The Problem of Biblical Musicology

Music is gone as soon as it is made; especially where music is not recorded in some fashion, a piece of music can be reconstructed only if there are people who remember it and how to perform it. Because of the cultural and linguistic differences between our civilization and that of the ancient Israelites, it is difficult to recover the exact sound and use of biblical music in its historical context. Words about music are secondary to music itself. This is the dilemma of the historian, whose obligation it is to bring enlightenment and perspective to music making. He is successful only if his work finally draws the reader to music itself and if he avoids the temptation of allowing word impressions to replace the musical ones. Music is the most abstract of the arts. Its components-pitch, duration, texture, rhythm, color, and ultimately form-speak their own language. The composing experience, which brings these together in a satisfying wholeness, is to be matched in the listening exper…