Fw: Psalm 133/Battle Hymn of the Republic

[Eliezer Kaplan <zelwel...>]

Chris' notes on the whole topic w/ my comments at the top...
                                    EK


----- Original Message -----
From: Ellie Kaplan <EZK (at) fipsco(dot)com>
To: 'Home' <zelwel (at) earthlink(dot)net>; Chris Kite <chris (at) 
fipsco(dot)com>;
<jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
Sent: Friday, September 24, 1999 9:29 AM
Subject: FW: Psalm 133/Battle Hymn of the Republic


> My objection is this:
>     In general, since the time of the Torah Jews do not refer to the Holy
> Land as Canaan. A reference to Canaan is not a Jewish reference- remember
> that according to the bible the Canaanites were very bad people. No
Zionist
> I know of would have ever said " ... Meet Me On Canaan's Happy Shore"- I'm
> guessing that the Jewish camp song connection came much later- the 1950's
or
> 1960's at the earliest. Chris- where was your tape recorder when you
needed
> it?
> EK
>
> > Many thanks for the replies. You could forward this to your contacts or
> wait for more additions and editting.
>
> As you can see from the header, I've posted it. Maybe somebody on the
> mailing list has some additional comment or some missing link of proof
that
> would support you and surprise me, though I admit that Rabbi must have
> gotten the idea from somewhere.
>
>
>
> > ----------
> > From: Chris Kite
> > Sent: Thursday, September 23, 1999 3:52 PM
> > To: Ellie Kaplan
> > Subject: Psalm 133/Battle Hymn of the Republic
> >
> > Many thanks for the replies. You could forward this to your contacts or
> > wait for more additions and editting.
> >
> > The replies confirm that the Battle Hymn chorus and the 133rd Psalm have
> > been sung to a similar tune as a camp song. Now the question is whether
> > this version of the Psalm chant was inspired by the Battle Hymn or
whether
> > the Battle Hymn was inspired by this version of the Psalm chant. Other
> > camp songs have been set to the Glory Hallelujah chorus, but the
antiquity
> > and common message of Psalm 133 is unique. I am intrigued by the
> > possibility of the Psalm chant inspiring the hymn.
> >
> > Musically the chorus is simple, repetitive and has natural transitions
> > along the musical scale. It could be a folk tune existing way before the
> > 1850's. The tune may have been considered inconsequential unless it
> > supported effective lyrics
> >
> > I have notes from http://users.erols.com/kfraser/hymn-exp.html which say
> > the Battle Hymn tune was borrowed from an old Methodist hymn, "Say,
> > Brothers, Will You Meet Us?" by William Steffe. It says the lyrics for
> > "John Brown's Body" were not, at first, related to the abolitionist; but
> > later became inextricably linked with him.
> >
> > One of the replies extended the title to " ... Meet Me On Canaan's Happy
> > Shore". This suggests a link to Judaism and the Zionist movement
starting
> > in the 1840's. This reply also says Julia Ward Howe first wrote the
Battle
> > Hymn as a poem without the musical chorus. This conflicts with the note
> > below based on the above website. The conflict may be resolved by the
fact
> > that the lurics were published in the Atlantic Monthly in Feb 1862 and
> > people may have assumed it was first a poem.
> >
> > The website says that as Julia Ward Howe toured Union camps near DC in
> > November 1861, she was encouraged by Reverend James Freeman Clarke to
> > write new lyrics to the tune. She awoke to find the "... lines were
> > arranging themselves in my brain ...".
> >
> > Apart from any musical link, the messages of brotherhood, unity and life
> > evermore in the 133rd Psalm are similar to those in these Hymns. When I
> > heard the Sephardic Rabbi in southern France in 1976 chant the Psalm,
the
> > tune sounded like the Battle Hymn, particularly the chorus. However, it
> > was not the military march style. It was plaintive and pleading.
> >
> > My great and great-great grandfathers in the Kite line were in Jeb
> > Stuart's Cavalry during the Civil War. This cavalry hunted down John
Brown
> > under orders from Robert E. Lee. They may have sung the John Brown
lyrics
> > then or once the war started. Lee freed his slaves before the war and
then
> > made the difficult decision to fight for Virginia. In the midst of Lee's
> > brilliant defense, the Battle Hymn kept up Union spirits and helped to
> > transform the cause of the North to freedom for the slaves. Prior to
then,
> > you could argue that the South had the moral advantage. It was being
> > attacked. The North's interests were, at first, political and economic.
> >
> > In July of 1862, we have the unexplained awarding of an expensive German
> > sword to a citizen, G. L. Kite, at Ft. Ward, Alexandria VA by the New
York
> > Artillery. My friend bought the sword for a low price at a show in
> > Chicago. He was told that there was a great, unknown story behind the
> > sword. The award is peculiar since it is to a citizen, and all the Kites
I
> > know about fought for the Confederacy. This Kite befriended the Union.
> > G.L. Kite could be my great-great-great-grandfather, George Kite, or one
> > of his kin. George would have been about 72 in 1862 and may have just
> > lived one more year. His imminent death and his family and friends in
the
> > Confederacy could explain the secrecy of the story.
> >
> > If it is George, then a question is what would he have said to his son
and
> > grandson who were in Jeb Stuart's Cavalry. Or if a cousin, would he have
> > promoted any cause to them? Jeb Stuart's Cavalry was a key to Lee's
> > victories, but they were also involved in strange occurences that
> > prevented victories for the South at Antietam in Sept 1862 and
Gettysburg
> > in July of 1863. Lincoln had enough support to then issue the
Emancipation
> > Proclamation as a first draft in Sept 1862.
> >
> > The sword awarded to G. L. Kite has at least symbolic, if not
historical,
> > ties to the Battle Hymn and these events. More later.
> >
> >
> >
>

---------------------- jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org ---------------------+