Re: Variations on Adon Olam

[W. Morrison <sushiqn...>]

Benjamin_Laden (at) peoplesoft(dot)com wrote:
>Is there any melody that you can not fit Adon Olam into? This prayer has a
>remarkable ability to be placed in almost any melody...

It is indeed a notoriously adaptable text. Not only can it be easily poured
into almost any time signature, but the syllabic rhythm is so flexible that
even line length does not seem to present a problem in most cases.

There's a classical music enthusiast at our shul who, on the Shabbos
closest to Ludwig's birthday, tried to cajole the cantor into singing Adon
Olam to "Ode to Joy", which of course it fits like a glove. He was told
gently that it wasn't appropriate.

That's the temptation, with such adaptable texts, to set them to every
possible tune, just because you can, and because it provides amusement and
makes the person who thought of it feel clever and pleased with themselves.
(earlier in this thread someone asked about alternative melodies for Ashrei
-- and then in another context someone mentioned Hernando's Hideaway. Put
those two together... Hernando's Ashrei) But a little restraint is in
order. I am in agreement with those who have suggested that Purim (and
perhaps also Simkhas Torah, to a lesser degree) is the proper time to take
such liberties, but the rest of the year we ought to refrain from doing so,
l'koved Shabbos and l'koved haTsibbur. (out of respect for the Sabbath and
for the congregation)

We tend to take more liberties with Adon Olam simply because it is the
closing prayer on Shabbos morning. Is any harm really done if, at the end
of services on Bastille Day, we sing Adon Olam to La Marseilleise? Not
acceptable, you say? What then if July 4th falls out on Shabbat, and we
sing it to America the Beautiful? A little better, maybe; or a lot better,
depending on your perspective. Perhaps it depends on the individual
congregation. What is the dividing line between tasteful and inappropriate?

There are plenty of beautiful and inspiring melodies available, which do
not have such strong associations (and extremely inappropriate lyrics in
the case of TV theme songs and the like), and which would not interfere
with the kavanah of the davenners.

Much has been said about whether we should consider the origin of a melody
when deciding if it is appropriate for Jewish texts. The source of the
melody is only important to me if it carries with it undesirable
associations; for example, it might not be a great idea to use the main
theme of Die Forelle (the Trout Quintet) as a vehicle for one of the psalms
in Pesukei D'Zimra, although it fits several of them beautifully. Why not?
-- Schubert was one of Hitler's favorite composers. The fact that many
people will not make that association on their own should not be an excuse
for the baal tefillah to do it anyway, just because it is a familiar,
catchy, and easy melody for group singing.

Wendy Morrison