Oratorio part 2, Job 38

 Yahweh is a character in the oratorio. What questions will we raise here? The darkening of counsel is spelled with an unstable augmented fifth. Yahweh is not a soloist but is represented by multiple voices. I note that the 'Fine' is missing from the prior piece. It should have been marked at the end of the opening Maestoso, just a few extra bars to sing before the incipit for Job 38. 

The accents for Job 38:1, as with all the narrator's parts, are in the te'amim of the 21 books. This is a curious combination showing that whoever put together the final form of Job knew both sets of accents and cleverly designed the narrator's voice to be fully aware of the structure of the speeches. This awareness is proven by the pairwise design of the narrator's verses. Within the body of the speeches, the second part always begins on the mediant. (This connection is not true of the speeches of Yahweh. Some textual criticism can be done using the te'amim.)

There is a mechanical performance on YouTube if you want to listen to the whole piece. (Just skip over the opening recitative of each part since it is horrible in a mechanical performance. But the other bits will give you a little taste of potential.) The bits from Job are my favorite parts. :)

Job 38:1-2

Job 38:1-2 Yahweh answers

Where were you?
Syllables: 27. Words: 14. Roots: 14. Root Recurrence: 0.

aivb amr at bli idy ihvh iyx kwc mi mll mn syr ynh zh

וַיַּֽעַן־יְהוָ֣ה אֶת־אִ֭יּוֹב מִ֥ן ׀ הַסְּעָרָ֗ה וַיֹּאמַֽר		1 And Yahweh answered Job from the tempest and said,
a viyn-ihvh at-aiob mn hsyrh viamr	15	vi/yn ihvh at aivb mn h/syr\h vi/amr
מִ֤י זֶ֨ה ׀ מַחְשִׁ֖יךְ עֵצָ֥ה בְמִלִּ֗ין בְּֽלִי־דָֽעַת		2 ♪C Who is this darkening counsel in speeches without knowledge?
b mi zh mkwiç yxh bmilin bli-dyt	12	mi zh m/kwc yx\h b/ml\in bli dy\t

Job 38:1-2 continued