Shalom Chaverim

This song might sound very familiar to you. It's a beautiful, traditional Hebrew folk song. The translation of the Hebrew text is basically: "Goodbye and be safe my friends. Until we meet again, have peace." What a wonderful sentiment. It would be a nice addition to just about any concert setting or theme. And since it's easy to sing, it might be a nice "audience participation" selection.

Our arrangement presents the Hebrew lyrics followed by a repeat with an English translation. Then, it has the English lyrics again, but sung as a 2-part round. The round is repeated in Hebrew, followed by a short coda. Singing the round will provide a nice challenge for your singers. The two parts are just one measure apart, which makes for some wonderful harmonies.

The recorded accompaniment features a rhythm section, clarinets, solo viola, and strings. You also have the opportunity to do a totally "live" performance, using perhaps guitar and piano. And if you have a decent viola or violin player and a clarinet player at your disposal, even better. You could also have some of your singers playing hand drums and tambourines during the interludes.

There are several other ways to sing this round. You could add another group (each being a measure apart), or you could even have four groups, each starting two measures apart. Of course, these options would require live accompaniment. If you are interested in this, be sure to read the article that Paul Jennings wrote for Music K-8 magazine Volume 4, Number 2. There you will find more information on this round and several other opportunities for including an element of "peace" in your concerts.

By the way, our singers did a wonderful job singing in Hebrew, but if you need further guidance, we have an excellent spoken pronunciation guide for you available on our web site. (See below.) It was done by one of our terrific, long-time singers at the studio, Leela Rothenberg.

Online extras - The free, downloadable guide mentioned can be found under the "Graphics and Extras" for Volume 19, No. 2 at MusicK8.com