Songs

Zmirot

A זְמִירָה zmiràh (plural זְמִירוֹת zmirot) is a simple Jewish liturgical song, particularly a Sabbath song. Though liturgical, zmirot reflect Judaism’s this-wordly focus in being quite earthy, personal, and not at all sanctimonious. While many zmirot are derived from secular folk melodies set to liturgical texts, any zmiràh worthy of the name has become a folksong in its own right. Zmirot are sung not just in the synagogue, but around the dinner table on Shabbat, at gatherings of friends, for celebrations, and for any other handy excuse.

The zmirot gathered here are arranged for a cappella choir, as many Jews observe a tradition of refraining from playing musical instruments on the Sabbath, in commemoration of the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem 2000 years ago. The arrangements are polyphonic, mostly for 4 voices, and give each voice an equally interesting part, as befits the egalitarian Jewish character. In fact, the familiar melody in these arrangements is usually somewhere in the middle, rather than on top, and sometimes jumps between parts at section boundaries. The harmonizing parts always try to match the mood and style of the original melody, mostly through the use of explicit imitation, including parallel thirds and sixths, inverted countermelodies, and rounds and other fugato techniques. These methods are common in traditional Jewish music, and indeed some of the pieces are traditional rounds.

Where multiple voices share a part (in rounds), their entries relative to the first voice are indicated with the Hebrew letters/numbers: א aleph (1), ב bet (2), ג gimmel (3), ד dalet (4), etc. The lyrics are given both in Hebrew (in which each syllable is written right-to-left), and in Roman transliteration, with a rather literal English translation of the text at the bottom. For maximum compatibility across web browsers, the arrangements are presented here as GIF images. For a printable PDF version, click on the sheet music. A bound songbook will hopefully be available soon. For sheet music in Sibelius format, please contact Andreas Wittenstein (David ben Or).

MIDI files are provided for the piece as a whole, individual parts, and sections, as appropriate.

אדִּר הוּא ’Adir Hu’
אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם ’Adon ‘Olàm
אֲדֹנָי שְׂפָתַי תִּפְתָּח ’Adonài Sfàtai Tiftàkh
אַהֲבַת עֹולָם ’Ahavat ‘Olàm
עַלֵֽינוּ ‘Aléinu
עַל הַנִּסִּים ‘Al Hanisim
יוֹם פּוּרִים ’Ani Purim
אָנוּ עַמֶּֽךָ ’Ànu ‘Amèchà
עַבָדִים הָיִּינוּ ‘Avàdim Hàyinu
אָֽבִֽינוּ מַלְכֵּֽנוּ ’Àvinu Malkénu
בָּֽאנוּ חֹֽשֶׁךְ לְגַרֵשׁ Bà’nu Khoshèch Legarésh
בָּרְכוּ Bàrchu
בְּרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה Bero’sh Hashànàh
בִּרְכּוֹת הַתּוֹרָה Birkot Hatoràh
בִּם בָּם Bim Bàm
בִּשִׁיבָה Bishivàh
Burn, Little Candle
דַּיֵּֽנוּ Dayénu
אֵלִיָּהוּ הַנָּבִיא ’Éliyàhu Hanàvi’
Go Down, Moses
הָא לַחְמָא Hà’ Lakhmà’
הַדְלָקַת נֵרוֹת Hadlàqat Nérot
הַלְלֽוּהוּ Haleluhu
הַלְלוּיָהּ Haleluyàh
הַנֵּרוֹת הַלָּלוּ Hanérot Halàlu
הֲשִׁיבֵֽנוּ Hashivénu
הָֽבָה נֲשִׁרָה Hàvàh Nashiràh
הִנֵּה מַה־טּוֹב Hinéh Mah Tov
חַג פּוּרִים Khag Purim
חֱנֻכָּה Khanukàh
כִּי מִצִּיּוֹן Ki Mitsiyon
כֹּל הַנְשָׁמָה Kol Haneshàmàh
לַיְהוּדִים Layehudim
לִיכְבוֹד הַחֲנֻכָּה Lichvod Hakhanukàh
לֹא־יִשָּׂא גוֹי Lo’ Yisà’ Goi
מַה–נִשְׁתַּנָה Mah-Nishtanàh
מַה־טֹּֽבוּ Mah-Tovu
מַה־יָפֶה חַיּוֹם Mah-Yàfèh Hayom
מָוֹז םוּר Mà‘oz Tsur
נֵר לִי Nér Li
נִגּוּן יָפֶה Nigun Yàfèh
נִגּוּן יְצִיאָה Nigun Yetsi’àh
עוֹשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם ‘Osèh Shàlom
פִּתְחוּ־לִי Pitkhu Li
קַדֵּשׁ וּרְחַץ Qadésh Urkhats
קָרֵב יוֹם Qàrév Yom
קִידּוּשׁ Qidush
שָׁבוּעַ טוֹב Shàvu‘ Tov
שָׁלוֹם עַלֵיכֶם Shàlom ’Aléichèm
שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ Shèhèkhèyànu
שְׁמַע Shma‘
שִׂים שָׁלוֹם Sim Shàlom
סְבִיבוֹן Svivon
וּפְרוֹשׂ עַלֵֽינוּ Ufros ‘Aléinu
וּשְׁאַבְתֶּם–מַיִם Ush’avtèm Mayim
עֻצוּ עֵצָה ‘Utsu ‘Étsàh
וְשָׁמְרוּ Veshàmru
יְדִיד נֶפֶשׁ Yedid Nèfèsh
יִשְׂמְחוּ הַשָּׁמַיִם Yismekhu Hashàmayim
יוֹם טוֹב לָנוּ Yom Tov Lànu
זָכְרֵֽנוּ Zàchrénu