History of music in the biblical period
Knowledge of the biblical period is mostly from literary references in the
The music of religious ritual was first used by
The study of ancient musical instruments has been practiced for centuries with some researchers studying instruments from
According to ancient music historian Theodore Burgh, "If we were able to step into the . . . biblical period, we would find a culture filled with music . . . where people used music in their daily lives."[4] "Such music was capable of expressing a great variety of moods and feelings or the broadly marked antitheses of joy and sorrow, hope and fear, faith and doubt. In fact, every shade and quality of sentiment are found in the wealth of songs and psalms and in the diverse melodies of the people."[1]: X
Cultural influences
Egypt
Egypt was among the oldest cultures of the Near East and had a highly developed musical culture dating back to around 3000 BC. Egyptian sources, however, include only pictorial relics, some instruments, and a few literary records concerned with performance practices. On various pieces of sculpture there are reliefs of harpists and flutists taking part in religious ceremonies and social entertainments.
A number of instruments have been identified as being used in Egypt, including the
Sumer and Babylonia
Although records are minimal, it is known that between 3000 and 2300 BC organized temple music with singers existed in Sumer and Babylonia, the oldest cultural groups in Mesopotamia. Excavations have uncovered several musical instruments, including harps, lutes, double oboes, and a few others.
Because of the political interrelations between the Hebrews and the
Ancient Israel
According to music historian Avraham Sharon, "probably the most important musical contribution of the ancient Hebrews was the elevation of the status of liturgical music in union with ritual ceremonies." He notes the "high degree of musico-liturgical organization" from the descriptive accounts of King Solomon's Temple, such as the 24 choral groups consisting of 288 musicians which took part in 21 weekly services.[6]
Despite the similar instruments used by the Hebrews which were also used in neighboring cultures, including Phoenicia, Egypt, Assyria, and Greece, Sharon writes that "it would be accurate to state that . . . it is in the particular uses of music—sacred and secular, ethical and aesthetical—that ancient Jewish music made a unique contribution."[6]
Music historian John Stainer notes that the earlier relationship between
1 Chronicles 25:1–31 lists and organises the skilled musicians who were to perform, or "prophesy", with cymbals, stringed instruments, and harps in the service of the Temple.
Although the ancient music of the Psalms and the other Bible books (which were all chanted), is often thought to be lost, the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible contains
Babylonian exile
The musical traditions of the Temple were broken by the destruction of the
The music of
Second Temple destruction
However, after the fall of the First Temple, Werner states that the fabric of dreams spun about its earlier music included reminiscences, visions, and fantasies, as the Rabbis took pains to eradicate both its choral and instrumental traditions. "Their time had arrived, and their ideas on liturgy and music were radically different from those of the Temple priests." Werner finds it paradoxical that modern day rabbis continue to praise the instrumental music of the Temple but prohibit any and all instrumental music in their synagogues today.[9]: 18
The destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD led to the collapse of the Hebrew nation and the beginning of the Diaspora (dispersion or exile) of Jews to other lands, such as Spain, Italy, and the Rhineland. In these places, the synagogue would replace the destroyed Temple, with new liturgical services, prayers, and rabbinical writings oriented to mourning the loss of both the Temple and personal freedom.[6]
Christian period
Very little is known about primitive Christian music, notes Whitcomb, because like most of the ancient, it was unwritten. As a result, as songs passed from generation to generation, they grew very different from the original. However, she notes that "much of this early music derived its beauty from the Greeks and its holiness from the Hebrews."[10] According to Ulrich, Hebrew music "was of direct and immediate influence on the musical practices of the early Christian church."[5] He cites Werner in noting that "the connections between Hebrew and Christian chant have been scientifically investigated and proved."[9]
The musical art of the
The
Hindley adds that antiphonal chants between cantor or priest and the congregation originated in Hebrew worship methods. At its peak around the beginning of the
Whitcomb adds that many of our noblest Church
Musical instruments
Among the earliest
Many relics of musical instruments have been found in Palestine dating from the
that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music...
According to
String instruments
Lockyer notes that according to the
Another stringed instrument of the harp class, and one also used by the ancient Greeks, was the
In addition to those, there was the psaltery, another stringed instrument which is referred to almost thirty times in Scripture. According to Josephus, it had twelve strings and was played with a quill, not with the hand. Another writer suggested that it was like a guitar, but with a flat triangular form and strung from side to side.[1]: 49
Wind instruments
Among the wind instruments used in the biblical period were the cornet, flute, horn, organ, pipe, and trumpet.[1]: 50
There were also silver trumpets and the double oboe. Werner concludes that from the measurements taken of the trumpets on the Arch of Titus in Rome and from coins, that "the trumpets were very high pitched with thin body and shrill sound". He adds that in War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness, a manual for military organization and strategy discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls, these trumpets "appear clearly capable of regulating their pitch pretty accurately, as they are supposed to blow rather complicated signals in unison."[9]: 2
Whitcomb writes that the pair of silver trumpets were fashioned according to
The flute was commonly used for festal and mourning occasions, according to Whitcomb. "Even the poorest Hebrew was obliged to employ two flute-players to perform at his wife's funeral."[10]
The
Percussion instruments
Among the percussion instruments were
The tabret, or timbrel, was a small hand-drum used for festive occasions, and was considered a woman's instrument. In modern times it was often used by the Salvation Army. According to the Bible, when the children of Israel came out of Egypt and crossed the Red Sea, "Miriam took a timbrel in her hands; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dance."[1]
Singing
Whitcomb writes that "much of the most beautiful music of the Bible is contained in the Psalms," and the word "psalm" comes from the Greek word meaning "to sing, to strike lyre." The psalter or psaltery was one of the instruments which accompanied the Psalm.[10] The word soon came to signify any form of melody. The psalms were sung antiphonally or responsively, perhaps by the priest and congregation, or by two choruses.
According to Shiloah, most of the customs and ceremonies mentioned earlier, such as weddings or other celebrations, were accompanied by music made by women and attests to the importance of women's songs. But there were many instances where women sang alone or with friends and family. "The woman fortifies her spirit by singing to herself, and perhaps to her infant, who hears and absorbs the mother's confessions, longings, complaints, and dreams." There were also "mother-songs, soldier-songs, grass-widow-songs, orphan-songs, and woman's-trade-songs." According to some, writes Shiloah, women's songs existed because of the need to compensate for the ban against public participation of women in synagogue rituals.[11]
Ancient music historian Joachim Braun notes that Philo had mentioned ritualist vigils near Alexandria, that included a meal and the singing of hymns by a double chorus as accompaniment to the processions and libations.[12]
Dance
According to biblical historian Amnon Shiloah, dance was directly associated with music and was an important aspect of various events, although the actual dance movements are nowhere described in detail. There is meager evidence about dance when compared with a wider variety found in Egypt. However, there are many biblical descriptions of occasions that inspired dancing in biblical times.[11]: 209
In the Bible, Mishnah, and Talmud, dance is referred to in various contexts, and in Megido, the Negev, and other sites in Israel, recently found iconographic remnants show dancing figures. In Judg. 21:21, a festival is described during which it was customary to dance in the vineyards. Dancing was also associated with celebrations of military victories and for welcoming home heroes. In Exod. 15:20, Miriam and the other women burst into song and dance accompanied by drums to mark the parting of the Red Sea which saved the people of Israel; Jephtah's daughter danced to meet her father returning from victorious battles (Judg. 11:34); the women of Israel came out to dance before Saul and David upon their return from fighting the Philistines (1 Sam. 18:6); the king and his subjects were also inspired to dance when the Ark of the Covenant was brought up to Jerusalem (2 Sam. Ch. 6).[11]: 210
Musical traditions
Purposes of music
The Bible mentions many uses of music including songs of praise, songs of victory, songs of mourning, and above all the Psalms. Dances were also a common music expression along with the combination of singing with instrumental music. During later times there was also a purely vocal music which prevailed for a period.[5] According to Ulrich, music played an important part in both the secular and the religious life of the Hebrews. Kings and other leaders of the people were customarily acclaimed in songs and fanfares, and very elaborate musical services in the Temple, described in the Bible, were important parts of worship. There are, for instance, descriptions in the Bible of an orchestra consisting of nine lutes, two harps, and a cymbal.[5] In other parts there are accounts of all-women choirs combined with singing and dancing to the men's percussion accompaniment. Werner adds that the choir's repertoire consisted of psalms, canticles, and other poetic passages from Scripture, although it may have contained some noncanonical texts. The choice of psalms is said to have been determined by God's activities on the first seven days of creation, and the verses which allude to them.[9]: 13
Werner writes that "unique in the history of music is the firm belief in the purifying and sin-atoning power of the Temple's music, ascribed to both chant and instruments."[9] The music had to be free from blemish or fault, and avoided magical elements. Even the High Priest's garment had symbolism: (Exod. 28:34–35): "a golden bell and a pomegranate, round about on the skirts of the robe . . . and its sound shall be heard when he goes into the holy place before the Lord . . . " According to Philo and Josephus, the bells represented symbols of cosmic harmony.[9]: 10
Music training
According to the text of the Mishna, the early musicians, both singers and instrumentalists, were strictly trained to be professional musicians with their average training lasting five years. Bible historian Alfred Sendrey notes a "sudden and unexplained upsurge of large
Types of music
Different types of music were also defined:[5]
- Cantillation. Used when parts of the Bible were read during the service and parts of the text were sung or chanted.
- Antiphony (also referred to as responsorial singing). Since Hebrew poetry is based on parallelism (the expression of one thought in two different ways), several types of performances were possible: either by two separate alternating choruses, or by a soloist alternating with the chorus. At its peak around the beginning of the Christian era, antiphonal music was performed by a large choir of highly trained men singers, with boys sometimes added. According to Hindley, "Antiphony is among the debts owed by Christian music to its Jewish predecessor."[2]
- Hymn songs. Within the service they were performed by either a soloist, called the cantor, or by groups. Some of the hymns were freely organized with groups of melodic motiveswith their variants connected to create a continuous melodic chant.
- Orchestration. Werner writes that "the sound of the Temple's orchestra consisted of never less than twelve instruments and rarely exceeded thirty-six." The trumpets were never mixed with the rest of the orchestra—being used for signals exclusively. One pair of cymbals were used in Temple rituals also as a signal instrument, "not unlike the gong in the modern theatre."[9]
Written notation
Musical notation in the modern sense did not exist during this period. However, the Hebrew alphabet allows for special symbols to indicate how the music was to be performed. The alphabet consists of consonants and half-consonants, and vowels are indicated by dots and dashes above and below letter symbols. In addition to the vowel signs, a number of other signs, called "masoretic," refers not to single notes but to "melodic particles or groups," writes Ulrich. These particles were handed down by oral tradition among singers for centuries and were first codified in the 16th century. Ulrich notes that the "Dead Sea Scrolls contain signs similar to those in the liturgical script of early Christian sects . . . strengthening the conjecture that a common musical heritage is shared by the people of related cultures . . ."[5]
Influence on later music
Music historian William Smoldon notes that despite the fact that instrumental music was not revived and used in the synagogue after the destruction of the
He also notes that after the collapse of the Western
- Psalms
The Psalms have been sung through all the ages up to the present. Whitcomb describes the importance of the Psalms:
- "the penitence, thanksgiving, and adoration."[10]
Lockyer writes that Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor and champion of the pope, requested passages from his favorite psalm, Ps. 90, be read to him as he lay on his deathbed in September 1558. In that psalm, "Moses contrasts the eternity of God with the transience of human life, and Moses ends his song with a prayer for God's forgiveness and favor."(Ps 90:1–6)[1]: 21
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Lockyer, Herbert Jr. All the Music of the Bible, Hendrickson Publ. (2004)
- ^ a b c d e Hindley, Geoffrey. Larousse Encyclopedia of Music, Chartwell (1971), Ch. "Jewish Music"
- ^ Hesk, Irene. Passport to Jewish Music: Its History, Traditions, and Culture, Greenwood Publishing (1994) p. 41
- ^ a b c Burgh, Theodore W. Listening to the Artifacts: Music Culture in Ancient Palestine, T & T Clark International (2006)
- ^ a b c d e f g Ulrich, Homer, A History of Music and Musical Style, Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc. (1963)
- ^ a b c Schwadron, Abraham A. Music of Many Cultures: An Introduction, Ch. 16. Univ. of California Press (1983)
- ^ a b Stainer, John, Music of the Bible, Da Capo Press (1970)
- ^ Haik-Vantoura, Suzanne La musique de la Bible révélée (Robert Dumas: Paris, 1976); Mitchell, David C. The Songs of Ascents (2015)
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Werner, Eric. The Sacred Bridge, Columbia Univ. Press (1984)
- ^ a b c d e f g Whitcomb, Ida Prentice. Young People's Story of Music, Dodd, Mead & Co. (1928)
- ^ a b c Shiloah, Amnon. Jewish Musical Traditions, Wayne State Univ. (1992)
- ^ Braun, Joachim. Music in Ancient Israel/Palestine, W. B. Eerdmans Publ. (2002)
- ^ "A Theatre Before the World: Performance History at the Intersection of Hebrew, Greek, and Roman Religious Processional" The Journal of Religion and Theatre, Vol. 5, No. 1, Summer 2006.
- ^ a b Smoldon, William. A History of Music, Dimension Books, Inc. (1965)