An interview of Suzanne Haïk-Vantoura, Dr. Benjamin Duschene, and Robert Boschiero in Pari
An interview of Suzanne Haïk-Vantoura, Dr. Benjamin Duschene, and Robert Boschiero in Paris, France by Luanna Parker, as part of NPR's Morning Edition with Bob Edwards ("The Song of Songs", Program #861029, 1986).
With the limited number of suitable slides and photos that I have, I have filled in the material given in the interview, sometimes attempting to answer some questions raised and errors made therein. Some of the slides will take concentrated reading to absorb; please feel free to stop the video at any point in order to do that!
For more information, please see www.rakkav.com/biblemusic, www.shofargroup.org. www.savae.org, and (in French) www.estherlamandier.com.
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Added: 8 months ago
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Suzanne Haïk-Vantoura, LA MUSIQUE DE LA BIBLE RÉVÉLÉE (Harmonia Mundi France), Track 01.
Suzanne Haïk-Vantoura, LA MUSIQUE DE LA BIBLE RÉVÉLÉE (Harmonia Mundi France), Track 01.
This slideshow of Psalms 23 includes the consonantal Hebrew Masoretic Text and modified versions of the transliteration and translation provided by Lev Software. The arrangement for modern instruments and the vocal harmonies are of course SHV's, but the ancient melodic line, modality and choral alternation were inferred by her from the Masoretic Text (Letteris Edition).
This is "the Psalm that started it all". It is the very first track of Haïk-Vantoura's work that I ever heard, in the spring of 1982. Its wholly natural, pastoral feel and minor-key setting -- a far cry from the sentimentalized pastoral feel and major-key setting of so many English renditions of this Psalm -- "puts one in David's sandals" as he tends his sheep and muses on how God likewise took care of his own needs. I was captivated from the very first hearing. By the time I got to Track 03 (Psalms 24), the direction of my life's career was changed forever; it was only a matter of time before the change became more formalized in my thinking and action.
For more information, please see www.rakkav.com/biblemusic, www.shofargroup.org. www.savae.org, and (in French) www.estherlamandier.com.
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Added: 2 weeks ago
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Suzanne Haïk-Vantoura, LA MUSIQUE DE LA BIBLE RÉVÉLÉE - VOLUME 3 (Alienor 1051 CD), Track
Suzanne Haïk-Vantoura, LA MUSIQUE DE LA BIBLE RÉVÉLÉE - VOLUME 3 (Alienor 1051 CD), Track 08. This is an updated video, correcting small errors in the text here and there.
This slideshow of Psalms 148 includes the consonantal Hebrew Masoretic Text and modified versions of the transliteration and translation provided by Lev Software. The arrangement for modern instruments and the vocal harmonies are of course SHV's, but the ancient melodic line, modality and choral alternation were inferred by her from the Masoretic Text (Letteris Edition).
This Psalm is unique in that it uses successively all four "psalmodic modes" reconstructed by SHV from the Masoretic accents. The brilliance of a Psalm like this is that the more singers one has, the better -- the whole Levitical ensemble could have sung and accompanied this melody.
For more information, please see www.rakkav.com/biblemusic, www.shofargroup.org. www.savae.org, and (in French) www.estherlamandier.com.
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Added: 4 months ago
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Suzanne Haïk-Vantoura, LA MUSIQUE DE LA BIBLE RÉVÉLÉE (original Harmonia Mundi France reco
Suzanne Haïk-Vantoura, LA MUSIQUE DE LA BIBLE RÉVÉLÉE (original Harmonia Mundi France recording, 1976), Track 10.
This slideshow of 2 Samuel 1:19-27 includes the consonantal Hebrew Masoretic Text and modified versions of the transliteration and translation provided by Lev Software. The accompaniment for Celtic harp is of course SHV's, but the ancient melodic line and modality were inferred by her from the Masoretic Text (Letteris Edition).
David the son of Jesse was skilled in both *psalmodia* (psalm-singing) and *prosodia* (the melodic recitation of "prose" texts). This Elegy for Saul and Jonathan (aka "The Bow") is David at his best. It has a superb "melopoetic" architecture that is worthy of the greatest poet-composers of all time.
The recording is not perfect; there are a few transcription errors in both words and melody. These do not detract seriously from the power of the whole, however.
Regrettably, the CD of this recording has now gone out of print, but it can still be found used or as part of my DVD-ROM, THE BIBLICAL CHANT LIBRARY.
For more information, please see www.rakkav.com/biblemusic, www.shofargroup.org. www.savae.org, and (in French) www.estherlamandier.com.
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Added: 4 months ago
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Suzanne Haïk-Vantoura, LA MUSIQUE DE LA BIBLE RÉVÉLÉE - VOLUME 3 (Alienor 1051 CD), Track
Suzanne Haïk-Vantoura, LA MUSIQUE DE LA BIBLE RÉVÉLÉE - VOLUME 3 (Alienor 1051 CD), Track 01.
This slideshow of Psalms 100 includes the consonantal Hebrew Masoretic Text and modified versions of the transliteration and translation provided by Lev Software. The arrangement for the modern Celtic harp is of course SHV's, but the ancient melodic line and modality were inferred by her from the Masoretic Text (Letteris Edition).
The most striking part of this Psalm's restored music is its combination of melodic simplicity and ethereal vocal quality with very strict "functional tonality" (a hierarchy of musical tones revolving around harmonic progression).
For more information, please see www.rakkav.com/biblemusic, www.shofargroup.org. www.savae.org, and (in French) www.estherlamandier.com.
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Added: 8 months ago
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Suzanne Haïk-Vantoura, LA MUSIQUE DE LA BIBLE RÉVÉLÉE (Harmonia Mundi France), Track 13.
Suzanne Haïk-Vantoura, LA MUSIQUE DE LA BIBLE RÉVÉLÉE (Harmonia Mundi France), Track 13.
This slideshow of Esther 5:1-3 includes the consonantal Hebrew Masoretic Text and modified versions of the transliteration and translation provided by Lev Software. The ancient melodic line and modality were inferred by her from the Masoretic Text (Letteris Edition).
Esther is one of the Megillot -- the Five Festival Scrolls. It is recited by the synagogues on Purim, and tells the story of how the holiday originated: in a time of near-fatal crisis for the Jewish people. In effect, it shows God's hand working "behind the scenes" rather than openly.
SHV published Esther in her melody-only score QUATRE MEGHILOT (which contains Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes and Esther. Only the Song of Songs (which was published separately) compares with Esther in its "melopoetic" expression of royal luxury, not surprising considering the origins of the two books in two of the wealthiest courts of antiquity.
The soloist on this video is Cantor Adolphe Attia, who at the time was a recent immigrant to France from Russia. He is now the chief cantor in Paris, or so I understand. His voice is so well-suited for many of Haik-Vantoura's gentler renditions, especially for Psalms 23 and this text.
For more information, please see www.rakkav.com/biblemusic, www.shofargroup.org. www.savae.org, and (in French) www.estherlamandier.com.
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Added: 10 months ago
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This is an excerpt from Suzanne Haïk-Vantoura's one live concert in the U.S. It was held i
This is an excerpt from Suzanne Haïk-Vantoura's one live concert in the U.S. It was held in the University of San Francisco's Lone Mountain Chapel on October 6, 1985, and was sponsored by USF and Temple Emmanuel. The world-famous vocal group Chanticleer and other musicians were retained to perform the music.
I was granted special dispensation by my church to see this concert. There I met Suzanne and her translator, Dennis Weber, for the first time, as well as local professor Dr. Duane Christensen (who later would prove so important in the publication of Suzanne's English book).
This Psalm is outstanding in its delicacy of melody and mode. I have been trying to wrap my mind around the attitude behind it ever since I first heard it in 1985. Only now, after putting it into this slideshow with backgrounds made from aerial photographs of Israel and from the Psalms Scroll of the Community of Qumran, do I feel that I begin to understand this Psalm's profound reverence and gratitude.
For more information, please see www.rakkav.com/biblemusic, www.shofargroup.org. www.savae.org, and (in French) www.estherlamandier.com.
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Added: 10 months ago
Views: 1,270
Suzanne Haïk-Vantoura, LA MUSIQUE DE LA BIBLE RÉVÉLÉE - VOLUME 3 (Alienor 1051 CD), Track
Suzanne Haïk-Vantoura, LA MUSIQUE DE LA BIBLE RÉVÉLÉE - VOLUME 3 (Alienor 1051 CD), Track 07.
This slideshow of Isaiah 60:1-5 includes the consonantal Hebrew Masoretic Text and modified versions of the transliteration and translation provided by Lev Software. The arrangement for the modern Celtic harp is of course SHV's, but the ancient melodic line and modality were inferred by her from the Masoretic Text (Letteris Edition).
This prophetic text (a love song for Jerusalem, as it were) uses the gracious and inspirational "Mixolydian" mode. The sheer simplicity of the melodic line is striking. The architecture of the "melopoesis" builds on the foundation of these verses throughout the rest of the chapter.
For more information, please see www.rakkav.com/biblemusic, www.shofargroup.org. www.savae.org, and (in French) www.estherlamandier.com.
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Added: 10 months ago
Views: 1,902
Suzanne Haïk-Vantoura, LA MUSIQUE DE LA BIBLE RÉVÉLÉE - VOLUME 2 (Alienor 1050 CD), Track
Suzanne Haïk-Vantoura, LA MUSIQUE DE LA BIBLE RÉVÉLÉE - VOLUME 2 (Alienor 1050 CD), Track 8. (This updated version of the slideshow corrects an editorial error in the English text.)
This slideshow of Psalms 19 includes the consonantal Hebrew Masoretic Text and modified versions of the transliteration and translation provided by Lev Software. The arrangement for the modern Celtic harp is of course SHV's, but the ancient melodic line, modality and choral alternation were inferred by her from the Masoretic Text (Letteris Edition).
This exquisite Psalm of David is an exemplar of David's compositional "style". It compares how God reveals Himself through the laws of the heavens with how He reveals Himself through the Law in the Hebrew Scriptures. It has always been one of my favorites in English, and I love it all the more now that I know its original Hebrew (melody and words alike).
In this video, I have coupled this Psalm's comparison with the heavenly signs (as stated or alluded to by the New Testament) that occurred on the Passover when Jesus of Nazareth was crucified. The slides track the Julian date of Wednesday, April 25, 31 CE from midnight to midnight, hour by hour. I have set the location to Jerusalem, and you will be able to see some stars and planets marked, as well as the darkness that covered the land from noon to mid-afternoon and the lunar eclipse that occurred high over Jerusalem on the following night. (The backgrounds were made using the Starry Night Enthusiast planetarium program for Windows.) I also use a video transition to point out a "melopoetic enjambment" in verse 5c (verse 4c in English).
For more information, please see the following sites:
www.rakkav.com/biblemusic
www.rakkav.com/song
www.shofargroup.org
www.savae.org
www.estherlamandier.com (in French)
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Added: 1 week ago
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