David's Harp: The Story of Music in Biblical Times"From the beginning the Jews were allowed no graven images. Their deep creative impulses found expression in poetry and song--in a musical tradition that was not only to enrich ancient Israel but all civilization for the next four thousand years. The first popular treatment of the music of biblical times, David's Harp is a work of scholarship that chronicles the history of the Jews through a record of their singular art. Here, for the first time, are full descriptions of the origins, forms, and instrumentation of Hebrew music set in a dramatic narrative of the people who created it. Drawing upon recent archeological discoveries and their own biblical research, the authors achieve dynamic portraits of Hebrew monarchs, as well as unique accounts of such hereditary guilds as the Temple singers--a group that staged the first recorded strike in history. David's Harp presents a vibrant picture of the rustic and the urban Jews celebrating their festivals and expressing their sentiments in an uninhibited secular music. It describes the sacred liturgy, performed only by the Levites; and it offers a thoroughly engrossing account of the shofar, the ram's horn of Abraham, which is the only ancient Hebrew instrument that has survived unchanged to modern times. The authors bring their story to a dramatic conclusion with a discussion of the common musical legacy shared by the two great faiths of the Western world. They show how the sacred liturgy of the Christians and of the Jews--for example plainchant and the songs of the Patriarchs--developed from the same source: the music of ancient Israel. Interspersed with the song and psalm that have come down to us through the centuries, David's Harp is a provocative work rich in originality and discovery. Layman and musician alike will find it a thoroughly enjoyable reading experience--one that adds a new dimension to the understanding of biblical culture and of the imperishable music that is the mutual heritage of the Judeo-Christian world."--Dust jacket. |
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Common terms and phrases
accompanied altar ancient Hebrew ancient Israel antiphonal antiquity Asaph Assyrian Babylon Babylonian became Bible biblical Canaan century B.C. ceremonies chanted choir choral Christian Church congregation court cult custom cymbals dance David early Egypt Egyptian Eliashib Ezra father Feast festival Greek Hallel hand drum harp Hebrew Hebrew music Hezekiah horn hymns Israelites Jeduthun Jerusalem Jewish Jews Judah king Lamentations later Levites Levitical singers liturgy Lord lyre lyric dances magic makam melodies Moses musical instruments musicians Naioth Nehemiah Oriental pagan Passover performed pipes played poetry praise prayers priestly priests and Levites primitive prophets psalmody Psalter rabbinic religion religious rites ritual role Roman royal Sabbath sacred music sacred service sacrifice sanctuary sang Saul scholars secular shofar singers singing sistrum soloist Solomon songs sound spirit strings sung synagogue Talmud Temple music Temple singers throughout tion tones took tradition trumpets verses vocal voice word worship Yahweh