Maskil Mikhtam (Circumcision)
משכיל מכתם
This is a traditional Italian Sephardi piyyut written by Mordekhai Lattes in the 17th century, and sung on the Friday night before a circumcision in the community - although the text would seem to be more appropriate for the day of the ceremony itself.
The poem was printed by Nello Pavoncello, in “Yeda Am” 12, no. 31-32 (1964), p. 37. In recent memory in Rome they used to sing only the first and last stanzas.
The melody is very closely related - though not identical - to the "Hallel d'Italia" melody of the Western Sephardim. (For those to whom it is of interest, the rhythm is of course quite different, and the modulation in the second bar would produce dissonance if you tried to sing the two melodies together.)
This lovely recording is by Fabrizio Durlo (Shiré Miqdash, Padua, 2016).
The Italian Synagogue and Museum in Jerusalem
Q: How can I use this at my Shabbat/Festival table?
A: We tried out the melody with the words of Deror Yikra and found it a perfect fit.
♫ Deror Yikra (Maskil Mikhtam melody) [JC]
For details of this poem see the Deror Yikra page.
Acknowledgement
My thanks to Prof. Marc Michael Epstein for bringing this lovely piyyut to my attention, and for his transcript of the Hebrew text.