Psalm 78

To discover the patterns of the music of Psalm 78, I have looked at the 72 verses in their sequences. This is a reanalysis from Oct 2024. I revised the images in that post to reflect later corrections I had made based on the accents in the Aleppo Codex. The issue is to hear and remember the sequence of musical shapes. If we do, does the text confirm what we are hearing and how will we describe it?

You may want to open both posts side by side. It is a difficult process, but it has yielded some insights.

Openings: the opening interval.

• e d and e g do not exist as opening intervals in this poem.
• e f# occurs 11 times. 5 more include ornaments on the opening recitation pitch, e.
• e g occurs twice.
• e ^A occurs only once in the poetry in Psalm 102. This is a rare sequence occurring only 48 times in the canon. Very few verses move immediately to the rest cadence. 
• e B occurs 24 times. 4 more verses include ornaments on the opening recitation pitch, e. This seems to be used to announce.
• e C occurs 7 times. It is on verses that have heightened emotional consequences.
• 12 verses begin on g, almost always in the shape g B ^A with no ornamentation on the first part of the verse.
• 4 verses begin with B g.
• 3 verses begin on C proceeding next to B. Total 72.

The tenor of the psalm as a whole is A. Verses 1-8 have a tenor of f#. Verses 21-42 have a tenor of e. All other verse groups in the psalm as I divided it in the previous post retain the tenor of A. This is 1 of 37 psalms with such a tenor. These psalms sing more syllables on the subdominant, the atnah which signifies rest, than on any other reciting pitch.

Psalm 78 recitation counts by recitation pitch:  

• d 5 syllables, 0.37%
• e 284, 20.82%
• f 229, 16.93%
• g 212, 15.72%
• A 327, 24.16% (hence the tenor)
• B 239, 17.71%
• C 58, 4.29%

Closings: the announcement of the closing, the revia mugrash, and the final approach to the tonic.

• 30 verses approach the tonic from the f#
• 24 verses from the B
• 18 verses from the A
• 39 verses sing the revia mugrash on A
• 16 verses sing the revia mugrash on f#
• One verse sings the revia mugrash on the tonic, e - find it and see why.

The music is not like Anglican chant where the four-part chant covers two verses or the two part chant covers 1. For long psalms, there may be 2 or 3 different chants used. The music imposes itself onto the words after their composition.

There is of course great beauty in Anglican chant whether in unison or SATB, and great beauty in Gregorian plainsong, but the Gregorian chant has clearly defined single recitation pitches in various modes. Hebrew chanting always has variable recitation pitches and they are part of the music and irregular in structural placement.

Hebrew chanting of the psalms has fixed tonal forms and fixed usage of some ornaments. E.g. the revia-mugrash (which I will call the tuba  -- see below) always is in the last part of the verse. It can occur in the last section of a verse of any of the forms x-1, x-2-1, x-2-4-1, and x-4-1 where x is in (e=1, d, f#, g, B, C). I.e. it always announces the return to the tonic and I hear it as announcing the conclusion of several consecutive verses in which it is not used. Sometimes only the geresh is used. Why?

So: revia–mugrash (aka tuba) functions rhetorically as a proclamation of the completion of something. 

• It is not cadential, more notes can follow. 
• It always occurs in the last part of a verse after any cadences. 
• Its presence announces the tonic is coming to re-establish the tonal field before continued discourse, in a role analogous to the medieval chant concept of the tuba.
• Its appearance following unornamented verse sequences creates an aural boundary marker, allowing listeners to perceive the completion of a larger unit.
• Its pitch flexibility underscores its melodic, as well as melodic, identity.

In Psalm 78, there is an atnah in every verse. Psalm 78 has 9 tricola, verses with atnah and ole veyored, making it of the form x-2-4-1 where x = C once (verse 20) . All the others start on the tonic (e=1, the first degree of the scale).

Here is my ssequence analysis by verse -- I wonder if I can refine my terms without making them too rigid. 

Verse:

1. opens with a tricolon, the first shape (1-2) is e to f#. The move from f# to A (2-4) is B g ^A. There are 14 uses of this approach to the mid-verse rest. In this psalm, in the sequence B g before A, g is the main reciting note leading to the A. In the sequence g B before A, B has one more syllable than its neighbour g only 5 times. verses 12, 20, 21, 23 and 40.
2. is announcement (opens on e and moves to the dominant recitation on B).  28 verses begin with this contour, 4 of them also include anticipation with an illuy in the first recitative on e. But note that an illuy highlights one syllable -- often strikingly and with force as in verse 25 on צידה xidh. Tuba is on f#, the recitation pitch after the atnah.
3. announcement e to B but moves the opening recitation to g. This opening contour is in 12 verses.
4. is emotional, a definitive self-appeal beginning on the high C, tying its content to the previous verse.
5. a tricolon takes a short break from the C to place an upbeat on the tonic. After a long appeal, it pauses on the supertonic, and moves to the subdominant via B g, similar to verse 1, but the continuation to the tonic is on the rest note, indicating confidence that the appeal will be heard.
6. is a shorter appeal to verse 5, relaxing into the approach to the subdominant, thinking about 'the children to be born'. The atnah is in the middle of the sentence between subject and predicate concerning getting the 'instructions' from one generation to the next generation. 
7. is a tricolon, approaching the supertonic directly from the tonic, and the subdominant uniquely. There is no tuba in its return to the tonic. 
8. is a tricolon, the first part repeats the note of appeal, urging preparation of heart. Again there is no tuba.
   
   
9. contextually belongs with the first 8 verses. Ephraim, standing for the children of Israel, is an example of failure. Ephraim is one of the frames of the psalm, occurring in verses 9 and 67 -- just before the shift to Judah, Zion, and David.
10. contextually is an inclusio with verse 1 with the recurring 'instruction of our God', (verses, 1, 5, 10). Yet I  began a new section with verse 9 in the earlier post, but I paid attention to word recurrence in my book on the psalms.
    What is my justification? The closing of the introduction with two consecutive tricola? The second section likewise closes with two tricola. After verse 20, the location of tricola no longer defines the strophes. They become part of the strophe perhaps as a centre. To confirm the last 5 strophes, I need a more convincing argument than the text or the music alone. And I don't want to reduce the process to counting syllables.
    
    
11. continues the theme of wonders, prodigality and failure. But contextually we have moved from the opening 8 verses into new historical ground.
12. is joined to verse 11 by the opening note. There are no ornaments.
13. is joined to verse 12 and again there are no ornaments.
14. 14 is without ornament to the atnah. The second half announced the return to the tonic with a tuba.
15. (the splitting of the rock) 1-4-1 with a tuba.
16. is without ornament.
17. is without ornament to the atnah, and closes with tuba on the f#, the first time since verses 1 and 2. Verses 14-17 all open with tonic to dominant interval.
18. opens with tonic to supertonic reflecting the opening of verse 11.
19. is a tricolon.
20. is a tricolon paired with the prior verse through its appeal on the opening note C.
    It looks to me as if the presence of a tuba closes a set of verses.
    
    
21. begins God's response to the predicament noted in the first two sections with a leap to the high C. But the anger is short-lived. The music of the high C is not representative of anger in particular, but of any heightened emotion.
    
22. is joined to verse 21 by the high C. English underlay matching the Hebrew emphasis would be, C For B not g did they believe in ^A God.
    This is the only instance in this psalm that we hear consecutive syllables so emphasized.
23. Announcement -- no ornaments.
24. Announcement and illuy emphasis, closes with tuba on A preceding dominant B to tonic e. 24 verses close this way. (Reminder that this cadence occurs only in the poetry of the 3 books.)
25. continues 24. One ornament illuy in the second part of the verse.
26. Announcement e B then g A. No ornaments.
27. Illuy again on the opening recitative on the tonic. Then B ^A. Tuba on f#.
28. continues 27, tuba on A -- he satisfied them with meat.
29. Announcement opening, tuba on A.
30. Opening e f#, recitation on the supertonic, then A. Tuba on A. 16 verses have the contour beginning on e f. 
31. e C opening and it is anger, then a pair of accents under the text on a single syllable continuing the move to the subdominant (A). No tuba.
    
32. Finishes the verse-pair with a tuba on the tonic e. (I warned you above of this verse).
    
    
33. Finished in futility, tuba on A.
34. Identical shape to 33. 
35. begins with a double accent under the text, the same as in verse 31. Ponder the aural connection between death and memory. Half tuba (geresh only) on f#.
36. Identical shape to 33.
37. connected by g to 36, tuba on f#.
38. tricolon with opening matching 31. Half-tuba on e.
39. connected by g to 38, same as 37, tuba on f# with final cadence B e.
40. connected by g to 39. Tuba on A.
41. Announcement opening, no tuba, B e close.
42. They did not remember e F# A. Tuba on A, close with e f# e. 20 verses in this psalm close with f e.
    
    
43. What they forgot, Announce, e B then immediate recit on g, tuba on A.
44. identical shape to verse 43.
45. Identical to prior verse except has illuy on opening recitative on e.
46. e B A shape, tuba on A.
47. Same shape as the prior verse.
48. Same shape as the prior verse.
49. Announcement with illuy on opening recitative on e. Tuba on A, f# e ending.
50. Tricolon, ole on f#, f# - A, then same second half as prior verse
51. Same shape to the subdominant as 48, tuba on f#.
52. Same shape to the subdominant as 48, brief recit on e then tuba on f#.
53. Announcement opening shape e B g B ^A, then tuba on A and return to the tonic via f#.
    
    
54. connects to the prior section (if indeed these section breaks are right) via initial g, tuba the same as 53.
55. opening e to high C recalls 31. The e-g doubled accent repeats also (verses 31 and 35 - definitely aural reminders)
56. Same shape as 53, the only two verses in this psalm that use it. Tuba on A return to tonic B e -- as noted unique to poetry, 
57. Announcement opening e-B, next phrase is the fourth occurrence of the e-g doubled accent under one syllable. Closing shape the same as 56.
58. e f# A approach, no ornaments, tuba on A direct to tonic.
59. A matter of fact repetition of words fury, but completely different music compared to verse 21. Announcement, no emotional appeal, move via g to tonic then subdominant. A similar internal approach as verse 32.
60. Identical music to verse 54. This may justify the section break aurally.
61. No ornaments. Unique shape in this poem.
62. Identical shape to verses 46-48. Tuba on A. B-e final.
63. Identical to verse 11 -- aural inclusio perhaps.
64. Similar shape to verses 54 and 60. Ends with B e instead of f# e.
    
    
65. Unique shape in approach to the subdominant, e g f# A, tuba on A return to tonic via f#.
66. Unique shape in this psalm, approach used 10 times, return to tonic like 4 and 39.
67. connected to prior verse via g, touch of tonic e after A, tuba on f#, B e close.
68. same shape as verse 67.
69. Announcement opening, then approach to A via g, tuba on A f# e.
70. Same shape as verse 15.
71. Tricolon - unique shape. Same as verse 50 but returning to the tonic via f#.
72. connected to prior verse by g, no ornaments to complete the psalm.

We have 72 verses in sequence with varying shapes and a narration to present. How does the poet chose when to remind or when to awaken the listener, to show continuation or completion of a unit, or to use matter of fact or heightened intensity of speech? How can we describe this and name the pieces and surmise their function? I have only today surmised that the revia-mugrash, which I have called tuba -- is  announcing more than the end of a verse. I have proposed a thesis that it governs the end of a series of verses also. That needs to be confirmed by further analysis.This does not mean that it defines strophes. I'm still looking for confirmation that this is feasible.