The Music of the Bible Revealed: Esther 5:1-3

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.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Haik-Vantoura
• Haik
• Vantoura
• Bible
• Hebrew
• religious
• Masoretic
• accents
• ancient
• music
• Megillot
• Esther
• Purim