Well, I suspect your emphasis on "selah" is in line with some of Charpentier's melismae on the names of the Hebrew letters in his Leçons de Ténèbres.
> Hey Aaron, thanks for the words of wisdom. When I wrote the piece, I > should, perhaps, have accessed the knowledge on this forum, rather > than my Random House Unabridged, which offered the following definition: > > "An expression occurring frequently in the Psalms, thought to be a > liturgical or musical direction, probably a direction by the leader > to raise the voice [this meaning would be perfectly relevant in my > particular setting] or perhaps an indication of a pause [this would > be less relevant, but justifiable]." > > Since the piece is already composed, paid for and performed, I think > I shall not change it, and just rely on the "ultimately unknown" > clause to justify it's use (Other than the fact that it does indeed > appear in my Bible's version of Psalm 84 (How lovely is Thy .....). > > Thanks again, > > Dean > > On Aug 28, 2007, at 1:41 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > >> Actually the meaning of "Selah" is quite controversial and ultimately >> unkonwn. Some interpret it as meaning "the end of the road" (i.e., >> the end >> of a section), and some say that it refers to a changing of choirs in >> polychoral antiphony. Commands to sing in Hebrew include "shiru" (can >> refer to poetry without music) and "zamru." "Nagnu" can refer to >> playing >> an instrument with no words in attendance. I'm sure there are >> others, but >> I've never heard "selah" in this context. (One of the psalms states >> "v'nomar l'fanav shira chadasha"--"And let us say before Him new song" >> [sic].) Note that "klezmer" is a yiddish smooshing of "k'lay >> zemer," the >> Hebrew term referring to musical instruments as "vessels of song." >> >> >> >> Aaron J. Rabushka >> [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> http://users.waymark.net/arabushk >> >>> Speaking of Biblical texts and such , I recently set some of Psalm 84 >>> to music, and encountered the word "Selah." As it happened, it >>> assumed a rather prominent place in the setting, so upon looking it >>> up in the dictionary, I came to understand its meaning as a command >>> (this may be too strong a word) to sing. Ergo, I used it in that >>> context. later, I read some other place that the meaning was >>> something else. Any of you Psalm experts may weigh in please. >>> >>> Thanks, >>> >>> Dean >>> >>> On Aug 28, 2007, at 12:24 PM, Mark D Lew wrote: >>> >>>> John Howell wrote: >>>> >>>>> Hmm. One must be rather careful in assuming how words were >>>>> actually >>>>> used, and what they actually meant in different situations, because >>>>> they can tie us up in knots. Do you happen to know when the Old >>>>> Testament Book of Psalms was first concatenated, and whether the >>>>> (presumably Hebrew) word for "Psalms" was attached as its title >>>>> from >>>>> the beginning? >>>> >>>> I haven't been keeping up with the List lately, so I've missed most >>>> of this discussion. My apologies if this has already been covered. >>>> >>>> Neither of the Hebrew words used for the psalms ("mizmor" and >>>> "tehillim") suggest stringed instruments. Both were varieties of >>>> songs. It appears that the use of "psalm" in Greek translation was >>>> meant in the secondary sense of just a song, without regard to >>>> accompaniment. But as always with such things, exact meanings are >>>> subject to debate by historians. Brief discussion here: http:// >>>> www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=574&letter=P. Better >>>> googling will probably turn up more. >>>> >>>> As for King David's instruments, the one translated "harp" is a >>>> "kinnor" in the original, and the one translated "psaltery" is a >>>> "nevel". Both kinnor and nevel are reasonably well-known. Google >>>> turns up a page for a modern manufacturer, presumably an attempt at >>>> historical reconstruction. >>>> >>>> I would venture to guess that the Greek translators noticed the >>>> stringed instruments mentioned elsewhere so felt it natural to >>>> attach their word "psalm" to the songs, even though the Hebrew >>>> label made no such implication. >>>> >>>> mdl >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Finale mailing list >>>> [email protected] >>>> http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale >>> >>> Dean M. Estabrook >>> http://deanestabrook.googlepages.com/home >>> >>>>>>> Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections? >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Finale mailing list >>> [email protected] >>> http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale >>> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Finale mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale > > Dean M. Estabrook > http://deanestabrook.googlepages.com/home > >>>>> Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections? > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Finale mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale > _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
