Review

Traditional
Hava Nagila:

Arranged by Jeremy Niles Kempton


Vancouver, BC, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 1999 / 2012
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Primary Genre: Trombone Ensembles - 4 trombones

Hava Nagila, a traditional Israeli folk song, was composed in 1920s Palestine, at a time when Hebrew was first being revived as a spoken language for the first time in over 2000 years. Translated as "Let Us Rejoice," the song combines a slow, melodious chant, ‘niggun,’ in the Phrygian mode with faster, more exuberant passages traditionally used to accompany a type of circle dance.
 
Jeremy Kempton's arrangement requires no unusual techniques, although use of an accompanying tambourine is specified at the beginning of the Trb.3 part. Some cross-grain mordents and upward octave ‘rips’ provide occasional articulation interest. The four parts are stratified in range, as would be expected in such a brief arrangement. Although Trb.1 ascends to b-flat2, this enjoyable arrangement is easily playable by a talented high school level quartet.

-James Roberts
Jacksonville State University