ְיָרושַׁלִיֶם שָׁל זָהב ֲאִוָיר הִרָים צַלול כַיִיְן וֵרַיחֳאָרִנים YERUSHALAYIM SHEL ZAHAV Lyrics & Music: Naomi Shemer ילים ולח ני שר ִנָשְׂא בַרוחָהַעְרַבִיִם עֹם קוַל פֲעֹמוִנים. Arr.: Gil Aldema יבו יל אל ְובַתְרְדַמִת אָילָן וֶאֶבְן שָׁבויַה בֲחֹלוָמה INTRO GOALS/OBJECTIVES ָהִעֲיר אֶשָׁר בָדֹד יוֶשֶׁבְת ובִלָבֹה חוָמה. This resource will help guide you as you rehearse your chapter through The mountain air is clear as wine, and the scent of pines HaZamirnikim will be able to...: the learning of Yerushalayim Shel Zahav. It is our hope that this docu- Is carried on the breeze of twilight with the sound of bells. ment will make it easier to bring some of the “midrash” of the music And in the slumber of tree and stone captured in her dream • perform Yerushalayim Shel Zahav with musical sensitivity, ad- alive from week-to-week so that when we come together as a HaZamir The city that sits solitary, and in its midst is a wall. hering to both markings in the music and instruction from their .conductor ְיָרושַׁלִיֶם שָׁל זָהב ְוֶשְׁל נֹחֶשְׁת וֶשׁל אוֹר community, we will all have common understandings of the texts and -maintain their own part both in local chapter rehearsals/perfor • ֲהְלא לָכִל שַׁירִיֲך אִנִי כנוֹר. music we learn together. Please keep these points in mind as you use the Jerusalem of gold and of bronze, and of light following guide: Behold I am a harp for all your songs. mances and in international rehearsals/performances. express general knowledge of the context in which the piece was • ֵאָיכָה יְבֹשו בוֹרוַת הָמִיִם, כַכַר הֵשוק רָיקה. THE TEXT: Centered and bordered on this page, you will fnd the .composed ְוֵאֹין פוֵקֶד אַת הַר הָבִיָת בִעָיר הַעִתָיקה. complete Hebrew text for Yerushalayim Shel Zahav, accompanied by ַובְמָעֹרוֲת אֶשַׁר בֶסַלְע מַיְלֹלוֹת רוחות. its translation. This text includes the 4th verse, written after the Six Day War, that is not present in Gil Aldema’s arrangement. • express an understanding of the musical markings in the score .while demonstrating the ability to execute those markings ְוֵאֹין יוֵרֶד אָל יַם הֶמַלְח בֶדֶרְך יִריחו.ֹ 1. CONTEXT: This section provides a brief overview of the context in How the cisterns have dried, the market-place is empty which Yerushalayim Shel Zahav was composed. From general historical And no one frequents the Temple Mount in the Old City. • demonstrate ability to explain the composer’s and arranger’s And in the caves in the mountain winds are howling information to pertinent historical fgures and places, you will fnd useful And no one descends to the Dead Sea by way of Jericho. intentions based on understanding of the style of the music, any information to share with your singers about the history of this song as text painting, and compositional techniques used in the piece. ְיָרושַׁלִיֶם שָׁל זָהב... .you teach it to your chapter Jerusalem of gold... 2. CONTENT: This section provides guides for how some sections of the ASSESSMENT ַאְך בֹבוִאַי הֹיוָם לִשָׁיר לְך וָלִך לְקֹשְׁר כָתִרים, music may be interpreted. Many of these suggestions come directly from Informal Assessment: can be performed by the conductor during ָקֹתְנִתִי מְצִעָיר בַנִיֵך ומֲאחֹרוַן הְמֹשוְרִרים. our maestro, Matthew Lazar. As you are learning the referenced sections the course of rehearsal by prompting HaZamirnikim with questions ִכְי שֵׁמֹך צוֵרֶב אַת הְשָׁפַתִיְם כנִשַׁיקָת שָׂרף. :with your chapter, you may consider the following exercise relating to the content included in this guideline and by critically ִאֶם אְשָׁכֵחְך יָרושַׁלִיֲם אֶשֻׁר כָלָה זָהב... Experiment with your singers by rehearsing passages frst without • But as I come to sing to you today, and to adorn crowns to you evaluating sections of the music during rehearsal (ex. A conductor prompting them to keep in mind one of the interpretations. I am the smallest of the youngest of your children and of the last poets • Prompt your singers to audiate (to hear in the mind’s ear) that For your name scorches the lips like the kiss of a seraph may prompt their HaZamirnikim to pay special attention to the re- interpretation. If I forget thee, Jerusalem, which is all gold... hearsal of a diffcult passage, then the conductor can ask for musical .(feedback (using the learned vocabulary) from the singers ְיָרושַׁלִיֶם שָׁל זָהב... .Rehearse the passage again, with the interpretation in mind • • Follow up by asking your HaZamirnikim for descriptive feedback Jerusalem of gold... ָחַזְרֶנו אֹל בוֹרוַת הַמִיַם לְשוק וַלִכָכר .about the differences between each “take” of this passage ֹשוָפֹר קוֵרְא בַהַר הַבִיָת בִעָיר הַעִתָיקה. CHEVRUTA QUESTIONS (PAIRED STUDY): In this section, you will fnd .3 ַובְמָעֹרוֲת אֶשַׁר בֶסְלע אלֵפְי שָׁמֹשוֹת זוְרֹחות a number of questions you can ask your HaZamirnikim to discuss ְוֵשוב נֵרְד אַל יַם הֶמַלְח בֶדֶרְך יִרֹיחו. -with each other during rehearsals. This rehearsal activity is not some thing that should distract from the overall fow of rehearsal; rather it We have returned to the cisterns, to the market and to the square. A shofar calls out on the Temple Mount in the Old City. Key: provides an occasional moment for HaZamirnikim to learn from one And in the caves in the rock, thousands of suns shine. Historical Event: Red another and to solidify their own understanding of the materials they We will once again descend to the Dead Sea by way of Jericho. Historical Figure: Blue have been presented with. designed by Chris Mason Core Concept: Green יְרושָ ׁלַיִם שֶ ׁל זָהָ ב YERUSHALAYIM SHEL ZAHAV Lyrics & Music: Naomi Shemer ילים ולח ני שר Arr.: Gil Aldema יבו יל אל 1. CONTEXT 2. CONTENT 3. CHEVRUTA QUESTIONS (PAIRED STUDY) In May 1967, Mayor of Jerusalem, Teddy Kolleck, asked latrines. From 1948 until 1967 it was impossible for Jews to • The consequent of each phrase ends 1. How is Aldema’s interpretation of the opening composer Naomi Shemer to write a song about Jerusalem for the pray at the Western Wall, or to visit Jerusalem’s holy sites. with the natural minor resolution, text shown musically? (Ex. In the introduction th Israeli Song Festival. Shemer, who was from Tel Aviv, initially But a few weeks after that Independence Day Song Festi- implying that while the Jewish peo- of this piece, the use of open 5 ’s sets up Shem- refused this request, because she didn’t “feel Jerusalem in her val, during the Six Day War of June, 1967, the Old City of ple are hopeful, we have resolved to er’s frst phrase, “The mountain air is clear as bones”the way she thought other composers might. But Kolleck Jerusalem was recaptured by Israel. The chief rabbi of the accept reality. wine”.) was insistent, and in the end, Shemer agreed to write the song. IDF, Shlomo Goren, blew the shofar on the Temple Mount • The second iteration of the chorus 2. In what ways does this piece use text painting to Most of the songs presented at the Song Festival were big – and the soldiers who surrounded him all sang Yerushalay- opens with an angelic soprano/alto show Jerusalem’s “shimmer” of gold? (Ex. The production numbers with a full orchestra, costumes, dancers im Shel Zahav. The song catapulted to international renown “barbershop” section. This can also use of a major 3rd at the antecedent in each verse – practically Broadway-style presentations. When Shemer’s as it was embraced by Jews around the world, and Shemer be interpreted as Jerusalem’s “spe- offers Aldema’s interpretation of a “shimmer” of song was to be performed, as an interlude, Shuli Nathan, a quickly composed a new fnal verse to celebrate the return of cial light,” one that shone even when gold.) young member of an IDF (Israel Defense Forces) entertain- the Jewish people to the holy places, the ancient markets (the Jerusalem was not in Israel’s posses- 3. What moments in this setting invite layers of ment troop, walked out on stage alone, with only her acous- “shuk”) and the sound of the shofar to the Temple Mount. sion. When the bass enters, we are interpretation? (Ex. The chorus of this piece is tic guitar to accompany her. As the audience listened to her Later that summer, the Zamir Chorale made its frst trip to “grounded” in the knowledge that very “singable.” While arranged in a 3/4 time sing Yerushalayim Shel Zahav, they were mesmerized – and Israel, to participate in the Zimriyah (the International Gath- the physical location of Jerusalem signature, the melody can easily be sung to a when she fnished, they applauded wildly – and insisted that she ering of Choirs). As the bus carrying the choir from the air- would come under our control. 6/8 time signature. This hemiola symbolizes the sing the song again. By the time she came to the end, the entire port made its way to Jerusalem, it stopped to pick up a female • As this arrangement leads out of its duality of Jewish perspective when the piece was audience was singing along with the chorus– and within the soldier who was hitchhiking along the road. When she discov- fnal chorus, Aldema refects Shem- written (before the unifcation of Jerusalem). next several days, the song was being sung all over the country. ered that she was traveling with a Jewish choir, she excitedly er’s insight that she is merely the in- The chorus’ hemiola can also be interpreted to Of course, in May of 1967, the Old City of Jerusalem cried “I have to teach you a song,” – and proceeded to teach strument through which this melody symbolize having Israel in the conscious and (about which Shemer’s song was written) was not part of Is- them Yerushalayim Shel Zahav.