[HANASHIR:5227] RE: The (almost) truth about the orign of "Hallel u"

[Klein, Jonathan, Rabbi <jklein...>]

HI,
With all due respect to Jeff Klepper, "Hallelu" and "Allah Hoo Allah Hoo" do
actually seem to be too similar to be totally independent.  It seems to me
that "Hallelu" is simply an adaptation and elaboration of Nusrat Fateh Ali
Khan's masterful Sufi piece.  I have an incredible videotape of him
performing in Seattle just prior to his death a few years ago, and the
performance is undoubtedly the most powerful example of using music to
create religious ecstasy that I have ever seen.  In the Arabic world, Ali
Khan is world-renowned for this piece.  By the way, it is well worth the
purchase!

Both songs have essentially two parts, the first part of each being almost
identical to one another.  Ali Khan's version uses major keys more
consistently than "Hallelu" (spoken by someone who really doesn't know how
to evaluate it in terms of musical theory).  Is this to make "Hallelu" sound
more "Jewish," with minor keys emphasized?  The second parts definitely
depart from one another.  Hallelu, in some versions, repeats the word
"halleluyah" (as in Debbie Friedman's version) or alternatively incorporates
the sentence "Kol Han'shamah t'hallel Yah," from Psalm 150.  "Allah Hoo
Allah Hoo" is filled with what seems to be ecstatic lines of Arabic text
(does anyone know what he is saying?) that draw from Ali Khan's amazing
vocal techniques.

To say that the two pieces are not related, it seems to me, is to suggest an
amazing coincidence of use of text and music to create religious fervor.
Regardless, both pieces evoke "hitlahavut" (religious ecstasy) for me!

L'shalom,
Jonathan Klein


Rabbi Jonathan Klein
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        -----Original Message-----
        From:   Jeff Klepper [SMTP:klepper (at) bethemet(dot)org]
        Sent:   Thursday, February 10, 2000 11:17 AM
        To:     hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
        Subject:        [HANASHIR:5190] The (almost) truth about the orign
of "Hallelu"

        > the "traditional" Kol Han'shama on Debbie's album is not, well,
        > traditional, the tune comes from a pakistani sufi chant

        Not really.  I checked it against the supposed influence, a
contemporary
        Sufi chant by the late Nusrat Fatah Ali Khan called "Allah Hoo".
The first
        four "Hallelu's" (i.e. the song's opening four bars) echo the
original
        "Allah Hoo's" and then...that's it folks, both songs go their
separate ways.
        

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