Shir hama‘alot (Song of Ascents)

Michael Joseph Guzikov

1827

Sheet music. — “Shir ha-ma‘alot (Song of Ascents),” Psalm 126, is customarily recited or sung before the Grace After Meals on the Sabbath and festivals. There are many different tunes for the song. A Yiddish inscription at the top of the sheet music shown here reads in part: “This tune was found in the library of the famous cantor from Koenigsberg, Mr. Eduard Birnbaum, of blessed memory.”

Please login or register for free access to Posen Library

Already have an account?

Engage with this Source

Creator Bio

Michael Joseph Guzikov

1806–1837

Born in Shklov (now Sklou, Belarus) to a family of musicians, Michael Joseph (Mikhl Yosef, also Yekhiel Mikhl) Guzikov made inroads for traditional klezmer musicians into broader European music with his performances on the tsimbl, a variety of xylophone. The instrument remained popular in itinerant bands in Europe from the High Middles Ages until the early nineteenth century, when it caught on among bourgeois composers for use in symphony orchestras. Guzikov himself attracted the attention of Felix Mendelssohn and other renowned composers on his tours of the Russian Empire and Europe.

Details

Shir hama‘alot (Song of Ascents)

Engage with this Source

Language:

Places:

Categories:

Subjects:

You may also like

Shir hama‘alot (Song of Ascents)

Engage with this Source

Language:

Places:

Categories:

Subjects:

You may also like

The Language of Faith: Selected Jewish Prayers

Responsum: On Reciting the Shema‘ in the Presence of Bareheaded Women

Ketubah