Oy Chanukah
The Yiddish Hanukkah song as Susman Kisselgof's school songbook printed it, a lively Hasidic dance tune for 2 to 4 singers, sung in Yiddish (the words are shown in Latin letters): the soprano and alto sing Pesach Lvov's two printed voices, the tenor joins on the words and the bass bounces underneath on "dm". The first verse is about the holiday's fun: spinning dreidels, hot latkes, lighting the little candles and dancing; the second praises Judah the Maccabee, who drove out the enemy and brought Jerusalem back to life. Quick and light, with many short syllables.
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The first verse
Words: Mordkhe Rivesman (printed 1911/12)Tune: traditional Hasidic tune (printed 1911/12)
Oy, Khanike, oy Khanike, a yontev a sheyner, a lustiker, a freylekher, nito nokh azoyner. Ale nakht in dreydlekh shpiln mir,zudik heyse latkes est on a shier: geshvinder tsindt, kinder, di dininke likhtelekh on.Zogt al hanisim, loybt Got far di nisim, un kumt gikher tantsn in kon.
About Oy Chanukah
Oy Chanukah is a Yiddish Hanukkah song that Susman Kisselgof printed in his songbook "for the Jewish school and family", first published in St Petersburg in 1911 and 1912, marking its tune "Chsidisch": a Hasidic melody. Mordkhe Rivesman's words paint the holiday at home: dreidels every night, sizzling-hot latkes, lighting the thin little candles and saying "Al hanisim", for the miracles. Our arrangement is read from the book's fourth edition, in F minor as printed: the soprano and alto sing Pesach Lvov's two voices, and the tenor and bass take his piano's left hand. It is sung in Yiddish, transliterated, for 2 to 4 singers: verse 1, verse 2, praising Judah the Maccabee, then verse 1 again.
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