Adon Olam
"Adon Olam" is one of the most familiar hymns in the whole range of the Jewish liturgy. It is written in strict Iambic tetrameter, and has been part of the liturgy since the 15th century. According to the custom of the S&P Sephardim - and in British synagogues generally - it is sung at the close of Sabbath and festival morning services, while among Ashkenazim it often takes the place of Yigdal at the close of the Friday evening service.
It is sometimes tentatively attributed to Solomon ibn Gabirol (1021–1058) based on its style, but has also been attributed to Rav Hai Gaon (939-1038) and even to the Talmudic sage Yohanan ben Zakkai.
We sing it at the Shabbat table, to melodies fondly remembered from childhood synagogue services. There are of course hundredss of melodies for Adon Olam; I'll be listing below some lesser known ones that I believe worthy of attention.
England (S&P)
♫ Adon Olam (Hassidic / de Sola)
The recording above includes two melodies:
The initial verses are sung to a rousing Chassidic tune that is used at S&P services in London on Simhat Torah when more than the customary exuberance is allowed.
The final two stanzas are sung to the melody composed by the Revd. D. A. de Sola of Bevis Marks, and introduces a more pensive note.
Although very different, we love them both, and often combine them in this way at the Shabbat table.
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Amsterdam
1) This lovely melody was recorded in Amsterdam in the 1950s. It can be found on YouTube here.
♫ Adon Olam (Isaac Levy, Amsterdam)
2) The recording below, recorded in the Esnoga (S&P synagogue in Amsterdam) in 1960, gets off to a slow start but is worth listening to as it's a great tune. When singing at home obviously you'd speed it up a little.
♫ Adon Olam (Esnoga, Amsterdam)
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Livorno
And now for something a little different: This unknown melody for the Jewish liturgical hymn "Adon Olam" was discovered by my young friend Jason Vessal in the musical archive of Congregation Mikveh Israel, Philadelphia. The score is dated 1887, Livorno and the signature is illegible, but we believe the composer to have been Salomone Laide. The community's minister at the time was Revd. Sabato Morais, who himself came from Livorno and is known to have been a musician, and to have brought a collection of Jewish music scores with him from Italy to America.
Its provenance makes it particularly interesting and it would certainly be a pleasant change on occasion.
♫ Adon Olam (Livorno/Philadelphia)
Note: I've suggested an alternative use for this tune, for a text that does not have its own S&P-style melody, here.
England (Ashkenazi)
In this fascinating and moving footage from the AJEX memorial service at the London Cenotaph (20 Nov 2016), the band of the Coldstream Guards plays a well-loved Anglo-Jewish melody for Adon Olam.
The text, according to the S&P custom:
