Psalms 90 and 91

I am recalling things I could do a year ago that I now have to struggle to remember how to do in my database. Strange when you move from words patterns to composing music. Many of my routines are embedded in visual forms, but many were experimental and require me to remember how I was doing the experiment.

Here's an example: comparing word repetition in two Psalms. Some discussion has opened up on Psalms 90 and I remembered it was closely related to Psalms 91, one of several pairings of Psalms. I call this one prayer and response. They share more than 26.6% of their words. This is not among the highest percentages. 35 consecutive pairs of Psalms share more than 40% of their words. The highest shared count is 135, 136 at 54.4%.

Shared Words in Psalms 90,91, excluding: על,יהוה,אלוה,כּי,אל,אתּ

Word / Gloss	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	1	2	3	4	5	6	Vs	Stem
מעון a habitation		░															90:1	מעון
אתה yourself	░																90:1	אתה
אתה you are	░																90:2	אתה
ותאמר and you say			░														90:3	אמר
אלף a thousand						░											90:4	אלף
בעיניך in your eyes							░										90:4	עין
כיום are like a day					░												90:4	יום
ואשׁמורה and a watch								░									90:4	שׁמר
בלילה in the night				░													90:4	ליל
כל all									░								90:9	כל
ימינו our days					░												90:9	יום
ימי the days of					░												90:10	יום
ונעפה and we fly away										░							90:10	עוף
יודע knows												░					90:11	ידע
וכיראתך and according to your fear											░						90:11	ירא
ימינו our days					░												90:12	יום
הודע make us know												░					90:12	ידע
שׂבענו satisfy us													░				90:14	שׂבע
בכל in all									░								90:14	כל
ימינו our days					░												90:14	יום
כימות for days					░												90:15	יום
עניתנו you afflicted us																░	90:15	ענה
ראינו we have seen														░			90:15	ראה
רעה evil															░		90:15	רעע
יראה let appear														░			90:16	ראה
אמר I will say			░														91:2	אמר
תירא you will fear											░						91:5	ירא
לילה by night				░													91:5	ליל
יעוף that flies										░							91:5	עוף
יומם by day					░												91:5	יום
אלף a thousand						░											91:7	אלף
בעיניך with your eyes							░										91:8	עין
תראה you will see														░			91:8	ראה
אתה you	░																91:9	אתה
מעונך as your habitation		░															91:9	מעון
רעה evil															░		91:10	רעע
לשׁמרך to keep you								░									91:11	שׁמר
בכל in all									░								91:11	כל
ידע he has known												░					91:14	ידע
ואענהו and I will answer him																░	91:15	ענה
ימים days					░												91:16	יום
אשׂביעהו I will satisfy him													░				91:16	שׂבע
ואראהו and I will show him														░			91:16	ראה

Analyzing music is much harder and requires time. A few things to note about the sequences of the accents: 90:1, 2, 10, and 17 are unique musical phrases. They each occur exactly once in the whole Bible. (Now who is going to tell you this tidbit without a database?). 91:3, 4, 7, 14, 15 are unique. Verses 3 and 14 stand out since they begin on a high C. Could be emphatic use of the accent. In both psalms, some pairs and trios of verses are connected through the use of an initial g (tifha).

The sheet music is available in the usual places. Performances of the raw data are available here Psalm 90 Psalm 91