Three Festival Songs
Traditional words and music arranged by Alexander Massey for voice and piano © 2022 Hayom, Hayom (Rosh Hashanah) Al Hanisim (Chanukah) Mah Nishtanah (Pesach)
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Shoah & Holocaust Music
All of these pieces have been composed for and/or sung at services or events commemorating the Shoah / Holocaust. Adonai Roi (Ps 23) – Setting of the original Hebrew for voice and guitar (‘The Lord is my shepherd’) B’makom she’ein anashim (Pirkei Avot 2:5) – “In a place where there is no humanity, strive to
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Nigun Galut (‘Exile’)
Music and audio © 2021 Alexander Massey (You can download the sheet music for free.) Galut – ‘exile’ – has been a recurring theme through Jewish history. We have been expelled from many countries over the centuries. I don’t ascribe to the idea that Jerusalem belongs exclusively to Jews any more than it does to
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Baruch Atah, B’ruchah At (Blessed Shall You Be)
YouTube version. Better recording coming soon. In the meantime, here is the sheet music (free). Music and audio © Alexander Massey 24 August 2021
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Interfaith Jewish music
Jewish texts offer rich opportunities for interfaith thinking, dialogue and encounters. Many Jewish prayer texts and Biblical verses, including the psalms, speak to universal human experience and spiritual yearning. Some are part of our regular liturgy; it is interesting to note how many could fit an interfaith context. Some Jewish texts specifically affirm inclusivity and
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B’makom She’ein Anashim
Composition & recording © Alexander Massey 6 Feb 2021 – All Rights Reserved BUY the sheet music (voice & piano) – $4.95 בּמָקוֹם שֶּׁאֵין אֳנָשִׁום, הִשְׁתַּדֵּל לִהְיוֹת אִישׁ B’makom she’ein anashim, hishtadeil lih’yot ish. Pirkei Avot / Ethics of the Fathers 2:5 As with so much Hebrew, a literal translation of this verse fails to
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Nigun Yom HaShoah
Composition and audio © Alexander Massey 15 March 2021 Genesis lists 70 descendants of Noah after the crisis of the Great Flood, and from this, Jewish tradition has it that there are 70 nations of the world, and that we all come from one family. This nigun has 70 notes. We, the Jewish people, are one
Ein Keiloheinu No.2
Composition & audio © Alexander Massey 29 Nov 2020 BUY the sheet music (Voice & piano/guitar) – $4.95 This is a ninth century text that uses four names of God in each verse, in the same order they first appear in the Bible. The song has five verses. I feel these as five different emotional
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Chazak, Chazak
Music and audio © Alexander Massey 1 May 2017 These words, based on 2 Samuel 10:11, are traditionally spoken as we finish reading a book of the Torah. They can be translated: “Be strong, be strong, and we shall be strong!” The first half is in the singular, and the second half is in the