to provide accompaniment for theatrical shows where musical embellishment was needed. He did it with great pleasure.
This primitive instrument was a big help for Gebirtig when he composed his songs. The sound of the pipe was relaxing and brought inspiration. He created songs which, with their sweet melodies, deeply touched the Jewish heart. They sounded as if they flowed from a clear stream, were notable for their soft and flexible melodic lines.
Gebirtig’s compositions were logical and architectural, fitted and polished, as if they came from the pen of an experienced composer. Besides, their rhythm related to the spirit and disposition of every Jew, so the songs were easy to learn and remember.
It is worthwhile to mention the two elements, without which music cannot be described - melos[i] and rhythmus - and to see how our folk composer unfolded and revealed them.
Melos – means everything that builds the melodic lines and the musical content. This is the intertwining of the notes, combination of the sounds, the different intervals and transitions from note to note and, mainly, the “modus” in which the work is written. The rhythmus is related to the form of the song. This is the movement of the melos; dividing the melody into definite even parts, assembling the notes according to certain order, setting the time length of the sounds, and finally, creating the phrases and periods that build the whole structure. To these we should add the precise designation of the accents, movements and tempos of the specific musical creation.
From which sources did Gibirtig derive his “melodic lines”? On what foundations did he build his songs?
His general base was the modal music of European Ashkenazi Jewry. East European music took its roots from the prayers in the synagogues and then spread to other kinds of Jewish music. These were the sounds which every Jew grew up with: the tones of the Jewish prayers in all of their traditional styles[ii]; the Friday night Shabbat zmirot (songs) and Hasidic melodies; monotonous recitatives of the studies in Beis-Midrash and pentatonic tremolos and trills of the Torah reading. Also present were foreign elements (borrowed) from the surrounding environment. But he “judaized” them, weaving them into the general fabric of his lyric song.
The songs of Mordechai Gebirtig fit into the general system of the European music, which is built on the major and minor scales. Major, or “dur” (hard, strong), is often considered cheerful and moderate. Minor, or “mild” (soft), is considered sad, submissive. Almost all Gebirtig’s songs were composed in the minor scale. Out of fifty songs that are now in my possession, forty seven were written in minor scale and just three in major: “Baym taykhele” (by the stream) - in re-major, Äzelkhe tsvey goldene tsep” ( these golden braids) – in sol-major and the sarcastic ghetto song “S’íz gut" (good!) written in May, 1942, just a few days before his death, - in mi-major”.
Interesting, that in two of the major songs there are light modulations, and the only song in which the dur tone is present from the beginning to the very end, is the song “S’íz gut." That very song, which was written in 3/8 time, is marked with the rhythm ”allegro," meaning: cheerful and fast. Possibly, the poet-composer made an allusion to the inevitable death dance, to which he would soon be led…
Gebirtig wrote many of his songs in the harmonic minor scale. This mode in Jewish liturgical music became labeled ”ahava-raba" (great love).
The prolonged secunda which is included in this scale gives the melody a specific character: singing the tones from bottom up expresses dissatisfaction and desire, and by playing down – pleading and lament. But he also created melodies in a natural minor (Aeolian minor), which includes elements from the oldest times and expresses exaltation and earnestness.
What characterized almost all Gebirtig’s songs – is their melodic originality and their Jewish content.
The song “Hey, Tsigelekh” (hi goats!) serves as an example and a model of a Yiddish style. Written in the natural minor, 