Joseph's end - Genesis 50:22-26

Genesis begins with the successions of the heavens and the earth and ends with the last of the lists of successions, in this case Joseph and his grandchildren. The section begins and ends with Joseph's age at his death. Most of the recitation in verses 22 to 24 is on the submedian, C, mahpakh, the sixth note of the scale. I find a tone of promise and appeal in this section. It is a subjective judgment. When the tone drops to recitation on the dominant, B, munah, I hear a proclamation - a this-is-what-happened tone.

Genesis 50:22-26

These are not stories that I am particularly fond of, but the accents translated into this particular form of music according to the deciphering key of Suzanne Haïk-Vantoura certainly makes the story clear in its telling and reveals a shapely music. I think if the deciphering key were wrong, it could not possibly create such reasonable music.

Over the next months, I hope to look at a selection of texts, some of which we have seen before, and some new, but in their raw forms, so that I can learn more what the music says about the text. If you have a favorite, let me know and I will undertake to look at it in a post.