In
Judaism
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...
, musical nusach refers the musical style or tradition of a community, particularly the chant used for recitative prayers such as the
Amidah
The ''Amidah Amuhduh'' ( he, תפילת העמידה, ''Tefilat HaAmidah'', 'The Standing Prayer'), also called the ''Shemoneh Esreh'' ( 'eighteen'), is the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy. Observant Jews recite the ''Amidah'' at each o ...
.
This is distinct from
textual nusach, the exact text of the prayer service, which varies somewhat between Jewish communities.
Description
The whole musical style or tradition of a community is sometimes referred to as its ''nusach'', but this term is most often used in connection with the chants used for recitative passages, in particular the
Amidah
The ''Amidah Amuhduh'' ( he, תפילת העמידה, ''Tefilat HaAmidah'', 'The Standing Prayer'), also called the ''Shemoneh Esreh'' ( 'eighteen'), is the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy. Observant Jews recite the ''Amidah'' at each o ...
.
Many of the passages in the
prayer book
A prayer book is a book containing prayers and perhaps devotional readings, for private or communal use, or in some cases, outlining the liturgy of religious services. Books containing mainly orders of religious services, or readings for them are ...
, such as the
Amidah
The ''Amidah Amuhduh'' ( he, תפילת העמידה, ''Tefilat HaAmidah'', 'The Standing Prayer'), also called the ''Shemoneh Esreh'' ( 'eighteen'), is the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy. Observant Jews recite the ''Amidah'' at each o ...
and the Psalms, are chanted in a recitative rather than either read in normal speech or sung to a rhythmical tune. The recitatives follow a system of
musical modes
In music theory, the term mode or ''modus'' is used in a number of distinct senses, depending on context.
Its most common use may be described as a type of musical scale coupled with a set of characteristic melodic and harmonic behaviors. It ...
, somewhat like the
maqam
MAQAM is a US-based production company specializing in Arabic and Middle Eastern media. The company was established by a small group of Arabic music and culture lovers, later becoming a division of 3B Media Inc. "MAQAM" is an Arabic word meaning a ...
at of Arabic music. For example, Ashkenazi
cantorial practice distinguishes a number of ''
steiger'' (scales) named after the prayers in which they are most frequently used, such as the ''Adonoi moloch steiger'' and the ''Ahavoh rabboh steiger''.
Mizrahi
''Mizrachi'' or ''Mizrahi'' ( he, מזרחי) has two meanings.
In the literal Hebrew meaning ''Eastern'', it may refer to:
*Mizrahi Jews, Jews from the Middle East
* Mizrahi (surname), a Sephardic surname, given to Jews who got to the Iberian P ...
communities such as the
Syrian Jews use the full
maqam
MAQAM is a US-based production company specializing in Arabic and Middle Eastern media. The company was established by a small group of Arabic music and culture lovers, later becoming a division of 3B Media Inc. "MAQAM" is an Arabic word meaning a ...
system.
The scales used may vary both with the particular prayer and with the season. For examples, there are often special modes for the
High Holy Days
The High Holidays also known as the High Holy Days, or Days of Awe in Judaism, more properly known as the Yamim Noraim ( he, יָמִים נוֹרָאִים, ''Yāmīm Nōrāʾīm''; "Days of Awe")
#strictly, the holidays of Rosh HaShanah ("Jew ...
, and in Syrian practice the scale used depends on the Torah reading for the week (see
The Weekly Maqam
In Mizrahi Jews, Mizrahi and Sephardi Jews, Sephardic Middle Eastern Jews, Jewish prayer services, each Shabbat the congregation conducts services using a different maqam. A Arabic maqam, ''maqam'' (), which in Arabic literally means 'place', is a ...
). In some cases the actual melodies are fixed, while in others the reader has freedom of improvisation.
Musical modes
Jewish liturgical music is characterized by a set of musical
modes
Mode ( la, modus meaning "manner, tune, measure, due measure, rhythm, melody") may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* '' MO''D''E (magazine)'', a defunct U.S. women's fashion magazine
* ''Mode'' magazine, a fictional fashion magazine which is ...
.
The prayer modes form part of what is known as the musical ''nusach'' (tradition) of a community, and serve both to identify different types of prayer and to link those prayers to the time of year or even time of day in which they are set. Various Jewish traditions developed their own modal systems, such as the
maqamat of the Middle Eastern Jewish communities. The modes discussed in this article are specific to the traditions of Eastern European
(Ashkenazi) Jewish Communities.
There are three main modes, as well as a number of combined or compound modes. The three main modes are called Ahavah Rabbah, Magein Avot and Adonai Malach. Traditionally, the cantor (''
hazzan
A ''hazzan'' (; , lit. Hazan) or ''chazzan'' ( he, חַזָּן , plural ; Yiddish ''khazn''; Ladino ''Hasan'') is a Jewish musician or precentor trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the congregation in songful prayer.
In English, this pr ...
'') improvised sung prayers within the designated mode, while following a general structure of how each prayer should sound. Over time many of these chants have been written down and standardized, yet the practice of improvisation still exists to this day. Early studies in the history of Jewish Prayer Modes concluded that the musical scales used were based upon ancient
Biblical cantillation, but modern scholarship has questioned the validity of these findings.
Ahavah Rabbah mode
The Ahavah Rabbah mode – sometimes referred to as Freygish (
Phrygian dominant) – is named after the blessing that immediately precedes the
Sh'ma in the morning service. This blessing begins with the words Ahavah Rabbah (literally: great love), and describes how God's love for Israel is manifest through God's revelation of
Torah
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...
. Musically, Ahavah Rabbah is considered to be the most Jewish-sounding of all the prayer modes, because of the interval of a flattened second, creating an
augmented second
In classical music from Western culture, an augmented second is an interval that, in equal temperament, is sonically equivalent to a minor third, spanning three semitones, and is created by widening a major second by a chromatic semitone.Ben ...
interval between the second and third scale degrees. This mode is used in the beginning of the
weekday evening service through the
Chatzi Kaddish, a large portion of the
weekday morning service, parts of the Shabbat morning service, and occasionally on the
High Holidays
The High Holidays also known as the High Holy Days, or Days of Awe in Judaism, more properly known as the Yamim Noraim ( he, יָמִים נוֹרָאִים, ''Yāmīm Nōrāʾīm''; "Days of Awe")
#strictly, the holidays of Rosh HaShanah ("Jew ...
. The Ahavah Rabbah mode is also used in many Jewish folk songs, such as "
Hava Nagila
Hava Nagila ( he, הָבָה נָגִילָה, ''Hāvā Nāgīlā'', "Let us rejoice") is a Jewish folk song. It is traditionally sung at celebrations, such as weddings. Written in 1918, it quickly spread through the Jewish diaspora.
History ...
", and popular liturgical melodies, such as "Yismechu". It is similar to the
Arabic maqam
Arabic maqam ( ar, مقام, maqām, literally "rank"; ') is the system of melodic modes used in traditional Arabic music, which is mainly melodic. The word ''maqam'' in Arabic means place, location or position. The Arabic ''maqam'' is a melo ...
Hijaz
The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Provinc ...
, but whereas the dominant of Hijaz is on the fourth degree, Ahavah Rabbah strongly favors the third.
Ukrainian Dorian mode
The
Ukrainian Dorian mode (also known as Mi sheberach mode) is a combined scale built upon the seventh degree of the Ahavah Rabbah scale. It is also closely related to the Magein Avot mode, in that a pre-concluding phrase in Ukrainian Dorian can cadence on its
supertonic
In music, the supertonic is the second degree () of a diatonic scale, one whole step above the tonic. In the movable do solfège system, the supertonic note is sung as ''re''.
The triad built on the supertonic note is called the supertonic chor ...
, which is the 5th degree of the relative Magein Avot scale. This happens quite often in the nusach for the
Three Festivals. It is similar to the
Arabic maqam
Arabic maqam ( ar, مقام, maqām, literally "rank"; ') is the system of melodic modes used in traditional Arabic music, which is mainly melodic. The word ''maqam'' in Arabic means place, location or position. The Arabic ''maqam'' is a melo ...
Nikriz.
Magein Avot mode
The Magein Avot (literally: Shield of our Fathers) mode takes its name from a paragraph in the
Me'ein Sheva prayer, which directly follows the
Amidah
The ''Amidah Amuhduh'' ( he, תפילת העמידה, ''Tefilat HaAmidah'', 'The Standing Prayer'), also called the ''Shemoneh Esreh'' ( 'eighteen'), is the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy. Observant Jews recite the ''Amidah'' at each o ...
in the Friday evening service. Musically, it most closely resembles a
minor scale
In music theory, the minor scale is three scale patterns – the natural minor scale (or Aeolian mode), the harmonic minor scale, and the melodic minor scale (ascending or descending) – rather than just two as with the major scale, which also ...
from the Western classical music tradition or the
Arabic maqam
Arabic maqam ( ar, مقام, maqām, literally "rank"; ') is the system of melodic modes used in traditional Arabic music, which is mainly melodic. The word ''maqam'' in Arabic means place, location or position. The Arabic ''maqam'' is a melo ...
Nahawand
Nahavand ( fa, نهاوند, translit=Nahāvand / Nehāvend) is a city in Hamadan Province, Iran. It is the capital of Nahavand County. At the time of the 2006 census, its population was 72,218, in 19,419 families. It is located south of the ci ...
. It is used in simple
davening, or prayer chant, often by means of a single recitation tone, which the cantor uses to cover a large amount of liturgical text in a quickly-flowing style. The simplicity of both the mode and the chanting associated with it is meant to reflect the peaceful atmosphere of
Shabbat
Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...
. When chanting in the Magein Avot mode, it is common for the cantor to pivot into the
relative major
In music, relative keys are the major and minor scales that have the same key signatures (enharmonically equivalent), meaning that they share all the same notes but are arranged in a different order of whole steps and half steps. A pair of major an ...
at certain liturgical points, often to highlight a particular line of text. It is this use of the relative major, in concert with Magein Avot, that distinguishes the mode from a regular
minor scale
In music theory, the minor scale is three scale patterns – the natural minor scale (or Aeolian mode), the harmonic minor scale, and the melodic minor scale (ascending or descending) – rather than just two as with the major scale, which also ...
. In addition to Shabbat evening, the Magein Avot mode is also prominent for the opening blessings of the
weekday morning and
afternoon services.
Yishtabach mode
The Yishtabach mode is a variant of the Magein Avot scale that flattens the second scale degree.
Adonai (HaShem) Malach mode
The Adonai malach (literally: God Reigns) mode consists of a major scale with a lowered (minor) seventh and tenth. This mode has a majestic feel to it and is used for a number of services that require a grand atmosphere. Traditionally, it is used for psalms 95–99 in Kabbalat Shabbat,
Lekhah Dodi
Lekha Dodi ( he, לכה דודי) is a Hebrew-language Jewish liturgical song recited Friday at dusk, usually at sundown, in synagogue to welcome the Sabbath prior to the evening services. It is part of Kabbalat Shabbat.
The refrain of ''Lekh ...
in
Kabbalat Shabbat
Jewish prayer ( he, תְּפִלָּה, ; plural ; yi, תּפֿלה, tfile , plural ; Yinglish: davening from Yiddish 'pray') is the prayer recitation that forms part of the observance of Rabbinic Judaism. These prayers, often with i ...
, and the Friday night
Kiddush. On Shabbat morning it is used for the Avot and G'vurot, during the Torah service, and on
Rosh Chodesh
Rosh Chodesh or Rosh Hodesh ( he, ראש חודש; trans. ''Beginning of the Month''; lit. ''Head of the Month'') is the name for the first day of every month in the Hebrew calendar, marked by the birth of a new moon. It is considered a minor ...
when blessing the new month. Adonai Malach mode is also used at various times during the
High Holidays
The High Holidays also known as the High Holy Days, or Days of Awe in Judaism, more properly known as the Yamim Noraim ( he, יָמִים נוֹרָאִים, ''Yāmīm Nōrāʾīm''; "Days of Awe")
#strictly, the holidays of Rosh HaShanah ("Jew ...
when a majestic quality is required, such as the
Shofar
A shofar ( ; from he, שׁוֹפָר, ) is an ancient musical horn typically made of a ram's horn, used for Jewish religious purposes. Like the modern bugle, the shofar lacks pitch-altering devices, with all pitch control done by varying the ...
service, and parts of the
Amidah
The ''Amidah Amuhduh'' ( he, תפילת העמידה, ''Tefilat HaAmidah'', 'The Standing Prayer'), also called the ''Shemoneh Esreh'' ( 'eighteen'), is the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy. Observant Jews recite the ''Amidah'' at each o ...
. In High Holiday contexts, the seventh and tenth degrees are often raised, causing the mode to strongly resemble the classical
major scale
The major scale (or Ionian mode) is one of the most commonly used musical scales, especially in Western music. It is one of the diatonic scales. Like many musical scales, it is made up of seven notes: the eighth duplicates the first at double i ...
.
"Adonai malakh" ("God is King"), a line from
Psalm 93
Psalm 93 is the 93rd psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty". The Latin wording is Dominus regnavit, decorem indutus est. , is set using the Adonai malakh scale at the close of the introduction to the ''
Kabalat Shabat'' (Friday evening synagogue service).
It adds flats as it goes higher, and its pitch set is similar to the Persian
Dastgāh-e Māhur Dastgāh-e Māhūr or Dastgaah-e Maahur ( fa, دستگاه ماهور) is one of the seven ''Dastgāh''s of Persian Music (Classically, Persian Music is organized into seven ''Dastgāhs'' and five '' Āvāz''es, however from a merely technical poi ...
and Russian
Obikhod The Obikhod (Обиход церковного пения) is a collection of polyphonic Russian Orthodox liturgical chants forming a major tradition of Russian liturgical music; it includes both liturgical texts and psalm settings.
The original ...
scale.
Maneuvers
Maneuvers are used within prayer chants in order to change the mood and mode during prayer. There are a few characteristic moves that cantors tend to use in order to modulate through various modes. Two of the most common maneuvers are the Yishtabach maneuver and the Sim Shalom maneuver.
Yishtabach maneuver
The Yishtabach maneuver moves from Magein Avot to Adonai Malach on the 4th degree of the scale. It then moves through Ukrainian Dorian and back to Magein Avot. This maneuver helps to highlight the grandeur of the proclamation of God's name that occurs in the final blessing of the Shabbat morning service.
Sim Shalom maneuver
The Sim Shalom maneuver, which is named after the
Sim Shalom
Sim Shalom ( he, שִׂים שָׁלוֹם; "Grant Peace") is a blessing that is recited at the end of the morning Amidah and the Mincha Amidah during fast days in the Ashkenazic tradition, and on mincha of the Sabbath in the Western Ashkenazic ri ...
prayer, in which it often occurs, begins in Ahavah Rabbah, and modulates to the major key on the fourth degree of the scale. It also uses Ukrainian Dorian as a shift back to the original Ahavah Rabbah.
[Cohon, 91]
References
Works cited
* Cohon, Baruch Joseph. "The Structure of Synagogue Prayer Chant." ''Journal of the American Musicological Society'' 3, no. 1, 17–32, 1950.
Further reading
*
Idelsohn, A.Z. ''Jewish Music: Its Historical Development.'' New York: Henry Holt and Co., 1929. Reprint New York: Dover Publication, 1992.
*Charles Davidson, ''Immunim Benusaḥ Hatefillah'' (3 vols): Ashbourne Publishing 1996
*Hewitt, Michael. 2013. ''Musical Scales of the World'', . The Note Tree. .
*
Sholom Kalib, ''The Musical Tradition of the Eastern European Synagogue'' (2 vols out of projected 5): Syracuse University Press 2001 (vol 1) and 2004 (vol 2)
{{Scales
Jewish music
Modes (music)