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Music of the Bible: Development, Destruction, and Discovery |
| Section: THE ARTS / MUSIC |
| Author: Tom Pniewski |
| Publication:
The World & I Online |
| Issue Date: 12/1/1987 |
| Size: 2,482 Words, 15,128 Characters |
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In addition to being one of the world's great compilations of sacred and historical literature, the Bible is one of its most important musical texts. For thousands of years it has been a source of information and inspiration, providing source material for composers and furnishing scholars with documents, tantalizing fragments of one of the oldest musical traditions on earth.
The Bible's musical documentation is fragmentary, for many reasons. It includes no musical notation (see the Appendix, however, for an interesting theory regarding the Psalms), and its descriptions of instruments and performance practices are often difficult to interpret, due to obscure or forgotten terms. But recent years have seen much archaeological and enthnomusicological activity in the Middle East, and the results of these researches, applied to biblical accounts, make possible a partial reconstruction of ancient Jewish musical practices.
A few generalizations have merged concerning music and its role in Jewish life during the biblical era:
·There was a priority given to vocal music over instrumental, to singing and chanting (even if accompanied by instruments) ver purely abstract instrumental music. This preference is found in many ancient cultures and persists to this day in parts of Asia.
·There was a highly organized oral tradition of performance and interpretation, which was preserved by a large professional organization.
·There were remnants of many ancient popular musical form...
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...ly the imagination can recreate the music that inspired the words of Psalm 150:
Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with psaltery and harp.
Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with strings and pipes.
Praise him upon the loud cymbals: Praise him up on the high sounding cymbals. Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. PRAISE YE THE LORD!
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Publication Details
(The World & I Online) |
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The World & I Online is a
comprehensive academic resource that encompasses a broad range of
articles by scholars and experts in the areas of Global Studies,
Liberal Arts, Fine & Applied Arts, General Science, and Spanish.
Originally published monthly in print as The World & I, our site
includes the complete contents since 1986 and continues to publish
a new issue online each month. |
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