Re: Verdi and Jewish music

[Joshua Horowitz <horowitz...>]

> Returning to 'Ah, fors'e lui', both Idelsohn and Slobin suggest that
> the borrowing was a conscious one by Goldfadn. In this case
> chronology makes the reverse impossible.  

I just wanted to contribute my 3-groschen into this discussion:

When I looked at the Slobin comparison of the Shulamith strain and the
La Traviata one, there didn't seem to be much more than a basic skeletal
outline common to both. Then I checked the Idelsohn reference mentioned
by Slobin (but not included in his examples). It reads:

"(Wolf) Shestapol was was a prolific composer....he was influenced by
the Italian opera of Odessa to the extent of adopting themes and
snatches of arias. Thus he adopted a part of an aria from La Traviata,
no. 6 for Adonoy Zechoronu (Ps. 115:12-18, beginning with the word
hashomayim). From there A. Goldfaden took the tune over into his musical
play Shulamith." 

The key portion of this quote is "From there..." This implies that
Goldfaden took the theme VIA an intermediary composer to create the
Shulamith tune. I don't know Adonoy Zechoronu, and the melody is not
shown by Idelsohn, but it seems that without that "missing link" the
skip from Verdi to Goldfaden is not a credible one. 

As for the link of Adio Querida to Ah fors'e lui: Here I can't find the
resemblance that would imply borrowing from La Traviata. If we are
talking about the same tune, are you all implying that the opening
strain (Tu madre cuando te pario) is similar to Ah fors'e lui. Or are we
talking about the refrain (Adio, adio querida...)?

One interesting addition I do have to this thread, however: One of the
informants of our Judeo-Spanish Songbook sang the opening strain of the
Tu madre cuando portion of the Adio Querida melody rubato and with makam
ornamentation to the words of 

Durme, durme, mi linda donzella
Durme, durme sin ansia ni dolor

It's the most beautiful version I known of this melody. Josh Horowitz


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