Re: hatikvah

[Hope Ehn Dennis Ehn <ehn...>]

The early-music people have tracked the tune back to early 17th- century
Italy. It was apparently composed for an intermedio for some occasion
which I can't recall right now -- probably a wedding. There were four
composers four this undertaking, the music to which is now lost. The four
were Monteverdi, his brother Giulio Cesare Monteverdi, Gastoldi, and none
other than Salamone Rossi. So this tune, which became wide-spread all over
Europe before becoming the national anthem of Israel, may have been
written by a Jewish composer!

During its early years, the tune had several different names. In Italy, it
was known as the "Ballo di Mantua," "La Mantovana," or "Fuggi, fuggi"
(the title of a madrigal using the tune). In England, it appeared in
Playford's "Dancing Master" as "An Italian Rant," starting with the 1657
edition. Biagio Marini published a trio sonata on the tune in his opus 22
collection of ensemble sonatas, 1655.

And now, let us return to Imber. I wish I could remember where I read that
Imber, in his cups, once confessed that he had taken his tune straight
from "The Moldau." That's what makes the possibility of Rossi's having
composed it so ironic.

Hope Ehn                         <ehn (at) world(dot)std(dot)com>

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Dennis and Hope Ehn are 2 different people sharing one account.
Hope is the author of "On-Line Resources for Classical & Academic Musicians."
Dennis does programming (mostly C++).
PLEASE don't get us confused!                                 :-)
<ehn (at) world(dot)std(dot)com>
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