I'm looking for help tracing a Breslover melody. The tune I'm investigating is called "Sabeinu."
I have two recordings of somewhat similar melodies and I've heard both called "Sabeinu." The first is version is on Meditations of The Heart Vol.1, which features vocalist Alon Michael and pianist Israel Edelson. On this recording, the melody is sung slowly and has four sections (The form is ABCB). I'm pretty sure I've heard this version performed as a fast dance tune too. The liner notes have no indication of the song's provenance other than that it is a Breslover nigun.
Amazon has the Edelson recording here:
The other version I have is on a Chilik Frank album titled "Chilik Frank." (I reviewed that album here.) On this album, the track (which is played instrumentally) is titled "Rikud Brelov Aliz" amd has three sections. The liner notes explain that the song is well-known throughout the Chassidic world and is used in shul on Friday Nights for "Lo Sevoshi" as well as for the Zemiros "Menucha V'simcha" and "Shir Hama'alos." I have a lead sheet of the melody that is very similar to this version that gives the tune's title as "Zingboim's Nigun."
The differences between the two versions are as follows:
1) The Edelson version has four sections while the Frank/Zingboim version has three sections.
2) The musical phrase in bars 1&2 and bars 4&5 of the A section are very similar with slight variations in the phrasing, but the other parts of the A section are not.
3) The B sections are distinct with no similarities between the versions.
4) The C section in the Edelson version is a distinct section.
5) The fourth section of the Edelson version and the third section of the Frank/Zingboim version are virtually identical with only slight phrasing differences on the first two bars of the section.
Additionally, on the Frank recording, only the last 4 bars of the B section repeat, but on the Zingboim chart I have, the entire B is repeated.
If you have any information please let me know. Thanks.
Update:
I've found another track, "Rikud Sochef", on the same Frank album referenced above that does have the same melody as the Edelson version, but played as a freilach. The liner notes state that the tune is attributed to Rav Nachman of Breslov. It is sung in Breslover shuls on Friday night after davening with the words "Sabeinu etc." It's interesting to note that the lyrics add the words "tatte" and "futter" (both Yiddish for father) into the Hebrew text as follows. "V'taher libenu tatte, v'taher libenu futter, v'taher..." The only audio clip I've been able to find on line, performed by Rabbi David Zeller, has those lyrics, which I'd assumed were his own interjections. Apparently, though, that's the way the tune is usually sung.
