Hanukkah songs don’t come much more popular than this one. This ebullient Hanukkah music is presented here in its entirety, including the rarely heard second verse. It’s a wonderful Yiddish song that’s also known as “Oh Hanukkah Oh Hanukkah,” “Chanukah Oh Chanukah,” “Oh Chanukah Oh Chanukah,” and “Khanike Oy Khanike.” This uplifting Jewish music is performed here in a new Klezmer arrangement, based on the original piano-vocal score, and sung by Marc Berman (i.e., me). Truly, it is Hanukkah music that has attained the status of a Jewish folk song.
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“Hanukkah Oh Hanukkah” has achieved such popularity in the original Yiddish that it is considered a Yiddish folk song. That said, it has attained perhaps even more popularity in later Hebrew and English versions. Those versions, however, are not literal translations of the original. In fact, over time, variations have arisen even in the Yiddish text. However, the original words are heard in this recording, including the rarely performed second stanza. That stanza relates the exploits of the Maccabees.
Mordechai (Mordkhe) Rivesman (1868-1924), wrote the Yiddish lyrics sung here that appeared in the original piano-vocal sheet music. He was born in Vilna (Vilnius) in the Russian Empire (present day Lithuania). Rivesman attended cheder (Jewish primary school) until age 12. Thereafter, he enrolled at a secular high school.
Rivesman’s literary career began in Yiddish in 1892. He later switched to Russian and wrote stories and songs in Russian journals under the name Mark Semenovich (Maks Semyonovitsh). Subsequently, he returned to Yiddish.
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Rivesman wrote Yiddish short stories, poetry, song lyrics, humor, plays and at least one full-length book. He also became involved with the Society for Jewish Folk Music. That organization was founded in 1908 by a group of young Jewish musicians at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. The Society was dedicated to the preservation and popularization of Jewish folk music.
Interestingly, Rivesman also wrote the lyrics to a famous Purim song, “Haynt Iz Purim Brider.” (I recorded that song too a while back: https://youtu.be/YiXygXCJV28 .) Unlike many Yiddish writers in the Russian Empire, Rivesman never emigrated to America or the land of Israel. He died in Leningrad.
“Hanukkah Oh Hanukkah” first appeared in Zusman Kiselgof’s Lider-Zamlbukh (song anthology), published in 1911 or 1912, and later reissued. Inasmuch as no composer is listed in the sheet music, it would appear that the music is based on a Jewish folksong. “P. Lwow” (Lvov) is listed as the musical arranger. Anyone who has biographical information on Lvov is invited to leave a comment with the details.
Chanukah
