Oriental Elements in Israeli Song

Extract

About eighty years have passed since the renewal of Jewish settlement in Israel. Anyone who traces the metamorphoses which have occurred in the songs that accompanied the history of this period cannot but be astonished at the enormous range of modification in their spirit, content and style.

An attempt will be made here to present the essential part of a chapter from a more comprehensive study of Israeli song. This chapter concerns one particular group only, in which the composers of the songs succeeded in making an approach towards what may be called—and surely with no great risk of error—“Israeli musical folklore.”