RE: History of Jewish Music

[moshe denburg <denburg...>]

On Tue, 1 Oct 1996 18:31:29 -0400 (EDT) estaylor (at) cris(dot)com wrote:

>Hi Moshe and others interested,
>
>Does anyone care to expound on the Phyrigian scale influence on Jewish
music and 
>possible direct influence from the Sephardic experience in Spain and Spanish 
>folk or court music? How do scholars view it? The relationship between
Phrygian 
>modes and Jewish music has fascinated me but I'm unaware of scholarship or 
>precise evidence in this area,
>
>Scott

I have always regarded the Phrygian scale as very Sephardi, and Mizrahi as
well. In Israeli music, you will find this scale in the music of Sephardi
culture, certain Ladino songs, and music that comes from North Africa
(Morocco, Tunisia, etc.). You will also find it in melodies that have their
roots in Mizrahi culture (Iraq, Yemen, etc.). Some songs that come to mind
are 'Dror Yikra', 'Shabhi Yerushalayim', and the Ladino song 'Morenica'
(which utilizes both the Phrygian and the natural minor).

I am not aware of specific scholarship regarding the derivation of the
Phrygian in Jewish Music, but it has always been a significant
differentiator, for me, between Sephardi and Ashkenazi musical expression.

In Ashkenazi Music, both that of the Synagogue and in popular forms like
Klezmer, one of the chief modes is the 'Ahava Raba' - this mode is a 'blood
relative' of the Near Eastern mode 'Hidjaz'. Basically, it can be described
as the Phrygian with a raised third. Here are Phrygian and Ahava Raba
compared (taking 'E' as the root tone):

Phrygian:    E   F   G   A   B   C   D   E 

Ahava Raba:  E   F   G#  A   B   C   D   E

The only difference, note-wise, is the G#, which is a salient feature of
Ahava Raba. 

In Ashkenazi Music as well, you will often hear Phrygian endings on a
musical phrase. One hears this often in Klezmer, where an Ahava Raba is
happening for a while, followed by a cadential phrase with the lowered third.

The Phrygian mode, as well as Hidjaz, have their roots in antiquity. But any
mode can be played and varied in a variety of ways. The Ashkenazi Ahava Raba
is quite different from the Mizrahi Hidjaz. This is due to different musical
treatemnt - harmony is West not East, Eastern and Western instruments
differ, the notes are more embellished in the East, rhythms vary from place
to place as well. This said, I feel it can still be argued that Jewish Music
is, in the main, rooted in the East. A form like Klezmer takes its great
appeal from the Eastern style of melodic embellishment and modal cadence.
The art of the Hazan in the West, by and large preserves this Eastern modal
practice.

Just some food for thought,

Moshe Denburg