Three Hanukkah Songs is available as a complete set; in addition, each of the three movements is available as a stand-alone score.
“Sevivon” (“Dreidel”) is a well-known Hanukkah tune with unknown origins. While the song is normally in a jaunty duple meter, my arrangement substitutes (at times) an uneven 5/8 meter, lending a hypnotic quality that mimics the spinning of the titular toy. The arrangement was completed in 2021.
“Ma’oz Tzur” (“Rock of Salvation”) is a traditional song with a long history. The words, written in the 13th century, tell the history of the Jewish people, and in recent centuries, the song has become associated with the celebration of Hanukkah. Today, it is often sung immediately after the lighting of the menorah. This arrangement was, in fact, the first of the three to be commissioned: when Scott MacPherson first suggested the project to me, the date was October 30, 2018—just three days after eleven people had been killed in a horrific mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The idea of Jewish perseverance—of surviving hardship—was very much on my mind. This concept has been at the core of Jewish identity for millennia; it is, in fact, the main takeaway of both the Hanukkah legend and of “Ma’oz Tzur.” Whereas many renditions of the song are upbeat and raucous, mine is deliberately more solemn. It culminates on a “chillingly soft” chord on the word sh’mona (“eight”), in which the choir divides briefly into eight-part dissonance (appropriate, given the symbolism of the number eight in Hanukkah lore). It is my hope that this arrangement can continue to honor the memory of those who lost their lives on October 27, 2018, and remind us all, Jewish or not, that we possess the strength to survive any hardship.
“Mi Yimalel” (“Who can retell?”) is another popular Hanukkah song, with words adapted from scripture. The origin of the melody is unknown. My arrangement borrows heavily from other Jewish musical traditions (such as the klezmer dance): the tune, normally in a cheerful major, is occasionally re-cast in the minor mode, in hopes of imbuing the song with a certain Yiddish charm. The arrangement was completed in 2019.
Recordings: Sevivon: The Cleveland Chamber Choir; Scott MacPherson, conductor; (Hudson, Ohio, 2021); Ma’oz Tzur: The Cleveland Chamber Choir; Scott MacPherson, conductor; (Cleveland, Ohio, 2018); Mi Yimalel: The Cleveland Chamber Choir; Scott MacPherson, conductor; (Cleveland, Ohio, 2019)
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