Re: Any Decent National Anthems?

[Adam Cainer <adam...>]

I don't know what tradition the 'Sabbath tape' reflects but I
suspect that it is a great deal more recent than the correspondant
gives it credit for!

The practice of taking popular melodies (including anthems) and
working them into the services is indeed old but the inclusion of
the Hatikva melody is a phenomenon of this century.

The traditional shabbat 'tune' is called nusach and is formed of a
number of motifs that make the prayers take on a distinct
character. Two different forms of the nusach are used in the
Ashkenazi services for Shabbat morning service - one for Mussaf
(the additional Service) and one for Shacharit.

If one is looking for musical similarities, the Shabbat Shacharit
nusach bears an uncanny resemblence to the theme from 'Exodus'!



 In article <3r5oah$8f3 (at) linda(dot)teleport(dot)com>,
znmeb (at) teleport(dot)com (znmeb (at) teleport(dot)com) writes: 
>[ Article crossposted from rec.music.folk,rec.music.classical ]
>[ Author was ghost ]
>[ Posted on 7 Jun 1995 17:25:30 GMT ]
>
>In article <3qfr6a$e8g (at) linda(dot)teleport(dot)com> znmeb (at) 
>teleport(dot)com writes:
>
>>ghost (jmf (at) endor(dot)harvard(dot)edu) wrote:
>
>>: In article <3qfan4$kmc (at) linda(dot)teleport(dot)com> znmeb (at) 
>>teleport(dot)com writes:
>
>>: >JonathBlue (jonathblue (at) aol(dot)com) wrote:
>>: >: The Israeli National Anthem "Ha Tikvah" (which means "Hope") is very
>>: >: moving.  It is in a minor key (I believe) and has a beautiful, 
>>bittersweet
>>: >: melody.
>
>>: >It is also from a well-known classical composition, "The Moldau", by
>>: >Smetana.
>
>>: Nope:  Smetana, in "The Moldau", steals what was either a local (Chezch?)
>>: folk tune or a local Jewish folk tune, messes around with the key its in to
>>: make it sound "more uplifting", rearranges it a bit, & puts his name on it.
>>: Typical story.  When classical composers wanted something with ethnic
>>: flavor they usually just swiped something from the local ethnics, but many
>>: did acknowledge their sources.  I don't know about Smetana.
>
>>Israel was founded in 1948.  "The Moldau" was written much earlier.
>
>The tune of Hatikvah, aka "The Moldau", is found in the Sabbath morning
>(prayer) service, at least in the version on a tape I bought (which sounds
>just as trad as I could have hoped for, even though some of the other melodies
>used are familiar alternates to the ones I really wanted, learned in
>childhood).  So...it pays to buy those rabbi tapes!  Tape is in the car; 
>I'll get you reference later if you like.
>
>The Jewish Sabbath morning prayer service, is, needless to say, mostly
>"written much earlier" than Smetana's lifetime.
>
>The tune in question could still be a Czech (or whatever) folk tune which
>found its way in to the Jewish service as performed across eastern Europe;
>stranger things have happened, & people did trade tunes in those days when
>they had a good one.  I seriously doubt it was taken from Smetana's
>composition & didn't appear before that, but as I don't know if cantors were
>given to transcribing the service as best they could into western
>notation, which is severely inadequate to the task, I don't know if I
>could prove this origin to your satisfaction.  Check this reference out in
>alt.music.jewish if you can get that newsgroup at your site; I can't, as 
>we don't get this or many other alt groups here.
>
>-- 
>znmeb (at) teleport(dot)COM (M. Edward Borasky)
>How to Stop A Folksinger Cold # 2
>"Are you going to Scarborough Fair?"
>No.
>

"The whole world is a very narrow bridge - the important thing
is not to be be afraid"