  Northern Africa (UN subregion)  geographic, including above North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Africa. ... Not to be confused with Ladin. ...

The texts of many pizmonim date back to the Middle Ages or earlier, and are often based on verses in the Bible. Many are taken from the Tanakh, while others were composed by poets such as Yehuda Halevi and Israel Najara of Gaza. Some melodies are quite old, while others may be based on popular Middle Eastern music, with the words composed specially to fit the tune. The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library. ... For the musical collective, see Tanakh (band). ... Judah Ha-Levi, also Yehudah Halevi, or Judah ben Samuel Halevi (Hebrew: יהודה הלוי) (c. ... Israel ben Moses Najara (1530? - 1599?) was a Jewish liturgical poet. ... The category Middle Eastern music refers to music from the Middle East and its different regions such as North Africa, the Levant and the Persian Gulf States. ...

Zemirot

Main article: Zemirot

Zemirot are Jewish hymns, usually sung in the Hebrew or Aramaic languages, but sometimes also in Yiddish or Ladino. The best known zemirot are those sung around the table during on Shabbat and Jewish holidays. Some of the Sabbath zemirot are specific to certain times of the day, such those sung for the Friday evening meal, the Saturday noon meal, and the third Sabbath meal just before sundown on Saturday afternoon. In some editions of the Jewish prayerbook (siddur), the words to these hymns are printed after the opening prayer (kiddush) for each meal. Other zemirot are more generic and can be sung at any meal or other sacred occasion. Negara Israel akan tetap ada, namun bangsa Jahudi harus bertobat dahulu, agar Mesias dapat memerintah di bumi, di Yerusalem. ... “Hebrew” redirects here. ... Aramaic is a Semitic language with a four-thousand year history. ... Yiddish (ייִדיש, Jiddisch) is a Germanic language spoken by about four million Jews throughout the world. ... This article deals with the Judaeo-Spanish language. ... This article or section cites very few or no references or sources. ... A Jewish holiday or Jewish Festival is a day or series of days observed by Jews as holy or secular commemorations of important events in Jewish history. ... A siddur (Hebrew: סידור; plural siddurim) is a Jewish prayer book over the world, containing a set order of daily prayers. ... Shabbat, or Shabbos (Ashkenazic pronunciation) (שבת shabbāṯ, rest), is a day of rest that is observed once a week, from sundown on Friday until nightfall on Saturday, by practitioners of Judaism, as well as by many secular Jews. ...

The words to many zemirot are taken from poems written by various rabbis and sages during the Middle Ages. Others are anonymous folk songs that have been passed down from generation to generation. The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... Folk music, in the original sense of the term, is music by and of the people. ...

Baqashot

Main article: Baqashot

The Baqashot are a collection of supplications, songs, and prayers that have been sung by the Sephardic Aleppian Jewish community and other congregations for centuries each week on Shabbat morning from midnight until dawn. Usually they are recited during the weeks of winter, when the nights are much longer. This article is about a type of Jewish religious music, Baqashot. ... In the strictest sense, a Sephardi (ספרדי, Standard Hebrew Səfardi, Tiberian Hebrew Səp̄ardî; plural Sephardim: ספרדים, Standard Hebrew Səfardim, Tiberian Hebrew Səp̄ardîm) is a Jew original to the... The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination... This article or section cites very few or no references or sources. ...

The custom of singing Baqashot originated in Spain towards the time of the expulsion, but took on increased momentum in the Kabbalistic circle in Safed in the 16th century. Baqashot probably evolved out of the tradition of saying petitionary prayers before dawn and was spread from Safed by the followers of Isaac Luria (16th century). With the spread of Safed Kabbalistic doctrine, the singing of Baqashot reached countries all round the Mediterranean and became customary in the communities of Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Rhodes, Greece, Yugoslavia, Egypt, Turkey and Syria. It also influenced the Kabbalistically oriented confraternities in 18th-century Italy, and even became customary for a time in Sephardic communities in western Europe, such as Amsterdam and London, though in these communities it has since been dropped. By the turn of the 20th century Baqashot had become a widespread religious practice in several communities in Jerusalem as a communal form of prayer. This article is about traditional Jewish Kabbalah. ... Safed (Hebrew: צְפַת, Tiberian: , Israeli: Tsfat, Ashkenazi: Tzfas; Arabic: صفد ; KJV English: Zephath) is a city in the North District in Israel. ... Safed (Hebrew: צְפַת, Tiberian: , Israeli: Tsfat, Ashkenazi: Tzfas; Arabic: صفد ; KJV English: Zephath) is a city in the North District in Israel. ... The grave of Isaac Luria in Safed Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534 – July 25, 1572) was a Jewish mystic in Safed. ...

Secular Jewish music

Main article: Secular Jewish music

Since Bibical times, music and dance have held an imporant role in many Jews lives. Secular Jewish music (and dances) have both been influenced by surrounding Gentile traditions and Jewish sources preserved over time. See Secular Jewish culture for the main article on secular Jewish culture. ... The word gentile is an anglicised version of the Latin word gentilis, meaning of or belonging to a clan or tribe. ...

Israeli music

Main article: Music of Israel

Modern Israeli music is heavily influenced by its constituents, which include Jewish immigrants from more than 120 countries around the world, which have brought their own musical traditions, making Israel a global melting pot. The Israeli music is very versatile and combines elements of both western and eastern music. It tends to be very eclectic and contains a wide variety of influences from the Diaspora and more modern cultural importation. Hassidic songs, Asian and Arab pop, especially Yemenite singers, and hip hop or heavy metal. Modern Israeli music is heavily influenced by its constituents, which include Jewish immigrants (see Jewish music) from more than 120 countries around the world, which have brought their own musical traditions, making Israel a global melting pot. ... For other uses, see Music (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Jew (disambiguation). ... Alternate meaning: crucible (science) The melting pot is a metaphor for the way in which heterogenous societies develop, in which the ingredients in the pot (iron, tin; people of different backgrounds and religions, etc. ... For other uses, see Diaspora (disambiguation). ... Hasidic Judaism (Hebrew: Chasidut חסידות) is a Haredi Jewish religious movement. ... Hip hop music is a style of music which came into existence in the United States during the mid-1970s, and became a large part of modern pop culture during the 1980s. ... “Heavy metal” redirects here. ...

From the earliest days of Zionist settlement, Jewish immigrants wrote popular folk music. At first, songs were based on borrowed melodies from German, Russian, or traditional Jewish folk music with new lyrics written in Hebrew. Starting in the early 1920's, however, Jewish settlers made a conscious effort to create a new Hebrew style of music, a style that would tie them to their earliest Hebrew origins and that would differentiate them from the style of the Jewish diaspora of Eastern Europe, which they viewed as weak. This new style borrowed elements from Arabic and, to a lesser extent, traditional Yemenite and eastern Jewish styles: the songs were often homophonic (that is, without clear harmonic character), modal, and limited in range. "The huge change in our lives demands new modes of expression," wrote composer and music critic Menashe Ravina in 1943. "... and, just as in our language we returned to our historical past, so has our ear turned to the music of the east ... as an expression of our innermost feelings."^[1]

The youth, labor and kibbutz movements played a major role in musical development before and after the establishment of Israeli statehood in 1948, and in the popularization of many of these songs. The Zionist establishment saw music as a way of establishing a new national identity, and, on a purely pragmatic level, of teaching Hebrew to new immigrants. The national labor organization, the Histadrut, set up a music publishing house that disseminated songbooks and encouraged public sing-alongs (שירה בציבור). This tradition of public sing-alongs continues to the present day, and is a characteristic of modern Israeli culture.

Israeli folk

Termed in Hebrew שירי ארץ ישראל ("songs of the land of Israel"), folk songs are meant mainly to be sung in public by the audience or in social events. Some are children's songs; some combine European folk tunes with Hebrew lyrics; some come from military bands and others were written by poets such as Naomi Shemer and Chaim Nachman Bialik. Kingdom of Israel: Early ancient historical Israel — land in pink is the approximate area under direct central royal administration during the United Monarchy. ... Naomi Shemer (Hebrew: נעמי שמר) (July 13, 1930 – June 26, 2004) was one of Israels most important and prolific song writers. ... Hayyim Nahman Bialik (January 9, 1873–July 4, 1934), also commonly written as Chaim or Haim Nachman Bialik and in the Hebrew language as חיים נחמן ביאליק, was a Jewish poet who wrote in Hebrew. ...

The canonical songs of this genre often deal with Zionist hopes and dreams and glorify the life of idealistic Jewish youth who intend on building a home and defending their homeland. A common theme is Jerusalem as well as other parts of Eretz Israel. Tempo varies widely, as do the content. Some songs show a leftist or right-wing bent, while others are typically love songs, lullabies or other formats; some are also socialist in subject, due to the long-standing influence of socialism on Jews in parts of the Diaspora. This article is about Zionism as a movement, not the History of Israel. ... For other uses, see Jew (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). ... The Land of Israel (Hebrew: Eretz Yisrael) refers to the land making up the ancient Jewish Kingdoms of Israel and Judah. ... The first two measures of Mozarts Sonata XI, which indicates the tempo as Andante grazioso and a modern editors metronome marking: = 120. “Andante” redirects here. ... Socialism refers to a broad array of doctrines or political movements that envisage a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to control by the community[1] for the purposes of increasing social and economic equality and cooperation. ...

Patriotic folk songs are common, mostly written during the wars of Israel. They typically concern themselves with soldiers' friendships and the sadness of death during war. Some are now played at memorials or holidays dedicated to the Israeli dead. For other uses, see War (disambiguation). ...

Klezmer

Main article: Klezmer

Around the 15th century, a tradition of secular (non-liturgical) Jewish music was developed by musicians called kleyzmorim or kleyzmerim by Ashkenazi Jews in Eastern Europe. They draw on devotional traditions extending back into Biblical times, and their musical legacy of klezmer continues to evolve today. The repertoire is largely dance songs for weddings and other celebrations. They are typically in Yiddish. Klezmer (from Yiddish כּלי־זמיר, etymologically from Hebrew kli zemer כלי זמר, musical instrument) is a musical tradition which parallels Hasidic and Ashkenazic Judaism. ... (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ... Devotional songs are hymns that accompany religious rituals. ... Yiddish (ייִדיש, Jiddisch) is a Germanic language spoken by about four million Jews throughout the world. ...

Sephardic/Ladino

Main article: Sephardic music

Sephardic music is the unique music of the Sephardic Jews. Sephardic music was born in medieval Spain, with canciones being performed at the royal courts. Since then, it has picked up influences from across Spain, Morocco, Argentina, Turkey, Greece and various popular tunes from Spain and further abroad. There are three types of Sephardic songs -- topical and entertainment songs, romance songs and spiritual or ceremonial songs. Lyrics can be in several languages, including Hebrew for religious songs, and Ladino. The Sephardic Jews are one of the three main ethnicities among Diaspora Jews, the others being the Ashkenazi and Mizrahi. ... Sephardim (ספרדי, Standard Hebrew Səfardi, Tiberian Hebrew ardî; plural Sephardim: ספרדים, Standard Hebrew Sfaradim, Tiberian Hebrew ) are a subgroup of Jews, generally defined in contrast to Ashkenazim and/or . ... For other uses, see Song (disambiguation). ... “Hebrew” redirects here. ... Not to be confused with Ladin. ...

These song traditions spread from Spain to Morocco (the Western Tradition) and several parts of the Ottoman Empire (the Eastern Tradition) including Greece, Jerusalem, the Balkans and Egypt. Sephardic music adapted to each of these locals, assimilating North African high-pitched, extended ululations; Balkan rhythms, for instance in 9/8 time; and the Turkish maqam mode. Ottoman redirects here. ... For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... In Arabic music a maqaam (Arabic: ‎, Hebrew: ) is, a technique of improvisation that defines the pitches, patterns, and development of a piece of music and which is unique to Arabian art music. ... In music, a scale is an ordered series of musical intervals, which, along with the key or tonic, define the pitches. ...

Mizrahi

Main article: Mizrahi music

Mizrahi music usually refers to the new wave of music in Israel which combines Israeli music with the flavor of Arabic and Mediterranean (especially Greek) music. Typical Mizrahi songs will have a dominant violin or string sound as well as Middle Eastern percussion elements. Mizrahi music is usually high pitched. In today's Israeli music scene, Mizrahi music is very popular. :This article is about the music of the Mizrahi Jews. ... For other uses, see Arab (disambiguation). ... The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south and Asia to the east, covering an approximate area of 2. ... The violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. ... A string instrument (or stringed instrument) is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. ... Percussion instruments are played by being struck, shaken, rubbed or scraped. ...

Dancing

Main article: Jewish dance

Deriving from Biblical traditions, Jewish dance has long been used by Jews as a medium for the expression of joy and other communal emotions. Each Jewish diasporic community developed its own dance traditions for wedding celebrations and other distinguished events. For Ashkenazi Jews in Eastern Europe, for example, dances, whose names corresponded to the different forms of klezmer music that were played, were an obvious staple of the wedding ceremony of the shtetl. Jewish dances both were influenced by surrounding Gentile traditions and Jewish sources preserved over time. "Nevertheless the Jews practiced a corporeal expressive language that was highly differentiated from that of the non-Jewish peoples of their neighborhood, mainly through motions of the hands and arms, with more intricate legwork by the younger men."^[2] In general, however, in most religiosly traditional communities, members of the opposite sex dancing together or dancing at times other than at these events was frowned upon. See Secular Jewish culture for the main article on secular Jewish culture. ... The Jewish diaspora (Hebrew: Tefutzah, scattered, or Galut גלות, exile, Yiddish: tfutses), the Jewish presence outside of the Land of Israel is a result of the expulsion of the Jewish people out of their land, during the destruction of the First Temple, Second Temple and after the Bar Kokhba revolt. ... Language(s) Yiddish, Hebrew, Russian, English Religion(s) Judaism Related ethnic groups Sephardi Jews, Mizrahi Jews, and other Jewish ethnic divisions Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim (Standard Hebrew: sing. ... Pre-1989 division between the West (grey) and Eastern Bloc (orange) superimposed on current national boundaries: Russia (dark orange), other countries of the former USSR (medium orange),members of the Warsaw pact (light orange), and other former Communist regimes not aligned with Moscow (lightest orange). ... Klezmer (from Yiddish כּלי־זמיר, etymologically from Hebrew kli zemer כלי זמר, musical instrument) is a musical tradition which parallels Hasidic and Ashkenazic Judaism. ... A shtetl (Yiddish: , diminutive form of Yiddish shtot שטאָט, town, pronounced very similarly to the South German diminutiveStädtle, little town) was typically a small town with a large Jewish population in pre-Holocaust Central and Eastern Europe. ... The word gentile is an anglicised version of the Latin word gentilis, meaning of or belonging to a clan or tribe. ...

Jewish Art Music

Preclassical, Classical and Romantic composers

Jewish musicians in the Western European classical tradition have long debated the question of what is Jewish music. Most musicians of Jewish origin in the 19th century composed music that could not be considered Jewish in any sense, either by critics or by the musicians themselves. For example, Jacques Offenbach (1819 - 1880), a leading composer of opera and operetta in the 19th century, was the son of a cantor, and grew up steeped in traditional Jewish music. Yet there is nothing about his music which could be characterized as Jewish in terms of style, and he himself did not consider his work to be Jewish. As another example, Felix Mendelssohn, the grandson of the Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn, continued to identify himself as a Jew, even though he was baptized as a lutheran at the age of seven. Yet, while he occasionally draws inspiration from Christian sources (one of the themes in his second piano trio, opus 66, is the Lutheran doxology), there is nothing characteristically Jewish about any of his music. "Music written by Jews is not necessarily Jewish music," wrote Erich Werner in 1938 in a seminal essy on the subject in the journal "Musica Hebraica". Jacques Offenbach (20 June 1819 – 5 October 1880) was a French composer and cellist of the Romantic era with German-Jewish descent and one of the originators of the operetta form. ... Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, born and known generally as Felix Mendelssohn (February 3, 1809 – November 4, 1847) was a German composer and conductor of the early Romantic period. ... Moses Mendelssohn Moses Mendelssohns glasses, in the Berlin Jewish Museum Moses Mendelssohn (Dessau, September 6, 1729 – January 4, 1786 in Berlin) was a German Jewish philosopher to whose ideas the renaissance of European Jews, Haskalah, (the Jewish enlightenment) is indebted. ...

That said, there are nonetheless a number of composers who wrote music that they considered Jewish, even if stylistically there was nothing to tie their compositions to traditional Jewish music of liturgy or to the Eastern European klezmer tradition. The first, and one of the most important of these, was Salamone Rossi (1570 - 1630). As court composer in Mantua, Rossi was instrumental in the development of the Baroque trio sonata form. Rossi composed a song cycle called "The Songs of Solomon", which drew on Jewish liturgical and biblical texts. Klezmer (from Yiddish כּלי־זמיר, etymologically from Hebrew kli zemer כלי זמר, musical instrument) is a musical tradition which parallels Hasidic and Ashkenazic Judaism. ... Salamone Rossi (ca. ...

Other composers who drew on Jewish subjects include

• Felix Mendelssohn, who wrote the oratorio "Elijah". While Mendelssohn never acknowledged that his choice of a topic was influenced by his Jewish origins, it is probable that his intimite familiarity with the biblical text came from his childhood.

• Fromental Halévy was a well-known composer of opera in the second half of the nineteenth century. He drew occasionally on Jewish themes for his operas, most notably, La Juive.

• Giacomo Meyerbeer, also a leading opera composer, arranged a number of liturgical songs, including a motet arrangement for double choir a capella of Psalm 91.

Elijah, 1638, by José de Ribera This article is about the prophet in the Hebrew Bible. ... Jacques Fromental Halévy Jacques-François-Fromental-Élie Halévy (May 27, 1799 - March 17, 1862) was a French composer. ... La Juive (The Jewess) is a opera in five acts by Jacques Halévy to an original libretto by Eugène Scribe. ... Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (September 5, 1791 – May 2, 1864) was a noted German-born opera composer, and the first great exponent of Grand Opera. ...

The Jewish National Revival in Art Music

At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries many Jewish composers sought to create a distinctly Jewish national sound in their music. Notable among these were the composers of the St. Petersburg Society for Jewish Folkmusic. Led by composer-critic Joel Engel, these graduates of the St. Petersburg and Moscow Conservatories rediscovered their Jewish national roots, and created a new genre of Jewish art music. Inspired by the nationalist movement in Russian music, exemplified by Rimsky-Korsakov, Cui and others, these Jewish composers set out to the "Shtetls" - the Jewish villages of Russia - and meticulously recorded and transcribed thousands of Yiddish folksongs. They then set these songs to both vocal and instrumental ensembles. The resulting music is a marriage between often melancholy and "krekhtsen" (moaning) melodies of the Shtetl with late Russian romantic harmonies of Scriabin and Rachmaninoff. Nikolay Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov (Russian: Никола́й Андре́евич Ри́мский-Ко́рсаков), also Nikolai, Nicolai, and Rimsky-Korsakoff, (March 18, 1844 &#8211... Cui may refer to one of the following: César Cui was a Russian composer. ...

The Jewish National revival in music was not only in Russia. A number of Western European composers took an interest in their Jewish musical roots, and tried to create a unique Jewish art style. Ernest Bloch (1880 - 1959), a Swiss composer who emigrated to the United States, composed Schelomo for cello and orchestra, Suite Hebraique for violin and piano, and Sacred Service, which is the first attempt to set the Jewish service in a form similar to the Requiem, for full orchestra, choir and soloists. Bloch described his connection to Jewish music as intensely personal: Ernest Bloch with children This article is about the composer. ...

It is not my purpose, nor my desire, to attempt a 'reconstitutioni' of Jewish music, or to base my work on melodies more or less authentic. I am not an archeologist... It is the Jewish soul that interests me... the freshness and naiveté of the Patriarchs; the violence of the Prophetic books; the Jewish savage love of justice... ^[3]

Darius Milhaud (1892 - 1974) was one of the leaders of the French modernist school. As a child in Aix-en-Provence, Milhaud was exposed to the music of the Provençal Jewish community. "I have been greatly influenced by the character" of this music, he wrote^[4]. His opera Esther de Carpentras draws on this rich musical heritage. Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (IPA: ) (September 4, 1892 – June 22, 1974) was a French composer and teacher. ... Aix (prounounced eks), or, to distinguish it from other cities built over hot springs, Aix-en-Provence is a city in southern France, some 30 km north of Marseille. ...

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895 - 1968), an Italian composer who immigrated to America on the eve of World War II, was strongly influenced by his Sephardic Jewish upbringing. His second violin concerto draws on Jewish themes, as do many of his songs and choral works: cantatas Naomi and Ruth, Queen of Sheba, and the oratorio The Book of Jonah, among others. Castelnuovo-Tedesco wrote a number of songs in Ladino, which was the language of Sephardic Jews. Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (April 3, 1895 – March 16, 1968) was an Italian Jewish composer. ... This article deals with the Judaeo-Spanish language. ...

Art Music in Palestine and Israel

The 1930s saw an influx of Jewish composers to Palestine, among them musicians of stature in Europe. These composers included Paul Ben-Haim, Erich Walter Sternberg, Marc Lavri, Oeden Partos, and Alexander Boskovitch. These composers were all concerned with forging a new Jewish identity in music, an identity which would suit the new, emerging identity of the Zionist state. While the response of each of these composers to this Nationalist challenge was intensely personal, there was one distinct trend to which many of them adhered: many of these and other composers sought to distance themselves from the musical style of the Klezmer, of eastern European Jewry, which they viewed as weak and unsuitable for the new national ethos. Many of the stylistic features of Klezmer were abhorrent to them. "Its character is depressing and sentimental," wrote music critic and composer Menashe Ravina in 1943. "The healthy desire to free ourselves of this sentimentalism causes many to avoid this..."^[5]. Paul Ben-Haim (or Paul Ben-Chaim, in Hebrew  ×¤××•×œ בן חיים‎ ) (1897 – January 14, 1984) was an Israeli composer. ...

Perhaps the most radical in his search for a new Jewish identity was Alexander Boskovitch. His Semitic Suite for piano, written in 1945, draws much from Arabic music: it is nonharmonic, almost homophonic. He uses repeated notes to imitate the sound of a Kanun, a plucked Arabic instrument.

From these early experiments has grown a large corpus of original Israeli art music, much of it specifically seeking roots in Jewish musical tradition. Notable among modern Israeli composers are

• Betty Olivera, composer in residence at Bar Ilan University. Olivera takes traditional Jewish melodies – both Ashkenazic and Sephardic – and sets them in complex, profoundly dissonant contexts. The result, surprisingly, is not something sounding ultramodern, but rather a natural extension of the folk traditions she draws on. Her work Serafim for soprano, clarinet, violin, cello and piano is a good example of this.

• Tsippi Fleischer, who has composed vocal works that merge contemporary Western compositional techniques with the modal, quartertone scales of Arabic music.

• Mark Kopytman, whose compositions draw heavily on both Eastern European Klezmer and Oriental Jewish sources.

• Yitzhak Yedid, who has composed mostly for chember groups, his compositions express the warmth, pain, depth and richness of his surroundings in Jerusalem. He is a shrewd composer – striving to combine classical genres with improvisation and Eastern and Jewish styles.

Yitzhak Yedid (Hebrew: ) (born September 29, 1971, Jerusalem) is an Israeli composer and pianist. ...

Non-Jewish Contributors to Jewish Music

A number of non-Jewish composers have adapted traditional Jewish music to their compositions. Some notable examples are:

• Maurice Ravel wrote Kaddisch for violin and piano, based on a traditional Jewish liturgical melody.

• Max Bruch was a German Protestant, though he is often mistakenly identified as a Jew, because of his famous arrangement of the Jewish Yom Kippur prayer Kol Nidrei for cello and orchestra. Bruch also wrote a cycle of Hebrew songs for choir and orchestra, called Hebraeische Gesaenge.

• Sergei Prokofiev wrote Hebrew Melodies, an arrangement of traditional Jewish folksongs for piano quintet and clarinet.

• Dmitri Shostakovich was profoundly influenced by Jewish folk music, and incorporated Jewish music in many of his compositions. Most notable are the song cycle From Jewish Folk Poetry, the second piano trio, and the 13th symphony titled Babi Yar.

• There are critics who identify Jewish elements in Beethoven's C# minor string quartet, opus 131; however, there is no evidence that Beethoven was actually influenced by Jewish music when composing this quartet.

Maurice Ravel. ... Max Christian Friedrich Bruch (Cologne, January 6, 1838 – Friedenau, October 20, 1920) was a German Romantic composer and conductor who wrote over 200 works, including a violin concerto which is a staple of the violin repertoire. ... Kol Nidre (Hebrew: כל נדרי) is a Jewish prayer recited in the synagogue at the beginning of the evening service on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. ... Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev (Russian: , Sergej Sergejevič Prokofijev; April 27 (April 151 O.S.), 1891–March 5, 1953) was a Russian and Soviet composer who mastered numerous musical genres and came to be admired as one of the greatest composers of the 20th century. ... Dmitri Shostakovich   (Russian: , Dmitrij Dmitrievič Å ostakovič) (September 25 [O.S. September 12] 1906–August 9, 1975) was a Russian composer of the Soviet period. ...

References

External links

• Jewish Music Research Center
• Jewish Music Sales & Downloads
• Jewish Music Radio
• Jewish Music Downloads
• Jewish Music Review Anyting and everything about Jewish Music

See also

• Song of a Jewish Cowboy