Mao's Zur
Mao's Zur ( Hebrew מעוז צור fortress, rock [of my salvation] ) are the opening words of a song that is sung by Ashkenazi Jews during the Hanukkah festival, mainly at home, but also in the synagogue. The song comes from Germany and probably dates back to the 13th century. The opening words are a paraphrase of Isa 17,10 EU . Maos Zur originally consisted of six stanzas, but today only the first five are usually sung. The acrostic of the first five stanzas suggests a poet named Mordechai , who is otherwise unknown. Over time, other stanzas were added to the song, including those by Moses Isserles .
The melody appeared in 1557 as a three-part motet by the Flemish composer Jacobus Clemens non Papa under the title Souterliedekens . This motet probably goes back to an even older melody. a. is contained in the Antwerp songbook of 1544. The melody was later known as the ballad Frau von Weißenburg . In the 19th century the melody appeared in a number of secular and sacred Jewish songs. It can be found in Salomon Sulzer's collection Shir Zion from 1840 as well as in Abraham Baer's Baal tefilah from 1877. In the Ashkenazi congregations of Europe this melody for Mao's prayer is very common. The most famous melody for Mao's Zur is of Western European origin. Eduard Birnbaum and Abraham Zvi Idelsohn established a connection to early Protestant hymns ( Well rejoice, dear Christians, g'mein ), but similarities with a patrem omnipotentem from the 15th century have also been found in various Bohemian-Silesian manuscripts is preserved. A melody by Tedesco Jews (German-speaking Jews in Italy) was noted by Benedetto Marcello in his Estro poetico-armonico (Venice 1724). It is still sung in Italy; in most other places, however, the Western European, Ashkenazi standard version has prevailed.
literature
- Bathja Bayer: Ma'oz Ẓur . In: Encyclopaedia Judaica . 2nd Edition. Volume 13, Detroit / New York a. a. 2007, ISBN 978-0-02-865941-1 , pp. 496-497 (English).
Web links
Individual evidence
- Jump up ↑ Philip V. Bohlman and Otto Holzapfel : The Folk Songs of Ashkenaz , Volume VI, AR Editions, 2001, ISBN 0-89579-474-8 , p. 160