Download Jenna Daniels 4/13/08 Music Technology Research Paper Atkinson

Jenna Daniels
4/13/08
Music Technology Research Paper
Atkinson-11:15am
1
When you open the Hebrew Bible, you see Hebrew words that represent a history
of religions. Solomon Rosowsky, a doctor of law and music states, “The Bible is not only
a monument of religious thought, not only poetical creation, but also a great musical
heritage.”1 The Hebrew Bible, specifically the Pentateuch (the five books of Moses),
contains symbols around the words that have musical significance. Unlike modern music
where one note is equivalent to one pitch, in the notation used by the Jews each symbol is
equivalent to a group of pitches.2 This paper will focus on the cantillation of the
Pentateuch for the Sabbath. It is noted that Monks, as possible converts from Judaism,
might have carried this cantillation into early Christian church music.
In the Pentateuch the symbols are not notated in the actual scroll; it is only
notated in the book version.3 According to Rosowsky, “the Hebrew Bible is chanted in a
specific recitative, usually termed as ‘cantillation.’”4 Cantillation refers to the overall
chanting of the Hebrew Bible. “Trop” on the other hand, which is a Yiddush word5, refers
only to the graphic notations above and below words in the Hebrew Bible.6
There are six different types of cantillation.7 The first and most common type is
the cantillation of the Pentateuch during the Sabbath.8 There is only one other type of
cantillation that involves the Pentateuch, and that is the cantillation of the Pentateuch on
Solomon Rosowsky, “Analytical Theory of Biblical Cantillations,” Proceedings of the
Musical Association 5 vol.60 (1934): 39, 12 Nov. 2007
http://www.jstor.org.proxy.lib.fsu.edu.
2
Ibid
3
Nbrody, “Cantillation,” 2007.
4
Rosowsky, 39
5
Joshua R. Jacobson, Chanting The Hebrew Bible (Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication
Society, 2005) 236.
6
Rosowsky, 39
7
Rosowsky, 42
8
Ibid
1
2
the High Festivals (such as Passover and Sukkot).9 The third type of cantillation is used
in reading the Books of the Prophets, the fourth Book of Esther, the fifth the Book of
Ruth, Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs.10 The final type of cantillation is used in reading
Lamentation of Jeremiah.11 According to Rosowsky, “Every Jewish group, no matter
what part of the globe it may inhabit, has six types of cantillation used in reading the
twenty-one books and scriptures.”12
The motives of the Hebrew Bible are designed in a “strict syntactical order.”13
Some of the ta’amim, Hebrew for “trop,” are known as conjunctive and disjunctive.14 The
latter is for separating and pausal “tropes” and the former is for binding or connecting
“tropes.”15 This is then subdivided into secondary disjunctive, which marks either the end
of a verse or the end of a part.16 An example of disjunctive and conjunctive ta’amim is
“Silluk.”17 Silluk is placed on every last word in a verse.18 Silluk contains three notes, the
second note is a step above the first, and the third note falls a third below the second
note.19 For example, if one begins on “g” the ta’am would be g-a-f.20 In some cases the
Silluk has a bit of variation. Rather than chant a word with this ta’am as g-a-f, it could
also be chanted as g-f-c.21
9
Ibid
Ibid
11
Ibid
12
Ibid
13
Friedlander, 43
14
Ibid
15
Ibid
16
Idelsohn, 39
17
Jacobson, 41
18
Ibid
19
Ibid
20
Ibid
21
Ibid
10
3
One of the most complicated ta’amim is “shalshelet.”22 The sign is supposed to
represent a hanging chain, which also points to the melody.23 In music terms the melody
is known as a double trill.24 This ta’am is rare because of its complexity.25 It is actually
found only four times in the Pentateuch: three times in Genesis, and once in Leviticus.26
For example if the word started on “f” these notes would follow: f-g-a-b-c-a-g-f-g-a-b-ca-g-f-g-a-b-c-d-c-a-g; these pitches would be sung in a continuous rhythm of an 8th note
followed by two sixteenth notes.27 As one can see this ta’am can also be described “as
two notes connected by an ascending chain of sound.”28
According to Arthur Friedlander, author of “Notes on Facts and Theories Relating
to Jewish Music,” there is a belief that movements with fingers were used to show high
and low of pitches before the written ta’amim.29 He believes there is a possible
connection with the movements of fingers and Guido D’Arezzo’s “Guidonian Hand,” a
method used in medieval times to help singers learn to sight sing.30 If there is a
connection, then possibly Guido was of Jewish descent.31 Music History shows that this
historical detail might mean that many monks were converts from Judaism.32 Therefore,
it is believed that monks took some of the early Jewish musical traits, cantillation, and
22
Friedlander, 23
Ibid
24
Ibid
25
Jacobson, 60
26
Ibid
27
Ibid
28
Friedlander, 23
29
Friedlander, 23
30
Ibid
31
Ibid
32
Ibid
23
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applied it to music of the early Catholic Church.33 In 1513 Reuchlin wrote Grammar “the
earliest known printed musical interpretation of the signs” of the Pentateuch.34 He wrote
it in four parts without harmony for the synagogue: descantes, altus, tenore, and bassus. 35
The composition of four-part singing in unison was also practiced in the early Catholic
Church. This is another reason why researchers believe that early Christian music was
adapted from Jewish cantillation.36 Music has evolved throughout the centuries of the
world. As discussed above, Gregorian chant is based on modes seen in the Pentateuch
mode, such as the Dorian mode.37 While much of modern day music seems to be based
strictly on Gregorian chant and early Church music, due to possible monk converts, some
of the earliest music is possibly drawn from cantillation of the Hebrew Bible.38
The oldest and most commonly practiced music in the synagogue is that of the
Pentateuch on the Sabbath, therefore, giving the Pentateuch more than a religious history;
it also has a history in music.39 While the ta’amim are still chanted today, the pitches are
not identical to the original ones historically documented. Modern day ta’amim contains
the basic historical outline of pitches, but with the addition of ornamentation that is
special to the specific synagogue, usually orally transmitted. Still, the ta’amim are the
foundation of the Hebrew Bible, and much of music found in both church and synagogue
today is built from these ta’amim.40
33
Ibid
Ibid
35
Ibid
36
Ibid
37
Idelsohn, 39
38
Ibid
39
Nbrody
40
Ibid
34
5
Work Cited
Cantor Brody, Norman. E-mail to Jenna Daniels, 3 April 2008.
Friedlander, Arthur M., “Notes on Facts and Theories Relating to Jewish Music.”
The Musical Times (1, Jan 1914): 21-27. http://www.jstor.org/ (accessed April 4, 2008).
Idelsohn, A.Z., Jewish Music In Its Historical Development. New York: Tudor
Publishing Company, 1944.
Jacobson, Joshua R. Chanting the Hebrew Bible. Philadelphia: The Jewish
Publication Society, 2005.
Rosowsky, Solomon., “The Music Of The Pentateuch.” Analytical Theory of
Biblical Cantillations 5, Vol 60 (1934): 38-66. http://www.jstor.org/ (accessed April 4,
2008).
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