Re: Adon Olom (was Jewish Cowboy Music)

[Joe Kurland <ganeydn...>]

Jacob,

I'd love to hear it before passing judgement on it.  By the "rita rita rita
rita"  it could be one of those chassidic nigunim (wordless melodies) that
conveys as much meaning as a prayer with words.  As I imagine setting the
words below to music, it would start as a slow, joyous khosidl--a wedding
dance, as befits a song welcoming the Sabbath bride.

I suspect, also, that if your grandfather came from Eastern Europe, he
would have used Ashkenazic (l'kho dodi, (or doydi) likras kaleh)
pronunciation rather than Sephardic.

Zayt gezunt (be healthy),

Yosl (Joe) Kurland
The Wholesale Klezmer Band
Colrain, MA 01340
voice/fax: 413-624-3204
http://www.crocker.com/~ganeydn

>Joe,
>
>I agree with you.  And yet, I have an affection for the few things I know
>that were passed down from my grandfather Jacob (the Talmud chachem for
>whom I was named), and one of them is a version of L'Cha Dodi that turns it
>into "meaningless syllables set to tunes that don't support musically the
>feelings of the prayers."
>
>It goes:
>
>Oy vey, L'cha day
>Oy vey, dee likrat
>Oy vey, kallah p'nay
>Oy vey, Shabbat nika
>Rita rita rita rita rita rita
>Rita rita rita rita ritata
>Rita rita rita rita rita rita
>Rita rita rita rita rita
>BLAH!
>
>Of course, I don't sing it very often,
>
>Jacob
>
>>Date: Mon, 1 Feb 1999 23:06:32 -0500
>To: World music from a Jewish slant. <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
>From: Joe Kurland <ganeydn (at) crocker(dot)com>
>Subject: Re: Adon Olom (was Jewish Cowboy Music)
>
>>This is what Purim was invented for.  At other times, God may be pleased to
>be praised with humor, but I can't feel that I'm praising God with tunes
>that make me feel the words are meaningless syllables set to tunes that
>don't support musically the feelings of the prayers.
>
>>Call me out of step with the times, but that's why I love the recordings of
>the old time cantors. They put their hearts into their singing.  They made
>the prayers come alive.  You could feel their meanings even if you couldn't
>understand the words.
>
>
>>Yosl (Joe) Kurland
>The Wholesale Klezmer Band
>
>



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