The Music and its Function in the Singing of the Qasīd anda birabbī dī kalaq (Hebrew)

The Jewish Yemenite collection of poems - the Diwan - includes three main types of poems: sirim (or, in Arabic: niswad), sirôt, and hallelôt. All three are intended to be sung as a part of the men's singing and dancing during family celebrations. Such a performance usually consists of a series of three poems: an opening poem of the first type (Sir); a second of the second type (Sirah); and a third, of the third type (hallel). The opening sir is sung by a soloist in a recitative style; the following sirah, which is also sung solo or in response between the soloist and the audience, has a very rhythmic character and is accompanied by dancing and drumming. The hallel is sung by the entire audience to a fixed melody with a slow, measured rhythm typical of liturgical singing. In most cases the literary form of the first two poems is changed in a very particular way by the singer. Such a change occurs in the poem aAbda’ birabbi di kalaq as sung by Mr. Zecharia Ya’acobi (b. 1914 in Ba’adan, Southern Yemen). The literary aspects of this poem are analyzed in Y. Ratshabi's article in this volume.