| Mi
Sheberach
('He who blessed,' also called the Ukrainian, Altered Ukrainian, Doina,
Altered Dorian or Ov Horachamim ['Father of
Mercy'] mode. The raised 4th degree of this mode lends it its characteristic
profile. It often forms the basis of the Doina
(Roumanian and Jewish-Roumanian improvised lament), but is commonly found
in other forms of Klezmer music as well. It has earlier been misconstrued
by certain cantors as being identical to the Dorian Church mode, and understood
as exhibiting the raised 4th degree only in the descending form in synagogue
song. The liturgical mode is comprised of a combination of two prayers;
Mi Shebarach and Av Horachamim:
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| Mi
shebarach avoteinu Avroham Yitzchak Yaakov |
| 'He
who blessed our fathers Abraham, Isaak and Jacob' |
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| Klezmer
music tends to make use of the raised 4th degree in both, ascending and
descending forms, though in pieces where the nominal mode is Mi
Shebarach, the natural and raised 4th may often be used interchangeably,
or in alternating sections. In Romanian and Ukrainian music, the raised
and natural 4th degree is also interchangeable, as is the minor or major
3rd degree of the mode. Idelsohn considers these interchangeable tones as
being characteristic of non-Jewish Romanian and Ukrainian music, though
early recordings of Romanian and Ukrainian Jewish musicians show frequent
use of it. The Mi Shebarach mode is related
to the Ahava Rabboh mode in basic pitch content,
if one begins Mi Shebarach on its 2nd degree.
In the Balkan countries, the oscillation between the tonics on the 1st and
2nd degrees is common; in Jewish music it is less common, though it can
be found in Jewish Doinas.
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