Oh Chanukah - Use in Classical Music

Use in Classical Music

The Society for Jewish Folk Music in St. Petersburg published two classical compositions which make extensive use of this tune:

  • "Freylekhs" for solo piano, by Hirsch Kopyt (published in 1912 but performed as early as 1909)
  • "Dance Improvisation" for violin and piano, by Joseph Achron (published in 1914, composed December 1914 in Kharkov)

There is no formal connection between Achron's work and Kopyt's, except for the shared tune. According to the musicologist Paula Eisenstein Baker, who published the first critical edition of Leo Zeitlin's chamber music (2008), Zeitlin wrote an orchestral version of Kopyt's piano piece sometime before June 13, 1913 (Zeitlin conducted it four times that summer) and later included this orchestral version in his overture "Palestina." Joachim Stutschewsky elaborated on Kopyt's piece in a work for cello and piano called "Freylekhs: Improvisation" (1934).

The works by Kopyt, Achron, and Stutschewsky share two distinct melodies: the one that later became "Oh Chanukah, Oh Chanukah" and an arpeggiated tune. In all three pieces, this arpeggiated melody comes first, followed by "Oh Chanukah, Oh Chanukah." However, both tunes are written together as one single melody at the top of Achron's score, and the structure of these compositions suggest that the two melodies were in fact a single one. The arpeggiated tune does not feel introductory, and it returns several times throughout Achron's work. If they were one tune and not two, then we have an interesting question: Why did only half the tune get lyrics?

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