La musique de la Bible révélée -- Psaume 150

This Psalm (in the Letteris Edition) has a surprisingly simple melody. Suzanne Haik-Vantoura chose to give it a very simple accompaniment: modern instruments corresponding to the default instruments of biblical psalmody (lute, Celtic harp and cymbals), plus the modern trumpet. From the melodic-verbal structure it seems likely to me that in its original performance, the simple melody "stepped aside" in order to let various instrumental parts come in to accompany it (musical shofar, nevel, kinnor, tof or frame drum, dance or an instrument to accompany dance, perhaps other stringed instruments and Pan's pipe). Even so the accompaniment would have to be delicate!

In all other printed editions and manuscript facsimiles I have seen to date, the accentuation differs notably from that in the Letteris Edition used by SHV, most notably in the addition of the so-called ga`ya or meteg at every opportunity. Since this sign (as she demonstrated) is simply the silluq or tonic note in a placement other than at the end of the verse, the addition of unnecessary tonic notes unsurprisingly "weighs the melody down". Other changes in the accents to make them more "self-consistent" with later grammatical rules make the melody at the same time more complex and less potent than in the Letteris Edition. In this case the text-critical rule that the more "difficult" reading is preferable applies.

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Music

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