Jeremiah 28 - the lesson for Proper 8 (13) 28-Jun-20

Where do we go from the beginning that I showed you in the previous post? All these posts are using the raw material from the Hebrew Bible to restore the tone of voice to the reading. But any particular reading may go in a number of directions when the music is being created and arranged for the modern reader / congregation.

The problems are manifold for the arranger:

• the words are in Hebrew which most worshippers in the Judeo-Christian tradition do not understand.
• setting the underlay to English results in words finding themselves with too many or too few syllables and with the ornaments ornamenting the wrong word. Hebrew word order simply doesn't work sometimes. You may have noticed how I sidestepped an underlay problem in the previous post. (If you did, bravo.)
• the genre is by no means obvious when you begin the process.
• a section of Scripture may suggest a verse to be repeated, that sums up or comments on the reading as a whole.
• a reading may be suitable to recit, or divisi, or multiple readers, or a hymn, or an aria. I never know until I have tried something.
• The English rhythm is easiest if one uses recit, but a regular rhythm may also work, duple, triple, compound, or odd numbered, 5/4 or 7/4 etc. Experiment.
• The piece may be easiest unaccompanied, or instruments may be added.
• Perhaps a descant will be suitable.
• Perhaps a variation in mode (where the accidentals are) may be suitable.

What about this lesson?

The first problem is that the RCL in its wisdom (which I do not doubt) has truncated this reading.

Jeremiah 28		Fn		Min	Max	Syll	Avg S/N
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ יִרְמְיָ֣ה הַנָּבִ֔יא אֶל־חֲנַנְיָ֖ה הַנָּבִ֑יא לְעֵינֵ֤י הַכֹּֽהֲנִים֙ וּלְעֵינֵ֣י כָל־הָעָ֔ם הָעֹמְדִ֖ים בְּבֵ֥ית יְהוָֽה	5		And Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah the prophet, in the sight of the priests and in the sight of all the people standing in the house of Yahweh,	3e	4C	16 20	3.6
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ יִרְמְיָ֣ה הַנָּבִ֔יא אָמֵ֕ן כֵּ֖ן יַעֲשֶׂ֣ה יְהוָ֑ה יָקֵ֤ם יְהוָה֙ אֶת־דְּבָרֶ֔יךָ אֲשֶׁ֣ר נִבֵּ֗אתָ לְהָשִׁ֞יב כְּלֵ֤י בֵית־יְהוָה֙ וְכָל־הַגּוֹלָ֔ה מִבָּבֶ֖ל אֶל־הַמָּק֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה	6		And Jeremiah the prophet said, Amen. So may Yahweh do. May Yahweh uphold your words that you have prophesied to return the vessels of the house of Yahweh and all the exiled from Babel to this place.	3e	4C	17 36	4.82
אַךְ־שְׁמַֽע־נָא֙ הַדָּבָ֣ר הַזֶּ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר אָנֹכִ֖י דֹּבֵ֣ר בְּאָזְנֶ֑יךָ וּבְאָזְנֵ֖י כָּל־הָעָֽם	7		But hear, if you will, this word that I speak in your ears, and in the ears of all the people,	3e	4B	20 6	3.25
הַנְּבִיאִ֗ים אֲשֶׁ֨ר הָי֧וּ לְפָנַ֛י וּלְפָנֶ֖יךָ מִן־הָֽעוֹלָ֑ם וַיִּנָּ֨בְא֜וּ אֶל־אֲרָצ֤וֹת רַבּוֹת֙ וְעַל־מַמְלָכ֣וֹת גְּדֹל֔וֹת לְמִלְחָמָ֖ה וּלְרָעָ֥ה וּלְדָֽבֶר	8		The prophets who are in my presence and in your presence from eras past, and prophesied to many lands and over great kingdoms, of war and of evil and of pestilence,	3c	4C	18 28	4.18
הַנָּבִ֕יא אֲשֶׁ֥ר יִנָּבֵ֖א לְשָׁל֑וֹם בְּבֹא֙ דְּבַ֣ר הַנָּבִ֗יא יִוָּדַע֙ הַנָּבִ֔יא אֲשֶׁר־שְׁלָח֥וֹ יְהוָ֖ה בֶּאֱמֶֽת	9		The prophet that prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet is come, it is known of the prophet that Yahweh sent him in truth.	3e	4B	11 23	4.25

There is little doubt that this is a very suitable lesson for today. Peace has been prophesied through the king (who is not supposed to be prophesying) and the king's multiple press secretaries. And there is clearly no peace in the land and none of the court prophets are listening or discerning the falsehoods that they are prophesying.

Perhaps it does not matter if the actors are unknown.

So here's a first cut at an underlay of these verses. You will notice right away that Jeremiah's words use the same motif (a bit like a trill) as the book of Jonah uses for the words of Yahweh. This is a curious use of ornamentation. Is it a regular aspect of the word of Yahweh rather than the word of a court prophet?

You will note also several extra syllables and missed out notes (/) that I have decided to skip for this first cut. I have set Jeremiah before to a bass role in a strange mode in the passage that mimics creation. I feel that I must still explore the rhythms implicit in the English now to see if there is a suggestive approach to this short passage. I am thinking this is a one person recit and unaccompanied. It could be rehearsed and sung from this copy.