With Songs They Respond

Shira with twashih by Shalem Shabazi signed Alshabazi. Towards the end of the poem the author is identified as 'son of Joseph'. The words are in Hebrew and Arabic. The poem opens with a love song and ends with yearning for salvation in Zion. The peotic meter is the marnin: * *_ _ * * _ _ * _ _ (the tawshih * * _ _ * * _ _ ). The rhyming scheme is that of a girdle song and the opening hemistiches are repeated within the stanzas. The structure of each stanza is: three verses of two hemistiches tawshih of three verses concluding with the opening girdle rhyme.    The performance which was accompanied by dancing when recorded illustrates the fact that this ensemble is accustomed to singing together on different occasions within the extended family. The dance emphasizes the rhythmical element and the changes of tempo - acceleration and deceleration - during which the dancers and singers are in constant rapport. There are many participants in such an event but only two or four of them dance. The drummers take turns playing and singing and beat time to the dance and song. Children join in the dance and song habitually and naturally.    Menachem Arussi and the Kiryat Ono men's and children's ensemble sing in a responsorial manner: the soloist sings the opening hemistiches and the ensemble responds with the closing hemistiches. Drumming on tin pan and drum accompany the rhythmical singing Tempos are set by the beat of the tin pan. All the stanzas are sung to the same melodic formula in which the tawshih has its own melody. The performance ends with the blessing 'Vekulkhem berukhim'.

Nashid by an unknown poet on the sanctity of the Sabbath and in praise of God. The poetic meter is the meruba: * * _ _ * * _ _ * _ _    _ _ .    Sung by the brothers Haim and Dani Cohen with the Kiryat Ono men and children's ensemble. The soloist begins by singing the whole of the first verse and the ensemble replies with a repetitive response beginning with the closing hemistich of this verse. Thereafter the soloist sings every hemistich with a repettive response from the ensemble.