While this klezmer recording generally focuses on instrumental music, Jewish
religion and culture have a very strong vocal legacy as well. Many Jewish texts have had numerous melodies composed for them. Indeed, the lyrics of Ki Eshmera Shabbat have been sung by diverse
Jewish communities, using diverse melodies, throughout the Ashkenazic and Sephardic regions of the world. Ki Eshmera Shabbat is part of a genre called “zemiros” (“songs” or “melodies”), which are religious poems – they are not technically “prayers”, but they are prayerful, giving thanks and seeking guidance. These songs are
typically sung during Sabbath meals.
Melodies for zemiros that originated in Eastern Europe often use the same
musical modes as klezmer melodies, and they, together with synagogue music, surely influenced the development of klezmer music.
The melody recorded here comes with a little story. In 1949-55, my father was a Rabbi in his 20’s in a small orthodox
shul (synagogue) in the Park Slope neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY. In the late afternoon on Shabbos (Sabbath), he and congregants would sing zemiros at the shaleshudes (a modest meal in between late-afternoon and night-time prayers at the close of Shabbos). One congregant, who had emigrated to the U.S. from Europe as a child in the late 19th century,
introduced this beautiful melody to the group; my father in turn taught it to our family, and we joyfully sang it at the
Shabbos table for decades. I have shared
it with many friends, but rarely have I
encountered any other person who has
ever sung or heard this beautiful, fully-realized melody, nor have I come across it in any book of zemiros. I’m pleased to have the opportunity here to share this song with you. (Interesting note: a portion of
the melody of this song was used in
Yiddish theater in the early 20th century. The complete provenance of the melody will probably never be known.)
Robyn Helzner, who has been my friend
and musical partner for 35 years, sings lead on this song. (Learn more about Robyn and
the Robyn Helzner Trio at www.helzner.com.)
My wife, Sylvia Horwitz, and I add harmonies. Note that the text of Ki Eshmera Shabbat
was composed by Abraham Ibn Ezra, who lived in Spain in the 12th century. Therefore, we are singing this song using the Sephardic (Spanish) pronunciation that he would have used, which nowadays is THE pronunciation used in Israel. But it is not the pronunciation that was used by East European Jews and it would not have been used by the composer of the melody recorded here.