Hallelujah (/ˌhælᵻˈluːjə/ HAL-ə-LOO-yə) is a transliteration of the Hebrew word הַלְּלוּיָהּ (Modern halleluya, Tiberian halləlûyāh), which is composed of two elements: הַלְּלוּ (second-person imperative masculine plural form of the Hebrew verb hallal: an exhortation to "praise" addressed to several people[1]) and יָהּ (the names of God Jah or Yah).[2][3][4]
Most well-known English versions of the Hebrew Bible translate the Hebrew "Hallelujah" (as at Psalm 150:1) as two Hebrew words, generally rendered as "Praise (ye)" and "the LORD", but the second word is given as "Yah" in the Lexham English Bible and Young's Literal Translation, "Jah" in the New World Translation, "Jehovah" in the American Standard Version, and "Hashem" in the Orthodox Jewish Bible.
Instead of a translation, the transliteration "Hallelujah" is used by JPS Tanakh, International Standard Version, Darby Translation, God's Word Translation, Holman Christian Standard Bible, and The Message, with the spelling "Halleluyah" appearing in the Complete Jewish Bible.
The Greek-influenced form "Alleluia" appears in Wycliffe's Bible, the Knox Version and the New Jerusalem Bible.
In the great song of praise to God for his triumph over the Whore of Babylon[5] in chapter 19 of the New Testament Book of Revelation, the Greek word ἀλληλούϊα (allēluia), a transliteration of the same Hebrew word, appears four times, as an expression of praise rather than an exhortation to praise.[6]
In English translations this is mostly rendered as "Hallelujah",[7] but as "Alleluia" in several translations,[8] while a few have "Praise the Lord",[9] "Praise God",[10] "Praise our God",[11] or "Thanks to our God".[12]
הַלְּלוּיָהּ is found 24 times in the Book of Psalms, and the Greek transliteration ἀλληλούϊα appears in the Septuagint version of these Psalms, in Tobit 13:17 and 3 Maccabees 7:13 and four times in Revelation 19.[6]
The word is used in Judaism as part of the Hallel prayers, and in Christian prayer,[5] where since the earliest times[6] it is used in various ways in liturgies,[13] especially those of the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church,[14] both of which use the form "alleluia".
Contents
In the Bible
The term is used 24 times in the Hebrew Bible (mainly in the book of Psalms, e.g. 111–117, 145–150, where it starts and concludes a number of Psalms) and four times in Greek transliteration in the Christian Book of Revelation.[5]In the Hebrew Bible hallelujah is actually a two-word phrase, not one word. The first part, hallelu, is the second-person imperative masculine plural form of the Hebrew verb hallal.[1]
However, "hallelujah" means more than simply "praise Jah" or "praise Yah", as the word hallel in Hebrew means a joyous praise in song, to boast in God.
Hallel could also refer to someone who acts madly or foolishly.[15][16]
The second part, Yah, is a shortened form of YHWH, the name for the Creator.[5]
The name ceased to be pronounced in Second Temple Judaism, by the 3rd century BC due to religious beliefs.[17]
The correct pronunciation is not known, however, it is sometimes rendered by Christians as "Yahweh" or "Jehovah".
The Septuagint translates Yah as Kyrios (the LORD), because of the Jewish custom of replacing the sacred name with "Adonai", meaning "the Lord".
In Psalm 150:6 the Hebrew reads kol han'shamah t'hallel yah;[18] It appears in the Hebrew Bible as הללו-יה and הללו יה. In Psalm 148:1 the Hebrew says "הללו יה hallelu yah".
It then says "hallelu eth-YHWH" as if using "yah" and "YHWH" interchangeably. The word "Yah" appears by itself as a divine name in poetry about 49 times in the Hebrew Bible (including hallelu yah), such as in Psalm 68:4–5 "who rides upon the deserts by his name Yah" and Exodus 15:2 "Yah is my strength and song".
It also often appears at the end of Israelite theophoric names such as Isaiah "yeshayah(u), Yahweh is salvation" and Jeremiah "yirmeyah(u), Yahweh is exalted".[5]
The word hallelujah occurring in the Psalms is therefore a request for a congregation to join in praise toward God. It can be translated as "Praise Yah" or "Praise Jah, you people",[2][13][19]
The Greek transliteration, ἀλληλούϊα (allēlouia) appears in Revelation 19:1–6, the great song of praise to God for his triumph over the Whore of Babylon.[5]
It is this usage that Charles Jennens extracted for the Hallelujah Chorus in Handel's Messiah.
Usage by Jews
The word "hallelujah" is sung as part of the Hallel Psalms (interspersed between Psalms 113–150).[20]Usage by Christians
For most Christians, "Hallelujah" is considered a joyful word of praise to God, rather than an injunction to praise him."The Alleluia" refers to a traditional chant, combining the word with verses from the Psalms or other scripture.
In the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, and in many older Protestant denominations, the Alleluia, along with the Gloria in excelsis Deo, is not spoken or sung in liturgy during the season of Lent, instead being replaced by a Lenten acclamation, while in Eastern Churches, Alleluia is chanted throughout Lent at the beginning of the Matins service, replacing the Theos Kyrios, which is considered more joyful.
At the Easter service and throughout the Pentecostarion, Christos anesti is used in the place where Hallelujah is chanted in the western rite.
In contemporary worship among many Protestants, expressions of "Hallelujah" and "Praise the Lord" are acceptable spontaneous expressions of joy, thanksgiving and praise towards God, requiring no specific prompting or call or direction from those leading times of praise and singing.[21]
"Hallelujah" is a song written by Canadian recording artist Leonard Cohen, originally released on his album Various Positions (1984).
Achieving little initial success, the song found greater popular acclaim through a cover by John Cale, which inspired a cover by Jeff Buckley.
Buckley's version is the most enduringly popular and critically acclaimed cover of the song to date.
It is the subject of the book The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley & the Unlikely Ascent of "Hallelujah" (2012) by Alan Light.
In a New York Times review of the book, Janet Maslin praises the book and the song, noting that "Cohen spent years struggling with his song 'Hallelujah.' He wrote perhaps as many as 80 verses before paring the song down."[1]
Following its increased popularity after being featured in the film Shrek (2001),[2][3] many cover versions have been performed by many and various singers, both in recordings and in concert, with over 300 versions known.[4]
The song has been used in film and television soundtracks and televised talent contests.
| "Hallelujah" | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||||||||
| Single by Leonard Cohen | ||||||||||
| from the album Various Positions | ||||||||||
| Released | December 1984 | |||||||||
| Recorded | June 1984 | |||||||||
| Genre | ||||||||||
| Length | 4:36 | |||||||||
| Label | Columbia | |||||||||
| Writer(s) | Leonard Cohen | |||||||||
| Producer(s) | John Lissauer | |||||||||
| ||||||||||
Musical composition and lyrical interpretation
"Hallelujah", in its original version, is in 12/8 time, which evokes both waltz and gospel music. Written in the key of C major, the chord progression matches lyrics from the song: "goes like this, the fourth, the fifth, the minor fall, and the major lift": C, F, G, A minor, F.[5]
Cohen wrote around 80 draft verses for "Hallelujah", with one writing
session at the Royalton Hotel in New York where he was reduced to
sitting on the floor in his underwear, banging his head on the floor.[6]
His original version, as recorded on his Various Positions album, contains several biblical references, most notably evoking the stories of Samson and traitorous Delilah from the Book of Judges ("she cut your hair") as well as the adulterous King David and Bathsheba ("you saw her bathing on the roof, her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you").[5][7]
Following his original 1984 studio-album version, Cohen performed the
original song on his world tour in 1985, but live performances during
his 1988 and 1993 tours almost invariably contained a quite different
set of lyrics with only the last verse
being common to the two versions.
Numerous singers mix lyrics from both
versions, and occasionally make direct lyric changes, such as Rufus Wainwright, a Canadian-American singer, substituting "holy dark" and Allison Crowe, a Canadian singer-songwriter, substituting "Holy Ghost" for Cohen's "holy dove".
Cohen's lyrical poetry and his view that "many different hallelujahs
exist" is reflected in wide-ranging covers with very different intents
or tones, allowing the song to be "melancholic, fragile, uplifting [or]
joyous" depending on the performer:[5]
The Welsh singer-songwriter John Cale,
the first person to record a cover version of the song (in 1991),
promoted a message of "soberness and sincerity" in contrast to Cohen's
dispassionate tone;[5]
The cover by Jeff Buckley, an American singer-songwriter, is more sorrowful and was described by Buckley as "a hallelujah to the orgasm";[5][8]
Crowe interpreted the song as a "very sexual" composition that discussed relationships;[5] Wainwright offered a "purifying and almost liturgical" interpretation;[5]
and Guy Garvey of the British band Elbow made the hallelujah a "stately creature" and incorporated his religious interpretation of the song into his band's recordings.[5]
Cover versions
Since 1991, "Hallelujah" has been performed by a wide variety of singers: over 300, and in various languages.[4]Statistics from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA); the Canadian Recording Industry Association; the Australian Recording Industry Association; and the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry show that, by late 2008, more than five million copies of the song sold in CD format.[citation needed]
It has been the subject of a BBC Radio documentary and been in the soundtracks of numerous films and television programs.[14]
Different interpretations of the song may include different verses, out of the over 80 verses Cohen originally wrote.[15]
In an April 2009 CBC Radio interview, Cohen said that he finds the number of covers of his song "ironic and amusing" given that when he first wrote it, his record company wouldn't put it out.
However, he now thinks the song could benefit from a break in exposure: "I was just reading a review of a movie called Watchmen that uses it and the reviewer said – 'Can we please have a moratorium on "Hallelujah" in movies and television shows?'
And I kind of feel the same way...I think it's a good song, but I think too many people sing it."[16][17]
In early 2012, during interviews advancing his latest album, Old Ideas, and more touring, Cohen says that he's not tired of the song being covered: "There's been a couple of times when other people have said can we have a moratorium please on 'Hallelujah'?
Must we have it at the end of every single drama and every single Idol?
And once or twice I've felt maybe I should lend my voice to silencing it but on second thought no, I'm very happy that it's being sung."[18]
John Cale
John Cale's cover first appeared on I'm Your Fan (1991), a Leonard Cohen tribute album, and later on his live album Fragments of a Rainy Season (1992).Cale's version has vocals, piano, and lyrics that Cohen had only performed live. Cale had watched Cohen perform the song and asked Cohen to send him the lyrics.[19]
Cohen then faxed Cale fifteen pages of lyrics. Cale claims that he "went through and just picked out the cheeky verses."[15]
Cale's version forms the basis of most subsequent performances, including Cohen's performances during his 2008–2009 world tour.
It was the version used in the film Shrek (2001) (although it is Rufus Wainwright's version that appears on the soundtrack album).[5][19]
It also appears on the first soundtrack album for the TV series Scrubs.[20][21]
Jeff Buckley
| "Hallelujah" | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||||||||
| Single by Jeff Buckley | ||||||||||
| from the album Grace | ||||||||||
| Released | 2007 | |||||||||
| Recorded | Late 1993–94, at Bearsville Studios, Bearsville, New York | |||||||||
| Genre | ||||||||||
| Length | 6:53 | |||||||||
| Label | Columbia | |||||||||
| Writer(s) | Leonard Cohen | |||||||||
| Producer(s) | ||||||||||
| Jeff Buckley singles chronology | ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
Later, in 2007 it was released as single.
Critical reception
In 2004, Buckley's version was ranked number 259 on Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[8]The same year Time called Buckley's version "exquisitely sung," observing "Cohen murmured the original like a dirge, but ... Buckley treated the ... song like a tiny capsule of humanity, using his voice to careen between glory and sadness, beauty and pain... It's one of the great songs."[22]
In September 2007, a poll of fifty songwriters conducted by the magazine Q listed "Hallelujah" among the all-time "Top 10 Greatest Tracks" with John Legend calling Buckley's version "as near perfect as you can get.
The lyrics to 'Hallelujah' are just incredible and the melody's gorgeous and then there's Jeff's interpretation of it. It's one of the most beautiful pieces of recorded music I’ve ever heard."[23]
In July 2009, the Buckley track was ranked number three on the 2009 Triple J Hottest 100 of All Time, a listener poll held every decade by the Australian radio station Triple J."[24]
On April 2, 2014 it was announced that Buckley's version of the song will be inducted into the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry.[25]
Commercial performance
Buckley's version was not an instant hit, nor did Buckley live to see the full measure of the reception his recording would ultimately have; he died in 1997.The album on which it appeared did not go Gold in the U.S. until 2002, nine years after its release.
In fact, like Cohen's original, the Buckley version was not released as a single, until much later, and it didn't chart until 2006, posthumously for Buckley.
In March of that year, Buckley had his first national Top 10 bestseller when "Hallelujah" was number seven in Norway.
In 2007 it made the top 3 on the Swedish charts. In March 2008 it topped Billboard's Hot Digital Songs in the U.S. after a performance of the song by Jason Castro in the seventh season of American Idol.[26][27][28]
The sudden resurgence of interest provided both Gold and Platinum status, the RIAA certifying the digital track on 22 April 2008.[29]
It has sold 1,144,000 digital copies in the US as of May 2010.[30] It also hit number one in France in March 2008.
Source: Wikipedia.org
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