Religious Jewish Music - Prayer Chants

Prayer Chants

Many of the passages in the prayer book, such as the Amidah and the Psalms, are chanted in a recitative rather than either read in normal speech or sung to a rhythmical tune: the style of chant in a particular community is sometimes known as its nusach. The recitatives follow a system of musical modes, somewhat like the maqamat of Arabic music. For example, Ashkenazi cantorial practice distinguishes a number of steiger (scales) named after the prayers in which they are most frequently used, such as the Adonoi moloch steiger and the Ahavoh rabboh steiger. Mizrahi communities such as the Syrian Jews use the full maqam system.

The scales used may vary both with the particular prayer and with the season. For examples, there are often special modes for the High Holy Days, and in Syrian practice the scale used depends on the Torah reading for the week (see Weekly Maqam). In some cases the actual melodies are fixed, while in others the reader has freedom of improvisation.

Certain passages in the prayers, such as Nishmat, the Kaddish preceding Barechu, and the Kedushah, lend themselves to more elaborate individual rendition or choral singing. In some traditions the tunes of popular hymns are borrowed for these, while in others there are special choral compositions.