Nigun

A nigun (Hebrew: ניגון meaning "tune" or "melody", plural nigunim) or niggun (plural niggunim) is a form of Ashkenazi religious song or tune sung by groups. It is vocal music, often with repetitive sounds such as "Bim-Bim-Bam", "Lai-Lai-Lai", "Yai-Yai-Yai" or "Ai-Ai-Ai" instead of formal lyrics. Sometimes, it is defined as a mysterious musical form of prayer or a spiritual language beyond regular words.^[1] Also, Bible verses or quotes from other classical Jewish texts are sometimes sung repetitively to form a nigun. Some nigunim are sung as prayers of lament, while others may be joyous or victorious.^[2]^[3]

Musar Movement Nigunim

The Musar movement has also made use of nigunim, based on the realization of how music affects the inner life. In the 19th century, the Musar movement developed its own distinctive nigun chanting traditions.^[4] In the 21st century, nigunim may be used at the start and the end of musar study sessions^[5] and may help to create an emotional musar experience.^[6]

Citations

^ "The Nigun". My Jewish Learning. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
^ Haida Archived 1999-10-07 at the Wayback Machine Touchstone Sacred Dance Library, Accessed February 2014.
^ Music In Kaballah, The Nigun's Influence on the Soul From the book Shirat HaLev (The Song of the Heart) by Shmuel Stern – Translated by Gita Levi. Accessed February 2014.
^ Muir, S. "Hasidism and Mitnagdism in the Russian Empire: the (mis)use of Jewish music in Polish-Lithuanian Russia" (PDF).
^ "Afternoons of Mussar". mussarinstitute.org. Archived from the original on 2019-05-29. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
^ Stone, Ira (2013-05-14). A Responsible Life: The Spiritual Path of Mussar. Wipf and Stock Publishers. ISBN 9781620328750.

General and cited references

Pinson, DovBer, Inner Rhythms: The Kabbalah of Music, Jason Aronson, Inc. 2000. Excellent chapters on the history of Jewish music, the various types and uses of Hasidic nigunim, etc.
Stern, Shmuel, Shirat HaLev (Trans The Song of the Heart) Translated by Gita Levi.

External links

CMusic - Lyrics & Reviews for Chasidus Music

[1] "The Nigun". My Jewish Learning. Retrieved 2024-10-23.

[2] Haida Archived 1999-10-07 at the Wayback Machine Touchstone Sacred Dance Library, Accessed February 2014.

[3] Music In Kaballah, The Nigun's Influence on the Soul From the book Shirat HaLev (The Song of the Heart) by Shmuel Stern – Translated by Gita Levi. Accessed February 2014.

[4] Muir, S. "Hasidism and Mitnagdism in the Russian Empire: the (mis)use of Jewish music in Polish-Lithuanian Russia" (PDF).

[5] "Afternoons of Mussar". mussarinstitute.org. Archived from the original on 2019-05-29. Retrieved 2019-05-20.

[6] Stone, Ira (2013-05-14). A Responsible Life: The Spiritual Path of Mussar. Wipf and Stock Publishers. ISBN 9781620328750.

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Musar Movement Nigunim

See also

Citations

General and cited references

External links