The Song of Solomon

My posts in March 2010 present the Song of Solomon in 5 parts. Most recently (March 2017) I reverted to the traditional chapters. They don't seem to have much to do with the structure as measured by the repeated adjuration (2:7, 3:5, 5:8, 8:4). Now I am at the beginning of working on music for the Song. I have done the first section 1:1 to 2:7 for singers and woodwind trio, flute, oboe, and bassoon.

It remains to be heard what the music says about the poetry, the conclusion and the appendix. But here is the introduction and the first poem using the usual deciphering key for cantus firmus. I note that several times a lone g (accent tifcha ב֖) appears in the music. This was unusual enough for me to want to highlight it.

Esther Lamandier sings the song in the Phrygian mode. Haïk-Vantoura sets it mostly in her default chromatic Dorian. I have gone mostly with the Phrygian but an occasional accidental does appear. In this, as in the Elegy of 1 Samuel, I have left the Hebrew rhythms in place and not changed them to fit the English, but I have written an English libretto for reference.

I have now set this down a semitone.

God in the Dock

This phrase, God in the Dock, a book title used by C. S. Lewis, is the title of the last of the 6 part BBC series with Diarmaid MacCulloch, A history of Christianity. You can watch the videos here.

While this is a thickly painted and informative series, he has a careless error in his text in the last film. He associates the doubt expressed in the Old Testament with anger from God. This is a false association. God is never angry at doubt. Particularly not with the doubt MacCulloch says is expressed by the human about 'eating the apple'. Anger is certainly used to describe a human, but never of God in Genesis. And though in that epitome of religious dialogue, Job, anger is used by the friends and by Job to describe God, this is evidence only of their own sense of God. It is not part of God's self-description in that book.

It is of course obvious that anger is attributed to God and even prayed for in the Psalms (56:8). But generally, though the anger of Yahweh/God burns in (or against) the people, God / Yahweh is described as slow to anger. And what is such anger in response to? This is a bigger question not answered in an early morning post, but I suspect we would find it is a failure of the people to hear, a failure to listen, a failure to care. Doubt is not the issue.

(I note that I never used the word wrath in my translation. That surprises even me. Another one of my avoided words, though I did use it as a sub-domain name within the domain of trouble.)

Comments from eminent personalities

I have been introducing this musical key of Haïk-Vantoura for 9 years now, and some of you may consider me slightly deranged. I know that several musicologists doubt her work, but they haven't lived with it for nearly 10 years. And no other system I have seen comes close to coherence.

Just have a look at these eminent personalities who commented on her work: I haven't listed all the comments in the sources I have but I, if I saw these before I knew of the music, would certainly have paid attention to Marcel Dupré and Olivier Messiaen.
 

Names, names, names

We humans are supposed to be good at naming things. But we end up with thinking we know something by being able to name it. I just had a look at naming the musical modes. And the names are totally conflicting.

I learned them first from the white notes on the piano - and indeed they are such.

C	Ionian	T_T_S_T_T_T_S	Major scale
D	Dorian	T_S_T_T_T_S_T	Harmonic minor without the leading tone
E	Phrygian	S_T_T_T_S_T_T	.
F	Lydian	T_T_T_S_T_T_S	Think Fauré Lydia, sur tes roses joues. Characteristic augmented fourth
G	Mixolydian	T_T_S_T_T_S_T	.
A	Aeolian	T_S_T_T_S_T_T	.
B	Locrian	S_T_T_S_T_T_T	.

The first 7 in the image below are all agreed - they are the white notes as listed above but all transposed to begin on an e. Then I looked at the Greek modes on wiki and they have some names reversed. Haik-Vantoura introduces the characteristic augmented second in several of her modes. Her names and notes do not correspond to the simple 'white note' derivation.

E.g. Chromatic Hypodorian T_S_T_T_S_A
Chromatic Phrygian S_T_T_S_A_S_T
Lydian with minor sixth S_T_T_S_T_S_A
Chromatic Dorian T_T_S_A_S_T_S

My old image based on her book is here. Ionian she calls Lydian = major, and the default mode of the three books, Psalms, Proverbs and the speeches of Job, essentially Aeolian, she calls Chromatic Dorian.

So there's the resolution - call them what you like. And choose what you like for developing the music. (Article here on wiki seems helpful also, particularly distinguishing the hypo prefix.)

Reconciling the names of traditional modes, Greek modes, and Haïk-Vantoura's modes

Next experiment in making music within constraints

I wonder if I will free myself from the constraints of the Biblical cantus firmus some day. But here is the latest - a setting of Qohelet 3:1-15. It has a different lilt in English than it would in Hebrew, but that is to be expected. (I wonder if I always think in 12 8 or the like!)

Biblical Studies carnival 163

The BS carnival is here. Well formed and succinct - clear pathways between the tents.

Eulogy and Elegy for Saul and Jonathon

Opening of an as yet to be completed elegy - 2 Samuel 1:19 ff

My next musical experiment is to create a string quintet version of this sorrow of David. Writing music is a whole lot different from translating. One gets very efficient at words, but music requires elapsed time to hear and formulate a given impact. [A few days later, I have a full score here.]

Musical annotation cannot reproduce the rhythmic subtlety of language or the rubato that a good singer or string player can achieve with a tune. I don't know where this will take me until I get there. Whereas with translating, there is a point at which I can say, it is done.

Note the word recurrence and the focus (bolded below). It takes a long time in the words for the focus to get to the last recurring word, battle. Bow ties verse 18 to 22. Perhaps even if I leave out verse 18, I should spend some development time on bow. But there will be no words in the cello part which will carry the thrust of the cantus firmus. Here are words and tune in what is essentially the raw data form.

2 Samuel 1		Fn		Min	Max	Syll
הַצְּבִי֙ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל עַל־בָּמוֹתֶ֖יךָ חָלָ֑ל אֵ֖יךְ נָפְל֥וּ גִבּוֹרִֽים	19		O estate of Israel, on your high places, is profanation. How are fallen the valiant.	3e	4A	12 6
אַל־תַּגִּ֣ידוּ בְגַ֔ת אַֽל־תְּבַשְּׂר֖וּ בְּחוּצֹ֣ת אַשְׁקְל֑וֹן פֶּן־תִּשְׂמַ֙חְנָה֙ בְּנ֣וֹת פְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים פֶּֽן־תַּעֲלֹ֖זְנָה בְּנ֥וֹת הָעֲרֵלִֽים	20		Do not make it clear in Gath. Do not publish it in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines be glad, lest the daughters of the fore-skinned exult.	3e	4B	16 20
הָרֵ֣י בַגִּלְבֹּ֗עַ אַל־טַ֧ל וְאַל־מָטָ֛ר עֲלֵיכֶ֖ם וּשְׂדֵ֣י תְרוּמֹ֑ת כִּ֣י שָׁ֤ם נִגְעַל֙ מָגֵ֣ן גִּבּוֹרִ֔ים מָגֵ֣ן שָׁא֔וּל בְּלִ֖י מָשִׁ֥יחַ בַּשָּֽׁמֶן	21		You hills of Gilboa, no dew, and no rain on you, nor fields lifted high, for there the shield of the valiant is loathed, the shield of Saul, without anointing with oil.	3c	4C	20 21
מִדַּ֣ם חֲלָלִ֗ים מֵחֵ֙לֶב֙ גִּבּוֹרִ֔ים קֶ֚שֶׁת יְה֣וֹנָתָ֔ן לֹ֥א נָשׂ֖וֹג אָח֑וֹר וְחֶ֣רֶב שָׁא֔וּל לֹ֥א תָשׁ֖וּב רֵיקָֽם	22		From the blood of the profaned, from the choicest of the valiant, the bow of Jonathan did not relocate backward, and the sword of Saul did not return empty.	3e	4C	22 10
שָׁא֣וּל וִיהוֹנָתָ֗ן הַנֶּאֱהָבִ֤ים וְהַנְּעִימִם֙ בְּחַיֵּיהֶ֔ם וּבְמוֹתָ֖ם לֹ֣א נִפְרָ֑דוּ מִנְּשָׁרִ֣ים קַ֔לּוּ מֵאֲרָי֖וֹת גָּבֵֽרוּ	23		O Saul and Jonathan, so loved and pleasant in their lives, and in their deaths were not separated, than eagles more fleet, than lions more valiant.	3e	4C	26 12
בְּנוֹת֙ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֶל־שָׁא֖וּל בְּכֶ֑ינָה הַמַּלְבִּֽשְׁכֶ֤ם שָׁנִי֙ עִם־עֲדָנִ֔ים הַֽמַּעֲלֶה֙ עֲדִ֣י זָהָ֔ב עַ֖ל לְבוּשְׁכֶֽן	24		Daughters of Israel, weep for Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, with enthrallments, who brought up trappings of gold upon your clothing.	3e	4C	11 22
אֵ֚יךְ נָפְל֣וּ גִבֹּרִ֔ים בְּת֖וֹךְ הַמִּלְחָמָ֑ה יְה֣וֹנָתָ֔ן עַל־בָּמוֹתֶ֖יךָ חָלָֽל	25	C	How are fallen the valiant in the midst of the battle. Jonathan on the high places is profaned.	3e	4C	12 11
צַר־לִ֣י עָלֶ֗יךָ אָחִי֙ יְה֣וֹנָתָ֔ן נָעַ֥מְתָּ לִּ֖י מְאֹ֑ד נִפְלְאַ֤תָה אַהֲבָֽתְךָ֙ לִ֔י מֵאַהֲבַ֖ת נָשִֽׁים	26		So troubled I am over you, my brother Jonathan. Very pleasant you have been for me. So wonderful was your love for me, more than the love of women.	3e	4C	17 15
אֵ֚יךְ נָפְל֣וּ גִבּוֹרִ֔ים וַיֹּאבְד֖וּ כְּלֵ֥י מִלְחָמָֽה	27	C	How are fallen the valiant and perished the inner pouches of battle.	3e	4C	14

2 Samuel 1:27

Can we find or develop this patterning of words in the music? It should not be too difficult - the last two אֵ֚יךְ נָפְל֣וּ גִבֹּרִ֔ים have identical music. The phrase falls from C to the tonic e to close the piece. 

Clearly the setting of גבר in its many recurrences will be another thing to note. The word is set twice on the cadence at the tonic (19 and 23), and four times mid-verse as in the image (21, 22, 25, 27). 

This week has been very difficult. One of my children,in his 50th year, already disabled and struggling to live on his own, suffered a serious fall and re-injured his brain. We have been commuting, an hour each way, for 10 days, The first stage of clearing his house for cleaning is completed. Whether he will be able to return will be the decision of the medical team. Perhaps it is suitable that I should be working with such sad music.

The Hebrew Bible is fully set to music. No other interpretation of the accents comes close to the expressiveness and tonal aid to memory of the key that was developed by Suzanne Haïk-Vantoura in the last half of the 20th century. It is inconceivable that her deciphering is an accident. It is a scientifically reasoned interpretation of the accents using all the information available in their placement and obeying the design principle of Occam's razor. I cannot say this of any other explanation. I am certainly impressed by the love of the text everywhere. In relation to music, however, her work is the only clear and consistent explanation of these enigmatic signals.

You can observe my growth in the appreciation of the music with my posts on it over the last 10 years. You can also find a clear explanation of it in my book, The Song in the Night. See this review blog post from James McGrath.