Search results
Middle East
- The Jewish people and their music have their roots in the Middle East, specifically in the land of Israel, and their branches everywhere. They have lived, for over 2000 years, amongst many cultures, both Eastern and Western - from Iran to Israel, to the Western Mediterranean and North Africa, to Europe, and most recently, the Americas.
www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/an-overview-of-jewish-music
Jewish music is the music and melodies of the Jewish people. There exist both traditions of religious music, as sung at the synagogue and in domestic prayers, and of secular music, such as klezmer.
Jewish Music in the 20th century has spanned the gamut from Shlomo Carlebach's nigunim to Debbie Friedman's Jewish feminist folk, and includes through-composed settings of the Avodath Hakodesh ('Sacred Service') by such composers as Ernest Bloch, Darius Milhaud, and Marc Lavry.
Music has been a part of Jewish life since biblical times, and remains integral to the Jewish religious and cultural experiences. At the moment of Israel’s birth as a nation — the Exodus from Egypt — the Bible tells us that Moses led the people of Israel in a song of divine praise.
- History of Religious Jewish Music
- Classical Jewish Religious Music
- Contemporary Jewish Religious Music
- Cantillation
- Prayer Chants
- Piyyut
- Zemirot
- Nigun
- Pizmonim
- Baqashot
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 Mishnah, the regular Temple orchestra consisted of twelve instruments, and the choir of twelve male singers. ...
From the time of the Renaissance Jewish communities in western Europe have shown some interest in modernizing the service by introducing composed music on the European model. Salamone Rossi, a composer at the court of Mantua, published a volume of psalm settings in a Baroque style similar to Monteverdi, but this did not become widely popular in syn...
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, to the many sounds of Daniel Ben Shalom. Velvel Pasternak has spent much of the late 20th century acting as a preservationist and committing what h...
Probably the oldest surviving tradition in Jewish music is the melodies used in chanting readings from the Scriptures. These melodies are denoted by special signs printed above or below each word in the Hebrew Bible, and differ greatly between Jewish communities, though some features found in many traditions suggest a common origin. They may also d...
Many of the passages in the prayer book, such as the Amidah and the Psalms, are chanted in a recitative rather than either read in normal speech or sung to a rhythmical tune: the style of chant in a particular community is sometimes known as its nusach. The recitatives follow a system of musical modes, somewhat like the maqamat of Arabic music. For...
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 alphabetor spelling out the name of the author. Many ar...
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 on Shabbat and Jewish holidays. Some of the Sabbath zemirot are specific to certain times of the day, such as those sung for the Friday evening meal, the Saturday noon meal, and S...
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 improv...
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 Easte...
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 Shabbatmorning from midnight until dawn. Usually they are recited during the weeks of winter, when the nights are much longer. The custom of singing Baqashot originated ...
In some sources, the Levites are described as singing upon a duchan (“platform”) in the Temple courtyard near the altar. 14 Elsewhere we read that the Levites sang on the 15 steps— corresponding to the 15 Songs of Ascent in Psalms 15 —that led from the Ezrat Nashim (“Court of Women”) to the Ezrat Yisrael (“Court of Israelites ”). 16.
- Yehuda Shurpin
Jewish music has a long and varied history, from the Song of Songs to Hasidic niggunim to Leonard Cohen and Joey Ramone. Here, Jeremiah Lockwood of the band The Sway Machinery gives his take about the history of Jewish music, and what defines a Jewish song.
The practice of accompanying synagogue worship with music dates back to ancient times. The Bible recounts numerous occasions when song expressed thanks to God or enhanced Temple services. The Song of the Sea (Exodus 15) marked the occasion of the splitting of the Red Sea as the Hebrews escaped slavery in Egypt, and Deborah sang her song (Judges ...
