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The Song of the Levite |
Notational Systems |
In our present system of music notation, a very concise and complex system of symbols representing notes, accidentals, staves, time signatures, etc. was developed. In the Hebrew Scriptures (like the early Greek system of notation mentioned earlier) a very simplistic, yet effective system of music notation was also developed. A system we find preserved in the Masorite editions of the Hebrew texts. In these texts, there are two types of symbols written in conjunction with the basic letters of the Hebrew alephbet: the vowel points and the accents (aka te'amim, cantillation marks, or trope). Using Psalm 136:2 as an example, we find that the Hebrew texts of the Masorites consist of three primary parts:
Each of these three components are essential in being able to decipher and transcribe the Psalm manuscripts into contemporary music notation.
| Psalm 136:2 | |
| Hebrew texts read right-to-left | |
| WITHOUT the vowel pointings and cantillation marks | |
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| WITH the vowel pointings | |
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| WITH the vowel pointings AND cantillation marks | |
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| WITH only the cantillation marks and basic Hebrew letters | |
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| English Transliteration - read left-to-right | |
| ho-du' la-lo-ha' hä-ë-lo-hem' | ke la-o-läm' chäs-do' |
| English Translation | |
| Give thanks to God [of] the gods: | For His loving kindness is everlasting |
Vowel Pointings
In the above example, the set of
symbols that are most widely recognized are the series of symbols
referred to as the vowel points. This series of dots and
dashes add missing vowels and aid in the pronunciation,
syllabication and in turn the subsequent meaning and
understanding of the associated words. As the original Hebrew was
written without these vowel pointings, the meaning of the
same written word could drastically change depending on how it
was pronounced. For example, without the inclusion of the
vowel points it would be very difficult to determine whether
the word shown below was referring to a group of princes or a
group of singers. It is only with the inclusion of the vowel
points that the correct meaning and pronunciation is
approachable. Many Hebrew editions of the Bible display these
symbols as an integral part of their texts.
| plain Hebrew script | Psalm 119:161 | Psalm 68:25 (68:26 JPS) |
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| sä-rem' | shä-rem' | |
| princes | singers |
te'amim (cantillation marks)
The second set of symbols
associated with the Hebrew texts are the cantillation
marks or as they will be referred to in this book, the
te'amim. These visually different set of symbols have a
multipurpose function in relation to the Hebrew words. The first
function is simply to in some instances provide the appropriate
syllabic accents. The secondary function traditionally is to
provide a guide to the chanting or intoning of the texts. A
system of intoning the Hebrew texts that has developed throughout
the years into the unique art form heard in Jewish synagogues
throughout the world today. You may have to search around to find
a Hebrew Bible with these symbols included (see Bibliography for
a listing of readily available editions). You will not however,
find any editions that I am aware of that only display the
te'amim without the vowel pointings. In order to
make these symbols more visually accessible, the Hebrew texts we
will be reviewing will be nontraditionally displayed (as in the
example of Psalm 136:2 above) with only the
te'amim.
As mentioned, in relation to music,
the symbols of the te'amim are traditionally
considered to be guides to the vocalization and intoning of
specific texts. This very complicated system of vocalization
primarily consists of a varying collection of vocal
articulations, ornaments and embellishments utilized in
conjunction with a traditional melodies or modes. The combination
of the vocal articulations and modes enable a cantor to chant
appropriate sections of the Hebrew texts in the traditional
manner you may be familiar with. As there is a great deal of
latitude in their interpretation and execution, the resulting
intoning of the texts can vary greatly from cantor-to-cantor and
from community-to-community.
We additionally find, that there
are actually two sets of symbols associated with the
te'amim. The first set of symbols is associated with
twenty-one books of the Hebrew texts and the second set with
Psalms, Proverbs and Job. It is the symbols of the
te'amim associated with the Psalm manuscripts that are of
most interest to us. Even though both systems are treated
traditionally as vocal articulations and accents, there is also a
second school of thought that the te'amim originally
represented specific, fixed tones, the exact pitches of which
presumably lost in antiquity. Unlike the accents of the non-Psalm
texts, the te'amim associated with the Psalm
manuscripts can be directly associated with defined pitches
derived from the Davidic cipher.
Symbols of the Psalm te'amim
Within the Psalm manuscripts there
are ten individual symbols utilized and one vocal articulation, a
vocal shake (shown to the far right below).
The first tip-off to a
correlation of the te'amim to the Davidic
cipher was the atnah. Resembling both the Greek letter
for L (i.e., lambda) and the Pythagorean tetractys, it was
a logical assumption that there was some association with the
Hebrew letter L (lamed). By associating the Greek letter L
(lambda) and the Hebrew letter L (lamed) with the
atnah, we find that the atnah not only falls
directly in the center Hebrew alephbet, the Davidic
cipher, but also the cycle of 5ths.
Once having established the center
of the notation as the lamed (G#) and the atnah,
the next two symbols became evident. The symbol \ [referred to
as: pashta, azia or qadma], written like a
backward slash, and the opposite / [referred to as: tifha,
majela or tarha], written like a forward slash
correspond to the tones associated with the tritone B \ and F /
that fall on either side of the atnah. An easy mnemonic
(memory tool) to remember these two symbols is: \ Backward
slash = B and / Forward slash = F. In relation
to the cycle of 5ths, we also can see that these two symbols form
the East-to-West axis of the cycle. The fourth symbol (referred
to as: galgal or jerah) is basically a flipped
atnah and corresponds to the tone D; directly opposite the G#
on the vertical axis. We now have four of the te'amim
symbols assigned to the four quadrants of the cycle-of-5ths.
What is interesting about these
initial four symbols is that they can be related to what is
called in contemporary Judaism, the priestly blessing
(Numbers 6:22-27). The shape of the hands and fingers in relation
to the symbols of the te'amim is very evident and
is an easy mnemonic to these four symbols.
Once these four symbols were
associated with the cipher, the remaining relationships
eventually became evident throughout the months. For example, it
is a very easy stretch to see the relationship between the Hebrew
scripts for the vav (shown in ancient and modern forms)
and the \ (the tone B). Some of the symbols, like those
associated with the A, Bb and C, can be directly linked to the
lyre, its construction and the manner in which these tones are
played. The remaining symbols were ascertained from the
consistent voice leadings that became evident when transcribing
the Psalm manuscripts themselves (e.g., F resolving
normally to E and F# to G, etc). All of this being said,
the following is the completed cross-reference between all the
symbols of the te'amim and the Davidic cipher.
Cross reference of Hebrew alephbet,
te'amim and quartertone scale
We now have our completed key that can be used to transcribe the music in the Psalm Manuscripts.
Using the Psalm 136:2 example we started with, we can use this key to translate the te'amim into actual notes and implied chords. From the vowel pointings we can derive our English transliteration, translation and even the meter of the lyrics.
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Psalm 136:2 as it appears in the Hebrew texts |
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Psalm 136:2 as transcribed into
contemporary sheet music format
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The Song of the Levite |
Notational Systems |