Re: Mah-Nishtanah

[Sam Weiss <SamWeiss...>]

At 07:05 AM 4/8/03, Bob Wiener wrote:
> I'm
> curious about the musical development of the different tunes for Ma
> Nishtana (e.g., the "chant" and "Israeli"
> versions).  Can anyone enlighten us?

The Four Questions were taught to practically everyone in the European
Cheder, and reviewed by younger students every year before Pesach. 
As with almost everything learned in the Cheder, it was chanted in one of
the  "study modes," in this case the question-and-answer
talmudic chant marked by reciting tones on the open 5th and octaves. This
was particularly appropriate to the Mah-Nishtanah, which, like many of
the core texts of the Haggadah, are citations from the Talmud. (The last
question, about reclining, is a later substitution for the original
Mishnaic question about eating only roasted [sacrificial] meat.) This
chant was carried over to the home, and became traditionally associated
with Mah-Nishtanah.  
A related "study mode" marked by the falling motive from the
minor third to reciting tones on the tonic followed by a leap to the 5th
(cf. Yiddish question-and-answer songs like "Vos Vet Zayn Az
Meshiakh Vet Kumen") was also sometimes used for the Four Questions,
but was more typically used for the "Answer", i.e. the rest of
the Haggadah.  The "Israeli" Mah-Nishtanah melody taught
in most Hebrew schools today is essentially a rhythmicization of this
chant.  A posting several years ago sent by Professor Eliyahu
Schleifer of Jerusalem refers to the genesis of this melody:
 
<< ... Ephraim Abileah was among the
founders of the Society for Jewish Folk Music in St. Petersburg in
1901... he was the composer of the melody of Mah Nishtanah that we all
sing at the Seder. In the year 1936, Ephraim Abileah composed an oratorio
"Chag Ha-Cherut" Festival of Freedom which included many pieces
on texts from the Haggadah, among them the Mah-Nishtanah. The oratorio
was performed only once in Haifa and was forgotten. But the melody became
part and parcel of the Seder celebration in many families around the
world. As usual, the melody soon won the status of "Trad." and
no one remembered the composer. >>

BTW here is one traditional East-European version of the Four
Questions (Fir Kashes).  Note that in the Hebrew segments I used the
Sephardic pronunciation, but of course in Eastern Europe the Ashkenazic
pronunciation was normally used.
 
[child:]
Tate lebn, ikh vil dir fir kashes fregn:
Ma nishtana halayla hazeh mikol haleylot.
Farvos iz di nakht fun peysekh andersh fun ale nekht fun a gants
yor?

Di ershte kashe iz,
Sheb'khol haleylot anu okhlin khameytz umatzah,
Halayla hazeh kulo matzah.
Ale nekht fun a gants yor esn mir say khomets un say matseh,
Ober di nakht fun peysekh, esn mir nor matseh.

Di tsveyte kashe iz,
Sheb'khol haleylot anu okhlin sh'ar yerakot,
Halayla hazeh maror.
Ale nekht fun a gants yor esn mir alerlay grintsn,
Ober di nakht fun peysekh, esn mir nor morer.

Di drite kashe iz,
Sheb'khol haleylot eyn anu matbilin afilu pa'am ekhat,
Halayla hazeh sh'tey p'amim.
Ale nekht fun a gants yor tinken mir nisht ayn afileh eyn mol,
Ober di nakht fun peysekh, tinken mir ayn tsvey mol.

Di ferte kashe iz,
Sheb'khol haleylot onu okhlin beyn yoshvin uveyn m'subin,
Halayla hazeh kulanu m'subin.
Ale nekht fun a gants yor esn mir say zitsndik un say ongeleynt,
Ober di nakht fun peysekh, esn mir nor ongeleynt.

Tate lebn, entfer mir di fir kashes.

[father:]
Der terets iz,
Avadim hayinu l'far'o b'mitzrayim...
Knekht zenen mir geven bay paren in mitsrayim...

_____________________________________________________________
Cantor Sam Weiss === Jewish Community Center of Paramus, NJ ---------------------- jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org ---------------------+ Hosted by Shamash: The Jewish Network http://shamash.org A service of Hebrew College, which offers online courses and an online MA in Jewish Studies, http://hebrewcollege.edu/online/ * * FREE JEWISH LEARNING * * Shamash invites you to join MyJewishLearning.com, a comprehensive, objective, authoritative and interactive learning resource in all areas of Judaism. Free membership via http://www.myjewishlearning.com/shamash ---------------------- jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org ---------------------=