[https://youtu.be/yV_n0ADwmfw](https://youtu.be/yV_n0ADwmfw?fbclid=IwAR1n9LmnCNW4eB9TgB8vjIw7pYYGNSV2HqtUC0HxJGR0UiteLIQPl7oqrsY)## An ‘Amazing’ Adon OlamWhat do the following have in common?The *Agnus Dei* from Verdi’s *Requiem*; the Scottish ballad *Coming Through the Rye;* *Variations on a Theme *by Corelli; and the Christmas carol, *God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen*.Well, they are all - to varying degrees - musical *doppelgängers* for melodies in the Spanish and Portuguese repertoire. The opening theme of the *Agnus Dei *is uncannily close to the Spanish and Portuguese chant for *Kol Sasson*. *Coming Through the Rye* is a dead ringer for a *Yigdal* melody. The Corelli *Variations* shares an almost identical tonal progression with *Na’ar Hayity / Ma She'achalnu*. And *God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman* re-incarnates as a Rosh Hodesh/Shabbat melody for *Hallel*.This is, of course, by no means a complete or exhaustive list. (You will have noticed I have not so much as mentioned *Lekh LeShalom Geshem*.) There are, to be sure, many other pieces which would qualify - including, perhaps, this tune for *Adon Olam* sung in Shearith Israel. For me, and I know I am not alone here, its soulful melody line and distinctive three-note turn on the word *Olam* never fail to bring to mind William Walker’s mid-nineteenth century “New Britain” setting for the hymn *Amazing Grace*.Do any of you hear the similarity?Which other S&P melodies remind you of compositions from other contexts?Please like and share.