Dreidl Variants (S'vivon)

S'vivon (se-vi-vohn) is the Hebrew word for dreidl, a four-sided top that is popular with children during the celebration of the Jewish holiday Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights. In this arrangement by Brendan McBrien, variations are created through the subtle use of motivic rhythms from within the melody, presenting the theme in different voices and keys in both arco and pizzicato, using the A section of the tune as an accompaniment for the B section, and, finally, changing the modality to major, which creates (for a short time) a very different feeling from the traditional minor setting.