Bible and Church Music. J. ASTON WH1TL0CK, M.A. FROM THE LIBRARY OF REV. LOUIS FITZGERALD BENSON. D. D BEQUEATHED BY HIM TO THE LIBRARY OF PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY Section Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2013 http://archive.org/details/habiblecOOwhit • LAY PIPE FROM BABYLON, THE MOST ANCIENT YET FOUND, APPARENTLY MODELLED TO IMITATE THE SKULL OF SOME ANIMAL. IT STILL SOUNDS CLEARLY THE INTERVALS OF THE COMMON CHORD. ( E. ) OF Pfi/ZV^ A HANDBOOK OF ^ JAN " 8 1933 J BIBLE AND CHURCH AWSlCl^ Part I. Patriarchal and Hebrew Mtisical Instruments and Terms : The Temple Service: Headings of the Psalms. Part II. A Short Sketch of Ecclesiastical Music, from the Earliest Christian Times to the Days of Palestrina and Pure ell. REV. J. ASTON WHITLOCK, M.A, Late Vicar of Holy Rood, a/id Chaplain of God's House, Southampton. il I1 1 o JUBAL'S (PROBABLE) ORGAN. PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE TRACT COMMITTEE. SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE. LONDON: Northumberland Avenue, W. C. Brighton : 129, North Street. New York : E. & J. B. YOUNG & CO. 1898. PREFACE. This little Handbook is intended as a com- pendium of information, drawn from various authorities such as, to most readers, are not always readily accessible. Unfortunately no treatise on Hebrew or on ancient Oriental music has as yet been discovered ; and the only monu- mental record delineating Jewish musical in- struments is the sculpture on the arch of Titus at Rome. We have to be content, therefore, in a great measure with very scanty and meagre sources of knowledge — sometimes the probable derivation of words and terms, sometimes the uncertain and often untrustworthy voice of tradition. With regard to Ecclesiastical Music we stand on somewhat firmer ground. The diffi- culties are of another kind. For though ancient and modern music may be based on the same first principles, yet the musical methods of the present day are, and indeed have been for many past years, so different from those of our fore- 6 PREFACE. fathers, that it is not at all easy to make exposition and explanation quite clear to the uninstructed mind ; the more so as this com- pilation is to be regarded as a Handbook, with something of the nature of a Concordance com- bined, and not as a " Catechism of Music." Nevertheless it is hoped that, in spite of its deficiencies and imperfections, it may in some degree fulfil its purpose and be helpful to the reader. The illustrations marked "E" have been taken specially for this work from Carl Engel's inter- esting History of the Music of Ancient Nations, by the kind permission of Mr. John Murray, the publisher. 10, The Close, Winchester. CONTENTS. PART I. MUSIC, PATRIARCHAL AND HEBREW. CHAP. PAGE I. 9 II. General Division of Musical Instruments 12 III. Occasions when Music was used 18 IV. Music of the Tabernacle ..... 24 V. David — Kirjath-jearim — Obed-edom — Jerusalem 27 VI. Arrangements of Temple-Music 36 VII. Temple-Music in subsequent times . 45 VIII. General Summary 48 IX. Details of Musical Instruments 5i X. Superscriptions of Psalms — (i) Single Terms, (ii) Descriptions, (iii) Musical Directions, (iv) Songs of Degrees, (v) Conclusion 68 PART II. ECCLESIASTICAL MUSIC. I. Music ln Apostolic and sub- Apostolic Times 85 II. Basis of Ecclesiastical Music 9* III. St. Ambrose and St. Gregory the Great . 94 IV. Ecclesiastical Music abroad. Palestrina 100 V. Ecclesiastical Music in England. Henry Purcell 104 VI. Brief Summary of Foreign Dates 109 VII. ,, ,, English Dates in VIII. Music as an Influence ..... 113 8 CONTENTS. PAOK Appendix I. Simple Explanation of Early Musical Notation ...... 123 II. The Ambrosian and Gregorian System . 125 III. Specimens of Jewish Melodies 128,132 4 IV. The Bagpipe . . . . . .129 V. Epitaphs on Henry Purcell in West- minster Abbey . . . . .131 Supplement to Appendix III . . .132 AUTHORITIES. D. Smith's Dictionary of the Bible. E. Engel's Music of the Most Ancient Nations. G. Sir George Grove's Dictionary of Music. Ges. Gesenius' Hebrew and ChaJdee Lexicon. H. Hope's Mediaeval Music. (By Robert Charles Hope. F.S.A., F.RS.L.) M. Dean Mil man's Histories. R. Rockstro's History of Music. W. Canon Wilson's English-H< hrcw and Chaldee Covcoulavrr. Sept. or LXX. = Septuagint. Vulg. = Vulgate. St. Jerome's Latin Translation of the Bible. I am also indebted for much information to Bishop Wordsworth's and the Speaker's Commentaries ; also to other commentaries and encyclopaedias (often without any author's or editor's name attached), to Dean Stanley's Lectures on th<> Jewish CJiurch, to Mr. Armfield on the Gradual Psalms, and to many books and reviews met with in public and private libraries. BIBLE AND CHURCH MUSIC. PART I. Patriarchal and Hebrew Musical Instruments and Terms. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY. "Jubal, Lamech's son, That mortal frame, whereon was first begun The immortal Life of Song. 1 " George Eliot. i. If the reader will open his Bible at Gen. iv. 17-26, he will find that Adam and Eve had two sons born to them, named Cain and Seth. From the first sprang a long line of descendants, who, unhappily for themselves, " lived without God in the world," and ultimately " perished and came to a fearful end " (St. Matt. xxiv. 38, 39). IO PATRIARCHAL AND HEBREW Yet this godless generation was notable, as the Sacred Record attests, for remarkable discoveries and inventions ; and their era, which must have stretched over many centuries, was singularly marked by a striking progress and development of the arts and sciences. " Cain builded a city." Tubal-cain was " an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron." Jabal " was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle." Jubal "was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ." 2. From the second son, Seth, sprang a suc- cession of generations, to whose personal piety, in more than one instance, the inspired historian bears the strongest testimony. Quite early there is mention of either a special revelation of God, or (what is more probable) a revival of the true religion : for we are told that during the days of Enos, the grandson of Adam and Eve, " then began men to call upon the Name of the Lord." 3. From what has been said we may observe : (1) ' ; That scientific invention has always gone on with the revelation of spiritual truths " (Lord Beaconsfield) ; and (2) That, through the intercommunication and interlacing of these two great primaeval families, music in the Bible has always assumed, more or less, a religious aspect, whether it be on occasions of joy or sorrow in the tribe or in the family ; MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND TERMS. II and occupies a large part in the private and public worship of God, until it finds its highest consummation and development in the ornate services of the first Temple. Jubal is the great root of all similar words betokening sounds of joy, alarm, &c. Cf. jol, jobl, jodl ; Swed. iolcn ; Dutch ioelen ; Greek oXoXvfav, d\a\a(eiv. The primary syl- lable jo— "crying out." "Jubilee" is the Holy Day pro- claimed by the sound of the trumpets (Lev. xxv. 9, 10, 11; Ges. and W.). CHAPTER II. GENERAL DIVISION OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. Vocal music was of course antecedent to Instrumental music : for the voice existed before the instrument. Dancing, which in the Bible is associated with many religious acts, is natu- rally coincident with it. Its origin may be reasonably traced to the bounding and jumping of boys and girls, when in the exuberance of their young life they listened to the rapid sequence of musical sounds. The beating of time by the musicians with their feet, as deline- ated in Assyrian and Egyptian sculptures, may possibly have suggested the more elaborate de- velopment of this art. But we need not dwell longer on this point. It is alluded to in this place simply because dancing is peculiarly an Oriental feature of rejoicing on religious occa- sions. It was admitted also as a sacred adjunct in the primitive Christian Church, and is still con- tinued in some Roman Catholic countries (E.). i . The first and primaeval musical instru- ments must have been of the simplest kind. MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND TERMS. 1 3 A hollow reed, uttering, when blown with the mouth, one monotonous sound would be the first successful attempt at such an invention. The next step was to vary the sound by per- forating it with holes, like to our " Penny SINGLE PERFORATED PIPE. FROM PERSEPOLIS. (E. ) Whistle." Then, put tivo such pipes into the mouth, and you get the double Egyptian and Assyrian pipe, such as may be still seen sculp- tured on their monuments. In the holes or apertures of some of these pipes, which have '4 PATRIARCHAL AND HEBREW been discovered in the tombs and other places, small straws have been found, plainly intended to act the part of reeds in our modern oboes and clarionets. Next, tie a number of these pipes together, and there is the Syrinx or Pandean- pipe. Rightly or wrongly, this is regarded as Jubal's ' ; Organ," Heb. ugab, Sept. taOapa, Vulg. o'rganum (see title-page). Lastly, place this Pan- dean-pipe into a box, as represented on a sculp - DOUBLE PIPE. tured monument in the museum at Aries, and you have at once the germ of our modern organ. We pass now from wind to stringed instru- ments. 2. The history of the Harp may be traced with much the same clearness. The twanging of the bow probably suggested the original idea ; and the variation of sound was obtained by lengthening and shortening a multiplicity of MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND TERMS. T 5 strings. These were made, at first, of some fibrous material, or the long hair of animals. Perhaps even the tresses of wives and daughters were turned to such musical use, as we read in the Greek and Roman historians that the bows of the Carthaginians were thus supplied with strings in their last war with the Romans. Harps, too, like the bow, were portable, about four feet long ; and all Oriental harps, so far as EGYPTIAN HARP, SHOWING ITS ORIGINAL BOW-LIKE SHAPE. we can judge from surviving sculptures, unlike ours, had no front pillar. Their bow-like shape and characteristics long remained. Without entering at greater length on their further and later development, we can easily imagine how soon the need of pegs for tightening and loosening the strings was felt ; how a sounding-board was found to add to the body of sound ; how strings of fibre or hair were supplanted by those of 1 6 PATRIARCHAL AND HEBREW catgut, of steel, and even of silver. Whether the fingers or whether the quill and plectrum were the first manipulators of the strings, is a matter of debate. Certainly fingers were made long before either quills or plectra ! Be it as it may, after these latter had been intro- duced, hammers wielded by the hand in due time followed. And thus we see how the "stringed instruments" of primaeval and ancient days became the parent of the dulcimer, the spinet, the harpsichord, and the piano. 3. We now naturally pass from wind and stringed instruments to those which are beaten. These are the timbrel, tabret, tambourine, and drum. To these may be added their very near re- lations the cymbal, the triangle (1 Sam. xviii. 6, R.V. marg.), and castanets (2 Sam. vi. 5, R.V., for " cornets " A.V.). The origin of such is not far to seek. It may be traced perhaps to youthful Jubals " drumming on the table," or to youthful Jabals clashing pieces of wood together, as accompaniments to their uncle's musical efforts when piping to their father's flocks and herds. From wood it is but one step to a bladder, and from that to a hide or dried and tanned skin. This, stretched upon a frame, forms the type of all " Corybantean " instru- ments ; and though the word "drum" does not actually appear in the Bible, yet there can be little doubt that the Hebrew term Toph MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND TERMS. 17 includes those small " hand-drums " which are depicted on the Egyptian and Assyrian monu- ments, and which are still in use in India (E.), something like our modern " kettledrum " (see PP- 58, 59)- _ 4. One kind of musical instrument must, however, be rigidly excluded, viz. the violin, and all such as are played with a bow. The Bible knows nothing of them, nor does any monu- ment in Egypt or Assyria. In a later chapter the reader will find that he must go far beyond Palestine and its neighbours to meet with the " fiddle and the bow." Its invention is attri- buted to a certain king of Ceylon, who reigned some five thousand years ago ! It was called a ki Ravanastron." Muzio Clementi is called the "father of the pianoforte." He was born at Rome in 1752, and died at Evesham in 1832. He was buried in the cloisters of Westminster Abbey, where the visitor will find a stone commemorating his achieve- ments. B CHAPTER III OCCASIONS WHEN MUSIC WAS USED. This chapter will be devoted to the Place*. Times, and Occasions when these instruments were used, from the earliest ages to the days of King David. i. It is surely not a mere fantasy of the imagination to suppose that the first pipings would be heard among the flocks and sheepfolds. Many a prolonged trill would a shepherd utter in his nightly solitude as his woolly charge lay around in peaceful repose. Or he would have a willing audience in his listening brother-shep- herds, who " On the lawn, Or e'er the point of dawn, Sat simply chatting in a rustic row." So would they "cheat the toil and cheer the way," and while away the time. Such a picture is evidently presented to us. though under the form of chiding words, in Judges v. 1 6, "Why satest thou among the sheepfolds, to hear the pipings for the flocks?'' (R. V.) — a rebuke specially suited for Reuben. MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND TERMS. which was pre-eminently a rude, pastoral tribe, settled in or close by the rich pastures of Gilead. 2. Then music soon found a necessary and accustomed place in seasons of joy. One of the earliest intimations of this is noted in Job xxi. 12, "They sing to the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the pipe" (R.V.). This again reminds us of the children in the market-place, who complained to their com- panions, " We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced" (St. Matt. xi. 16, 17). In harmony with this coincides what we may call the first historical mention of music after the days of Jubal : c< Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me ; and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret. and with harp?" (Gen. xxxi. 27). With this reproachful musical " Vale " to Jacob on the part of the churlish Laban corresponds the musical "Ave" to the returned Prodigal, which fell so harshly and discordantly on the elder brother's ear. " As he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing : ' (St. Luke xv. 25). Lastly, it was on the occasion of a great feast that ' ; the children of Benjamin took them wives of the daughters of Shiloh who came out to dance in the dances" in some open spot surrounded by vineyards in Shiloh B 2 20 PATRIARCHAL AND HEBREW (Judges xxi. 19 to end). No doubt the dancing was accompanied with the voices of the damsels, and with the beating and shaking of timbrels. 3. The next natural step for the use of music would be that of victory and triumph. The first notice of this kind is the song of Miriam. And here we may rightly conjecture the intro- duction of an Egyptian, and therefore cultured element. {i Miriam took a timbrel in her hand, DAMSELS SINGING TO THE SOUND OF TIMBKELS. and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances " (Exod. xv. 20). Then in the next verse we are told that " Miriam answered them" (ver. 21). By this expression we are evidently to understand that Miriam and her companions sang alternately — the former led with a solo, and then the latter took up the melody and responded in chorus. As this is MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND TERMS. 21 the translation both of the Authorized and Re- vised Versions we may assume it is correct. The LXX. renders the words, e^ijpx^ avrtiv Mapthn kzyovcra k. t. A. ; the Vulgate, " quibus praeeinebat dicens," &c. In this way, too, we are evidently to interpret the Psalmist's words, "The singers go before" — i.e. first sing, give the melody, raise the chant — '"the minstrels follow after," i. e. take it up and follow on with instrumental descant (Ps. lxviii. 25). The next instance of vocal, with probably some instrumental, music after a victory, is the Song of Deborah and Barak (Judges v). Nor must we omit the unfortunate instance of Jephthah's daughter who came out to meet her father, to celebrate his victory over the children of Am- nion, " with timbrels and with dances " (Judges xi). Nor does this exhaust the list (see for example 1 Sam. xviii. 5-8). But we ought to add that curious song of joy and triumph which Israel uttered after a successful contest with the dry and rocky earth of the desert, " Spring up, O well : sing ye unto it : the well which the princes digged, which the nobles of the people delved, with the sceptre and with their staves :J (Num. xxi. 16-18). 4. The highest step where we may pause for a moment is that of Divine Worship. Even heathen tribes and nations seem to infer by a natural instinct that the Deity can be acceptably 22 PATRIARCHAL AND HEBREW approached and appeased by music, dancing, and singing. The first instance, half pagan, in the history of the Israelites, is to be found in the lamentable festival of the golden calf. So rude and wild was the singing of its votaries, that at first it was not distinguishable from the untutored noise of undisciplined warriors, shouting for the battle (Exod. xxxii). But God, from whom all good things do come, who dowered the brain of man with the power of music, and his heart with love for it, so ordered its growth, that as time went on musical art progressed also. It received, so to say, its first consecration by being included in the sacred services of the Tabernacle. It was now raised to high dignity, though it is evident from the Pentateuch that so long as Jewish worship was confined " within curtains," it must have been of the simplest character. We must wait until the days of King David, the great harpist and " sweet psalmist of Israel," if we would note the impetus which music then undoubtedly received, and the careful elabora- tion which it passed through to make it worthy of fulfilling its hio-h functions in the sacred ser- vices of the Temple. The sacred fane, with all its accompaniments, was, so far as human imperfec- tion would allow, to be worthy of Jehovah. Its music and singing were therefore lifted above the ordinary and commonplace level, because the " House " that was to be builded for the MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND TERMS. 23 Lord "must be exceeding magnifical" (i Chron. xxii. 5). In the next chapter a few words will be said of the music of the Tabernacle ; and this will be a fitting introduction to that of the Temple, which will have to be explained with some minute detail. CHAPTER IV. MUSIC OF THE TABERNACLE. It is worth observing how Holy Scripture describes the lives of men in very ancient times as being passed in the conscious, and indeed almost in the visible, presence of Jehovah. Of course we are not surprised at this during the sinless days of Paradise. But for many genera- tions after the Fall men and their affairs are still written of as though, in spite of sin, com- munication between heaven and earth was nevertheless unbroken — as though the ancien* world and its inhabitants were surrounded by a celestial atmosphere. Cain, after the death of Abel, is said to go out "from the presence of Jehovah." Noah and Enoch " walk with God." Jehovah " communed with Abraham." Jacob sees " God at the top of the ladder and His angels ascending and descending upon it." On his journey angels meet and salute him. He wrestles with an angel. Other instances need not be adduced. He and his sons go down into Egypt, and in due course their descendants are there afflicted for four hundred years (see Gen. MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND TERMS. 25 xv. 13). During this period of iron bondage, degradation followed upon slavery, and the knowledge and worship of God seem almost to have perished. At any rate, we are warranted from the early chapters of Exodus to infer a new revelation of Jehovah, as the true and only God — the God of their fathers before them, and henceforth to be their God (cf. chs. ii, iii, iv al.). His eternal existence was pictured to Israel in a twofold manner — by the ;< cloud " of the Shechinah visibly present at the door of the Tabernacle, and by the same Shechinah resting upon the ark in the Holy of Holies — according to the words of the Psalmist — " O Thou, that dwellest between the cherubims " ^Pss. lxxx. i, xcix. 1). The sacrificial ordinances taught and reminded the people of their relationship to, and their responsibilities before, a holy and just God. who, through atonement, would pardon trans- gression and sin. Now it is in connexion with the Tabernacle and its services, with Holy Days, and with other occasions of a more secular kind, that certain instruments of music were com- manded by Jehovah to be made and used. These were the " Silver Trumpets" (Heb. chatsotsrah). probably a kind of trombone, and the " Ram's- horn" (Heb. shophar), which were sounded according to prescribed rules. The sacred music of the Tabernacle was therefore of the simplest 26 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND TERMS. kind — indeed, speaking rigidly, it was hardly worthy to be so designated. But it formed the germ of that mighty orchestra which, after the lapse of centuries, was trained by King David and his unrivalled choir-masters to ei praise and thank the Lord " at the grand dedication of the Temple — <: for He is good ; for His mercy endureth for ever.'' 1 The CViatsotsrah, or silver trumpet, is mentioned in Num. x. 2-14, xxxi. 6, al. The Shophar, or ram's-horn, Lev. xxv. 9 ; also Exod. xix. 16, Josh. vi. 5, Job xxxix. 25. CHAPTER V. DAVID — KIRJATH-JEARIM OBED-EDOM JERUSALEM. i. King David was undoubtedly a great musi- cian and poet (2 Sam. xxiii. 1 ; Ecclus. xlvii. 8). Long before he ascended the throne, probably from earliest youth, he had devoted spare moments to pipe and harp. His sheep, as in the days of Jabal and Jubal, had been his chief audience ; his theatre, the wild uplands of Judaea. His home, too, at Bethlehem must have often resounded with his simple melodies of song and sound ; and no doubt in the gardens and streets of his native village, 4 'The boys and maidens loved his clear And plaintive roundelay to hear." Even in boyhood and incipient manhood he must have attained to rare skill and proficiency in the art of music ; for he was but a mere youth when the servants of Saul, during one of his fits of depression, recommended their unhappy king to " seek out a man who was a cunning player on an harp," and suggested the name of Jesse's youngest son as being thus 28 PATRIARCHAL AND HEBREW " cunning in playing," as well as endowed with many graces and excellences (i Sam. xvi. 1 1, 12, 14, to end). A few years elapsed and then came the fatal fight on the slopes of Gilboa. Once again was David's musical skill called forth in singularly pathetic strains. We cannot be far wrong in believing that both harp and voice united in uttering that last dirge of heart-broken sorrow over the unfortunate King of Israel and his brave sons — one of whom was the noble, well-beloved Jonathan — slain and mangled by the t; uncircumcised Philistines." And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son : "The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places! How are the mighty fallen ! . . . Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, And in their death they were not divided ; They were swifter than eagles, They were stronger than lions. . . . How are the mighty fallen, And the weapons of war perished ! " 2. David was now virtually monarch supreme over Israel. Yet he did not the less remain a musician and a poet. As soon as he found himself thoroughly and securely seated upon the throne, his first attention was directed to the lamentable condition of religion among the chosen people, and he made it his first duty to bring up the ark from Kirjath-jearim, on the confines of Philistia, to its proper resting-place MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND TERMS. 2g ASSYRIAN HARPIST, BEATING TIME WITH HIS FOOT. Probably such a harp as David carried, about four feet high. From the lower bar ornamental tassels or fringes depended. Domenichino's picture, " David playing before the Ark," is misleading, as it gives a front pillar and sounding-board. See ch. ii. a, p. 14. PATRIARCHAL AND HEBREW in the city of David (i Sam. vii. 1 ; 2 Sam. vi. 2 ; on the names of the town cf. Josh. xv. 9, 60). On this festive occasion Sacred Music on a more extensive scale than heretofore was introduced. And before the thousands of Israel, who had been invited to attend and escort the ark, which was placed upon a new cart. " David and all Israel played before God with all their might, and with singing, and with harps, and with psalteries, and with timbrels, and with cymbals, and with trumpets" (1 Chron. xiii. 1 sqq.). The account given in the Book of Samuel is as follows : "And David and all the house of Israel played before the Lord on all manner of instru- ments made of fir-wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals" (2 Sam. vi. 5). Music must have developed since the ancient days when simple people were content with the harp and pipe. We may observe, in passing, that the Hebrew term translated in this latter quotation "cornets" is to be found in this passage only, and refers rather to some instrument " shaken " (Ges.) or "rattling" (W.) ; kv Kviifiakois, LXX. ; in sistrid, Vulg. ; " castanets," Revised Version. Then occurred the well-meant but misplaced interposition of Uzzah, with its terror-inspiring, fatal tragedy. All the joyous function was at once stopped. The ark of God must still remain for a brief space in exile ; for David MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND TERMS. 3 1 " would not remove " it " unto him in the city of David : but David carried it aside into the house of Obed-edom the Gittite " (id. 10). The casual reader may think it strange that the " ark of God whose name is called by the Name of the Lord of Hosts, that dwelleth between the cheru- SISTRA. (E.) A framework with loose metal bars inserted, sometimes with metal rings added, shaken by the hand. bimSj" should find a temporary home with a man of Philistine Gath (see note below) ; but the reason may possibly be found in the fact — mentioned in the Book of Chronicles — that Obed- edom was one of the door-keepers for the ark, 32 PATRIARCHAL AND HEBREW called afterwards one of the porters (i Chron. xiii. 13, xv. 24), and that he was the son of one of David's great singers. Jeduthun (1 Chron. xvi. 38). 3. For three months did the ark tarry at this good man's house. Then David once again made preparations for bringing it up to Jerusalem- preparations which the writer of the Book of Chronicles describes with much minuteness of detail. The king seems resolved to avoid any possible cause which might possibly bring about a repetition of the former terrible catastrophe. (1) First. "None ought to carry the ark but the Levites." The neglect of this divine ordi- nance on the previous occasion had brought upon them the " breach " from Jehovah. (2) The musical arrangements are laid down with much preciseness. The Levites, through their " chiefs." are to appoint from among their " brethren . . . the singers with instruments of musick, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sound- ing, by lifting up the voice with joy." Accordingly, as with ordered martial disci- pline, there are appointed of the (a) First Degree. Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, "to sound with cymbals of brass." (b) Second Degree. Zechariah and others, "with psalteries on Alamoth " (see p. 73. 10); while Zechariah, Obed-edom, and their brethren, accompanied " with harps on the Sheminith (see p. 70. 3) to excel." MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND TERMS. 33 (c) Others, again, " the priests, did blow with the trumpets before the ark of God." (d) Lastly, Chenaniah, as "choir-master," acted apparently, on this occasion, as " conductor " of the orchestra. From the margin in the Author- ized and Revised Versions it is allowable to infer that he was the acting director of the sacred festivity (see note below). These preparations being now completed, " so David, and the elders of Israel, and the captains over thousands, went up to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the house of Obed-edom with joy ; and David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, and all the Levites that bare the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah the master of the song, with the singers : David had also upon him an ephod of linen. Then all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouting and with sound of the cornet, and with trumpets, and with cymbals, making a noise with psal- teries and harps.'' £; And David danced before the Lord with all his might," " playing " upon his harp (1 Chron. xv ; 2 Sam. vi). 4. Even when the ark had found a resting- place in the curtained tent, the musical service did not cease ; indeed, it was to continue, accord- ing to the fitness of time and occasion, a per- petual institution. For David ;£ appointed cer- tain of the Levites to minister before the ark of c 34 PATRIARCHAL AND HEBREW the Lord, and to record, and to thank and praise the Lord God of Israel: Asaph the chief" and certain others, who evidently were appointed to sing, the voice being accompanied with the clash of cymbals in the hands of Asaph. Jeiel led "with psalteries and with harps ; . . . Benaiah also and Jahaziel, the priests, with trumpets continually before the ark of the covenant of God." And while " Zaclok the priest, and his brethren the priests, . . . offered burnt ^ /fi^y offerings unto the Lord upon the altar of burnt offering continually morn- ing and evening, . . . Heman and Jeduthun and the rest were chosen ... to give thanks to the Lord, because His mercy endureth for ever; and with them Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals for those that should make a sound, and with musical instru- ments of God " (1 Chron. xvi). In this same chapter too is recorded an un- doubtedly genuine poetical composition of King- David, which "he delivered . . . into the hand of Asaph and his brethren "—no doubt to be set to music and to be sung by them (i Chron. xvi. 7 ; sec Revised Version). EGYPTIAN CYMBALS. MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND TERMS. 35 So ended this auspicious Holy Day and grand Festival without flaw or mishap — better still, without any unfortunate transgression which, though unintentional, could call down an angry visitation from Jehovah. So far from that, we may believe that " the people departed every one to his house," full of the favour of the Lord. For, before dismissing them, " David blessed tin* people in the name of the Lord of Hosts " (2 Sam. vi. r8, 19), and afterwards "returned to bless his " own " house" (1 Chron. xvi. 43). 1. The reader is recommended to compare the narrative of these events as given in the Book of Samuel with that in the Book of the Chronicles. The description of the historian in the former is so concise that we might be tempted to infer from it that the ark was brought up to Jerusalem, sur- rounded and followed by a tumultuous and disorderly mob, David, the king, in front, indulging in wild, unrestrained leapings, like a dancing Dervish (2 Sam. vi. 16, 20 sqq.). Whereas the chronicler, in his prolonged and minute account, leaves the impression that the procession marched with, so to say, military order and discipline amidst the reverent thousands of Israel (1 Chron. xiii. 5, xv. 3). 2. "Obed-edom, the Gittite." The people of Gath and David seem to have been on terms of amity ; and it is quite possible that, during the tumultuous days of Saul, priests and Levites from Jerusalem fled and tarried there for a space. Or Obed-edom may have been a native of Gittaim in the tribe of Benjamin (a Sam. iv. 3), or of Gath-rimmon, given to the Levites out of the tribe of Dan (1 Chron. vi. 69 ). There was another town of the same name, also belonging to the Levites, in Manasseh (Josh. xxi. 25) (D.). C 2 CHAPTER VI. ARRANGEMENTS OF TEMPLE-MUSIC. " So David slept with his fathers" (i Kings ii. 10). " And he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honour ; and Solomon, his son, reigned in his stead " (i Chron. xxix. 28). Solomon, like his great father, was a con- summate poet and musician (1 Kings iv. 31, with rffs., and 32). " He undoubtedly had studied the art systematically " (E.) : and in the perfect- ing of the musical organization for the House of God in the capital city he carried forward what David had begun and placed upon so firm a foot- ing. Indeed, little remained for him to com- plete, inasmuch as his royal predecessor had thought over and provided for everything that could conduce to the full efficiency of the sacred services in that " magnifical " house of prayer. I. Let us now examine the constitution of this Temple orchestra. 1. Its members were chosen from the tribe of Levi (see 1 Chron. xv. 16 sqq.). MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND TERMS. 37 2. Out of the whole number of this tribe, which amounted to 38,000 men, 4,000 areselected. to "praise the Lord with instruments, which I made (said David) to praise therewith " (l Chron. xxiii. 3, 5 ; Amos vi. 5). [Only those were polled " from thirty years old, and upwards " (1 Chron. xxiii. 3) ; after- wards from " twenty years " (ib. 24, 27).] 3. These 4,000 were divided into three courses or divisions (marg.), viz. : (a) Gershon, (b) Kohath, and (c) Merari (1 Chron. vi. I, 31, 32 sqq. ; xxiii. 6). (a) Of the Gershonites, Asaph was leader. (6) Of the Kohathites, Heman. (c) Of the Merarites, Etham. (1 Chron. vi. 33, 39, 44.) 4. These 4,000 were again subdivided into a choir of 288 members, of whom it is written that they were " instructed in the songs of the Lord, even all that were cunning" (1 Chron. xxv. 7). This smaller body, well practised and " skilful " (Revised Version), seems to have formed the usual choir in the daily ministrations of the temple-service. Some " prophesied with the harp," and some " lifted up the horn " (1 Chron. xxv. 3, 5). 5. Moreover, females were apparently allowed to sing in the choir. For " God gave to Heman fourteen sons and three daughters. All these were under the hands of their father for song 38 PATRIAKCHAL AND HEBREW in the house of the Lord, with cymbals, psalte- ries, and harps for the service of the house of God " (i Chron. xxv. 5, 6, and esp. Ezra ii. 65). 6. The dress of the choir was " white linen '" (2 Chron. v. 12, or <; fine linen/' Revised Version; cf. 1 Chron. xv. 27 ; 2 Sam. vi. 14). Hence la} 7 - vicars, choirmen, and boys wear surplices in our cathedrals and churches. 7. Their position in the Temple was probably permanently the same as at the dedication, viz. at the " east end of the altar " (2 Chron. v. 12). 8. The musical instruments, which David had prepared in such large numbers in order to suffice for all time (Josephus), were kept in one of the chambers of the Temple, " put among the treasures of the house of God " (2 Chron. v. 1). 9. The orchestra seems to have played and sang " in unison " (ib. v. 13, " one sound"). These are the chief points in detail, touching the magnificent choir of the Temple in the days of Kings David and Solomon. We may now proceed to touch briefly on some more general matters in connexion with it. II. 1. We need not suppose that this large body of men was always present at every service in the Temple. No doubt at the dedication service increased numbers were called upon to do honou MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND TERMS. 39 to so exceptional an occasion. " The priests " >n that day, we are told, £; did not wait by course" (2 Chron. v. 11). But David's fore- thought provided for contingencies, such as sickness, death, age (see Num. iv. 3), and unavoidable absences. Besides which, there were many services in addition to those of the morning and evening sacrifices, suck as would require relief-parties or relays (see 2 Chron. viii. j 4, Ps. cxxxiv. 1). 2. We cannot but be struck with the military atmosphere with which this orchestral institu- tion is enveloped (1 Chron. xxv. t ; see also xiii. 1 ). The "courses" remind us of the brigades and divisions of an army. The same genius which organized a band of wild freebooters into a disciplined host, was equally successful in deal- ing with what might otherwise have proved a wild mob of singers and trumpeters. " Thus the sacred services were conducted decentl}^ and in order." 3. The schools of the prophets — in some respects not unlike our monasteries in early times — are held by some modern writers to have included music in their curriculum of instruction. These were at Naioth (1 Sam. xix. 19, 20); Jericho (2 Kings ii. 5, 7) ; Gilgal (2 Kings iv. 38) ; Jeru- salem (2 Kings xxii. 14). 4. Choir-masters and their classes are more than once specially referred to. " The small as 4 o PATRIAE CHAL AND HEBREW the great, the teacher as the scholar" (i Chron. xxv. 8), and again, " such as taught to sing praise " (2 Chron. xxiii. 13). Some critics have suggested that the term " maschil," i.e. instruction, has no reference to the moral and spiritual edifi- cation of the reader or hearer — see Col. iii. 16 — but to the teaching and instruction of the choir. In short, this or that particular psalm so called was composed with its accompanying music for " choir-practice." 5. We now come by way of conclusion to what is undoubtedly the most difficult question of all, viz. that of Hebrew musical notation. Of this we know absolutely nothing. What was the shape and value of their notes'? Did they use ledger lines? Were they acquainted with the combination of chords, with the intro- duction of sharps and flats, with the nicety of progressions and modulations, with the deeper mysteries of counterpoint ? Here is a boundless field for conjecture. But it would be mere waste of time to discuss possibilities and proba- bilities, which cannot be proved to be right or wrong for want of evidence. The Hebrews have left behind them no sculptured monuments — their archives, even if any ever existed on the musical art, have long ago perished in successive destructions of their city. Even Assyrian and Egyptian monuments are silent on this point and cannot help us: they picture for us their MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND TERMS. 41 musicians and their instruments, but not the music. But we cannot be far wrong in suggest- ing that the compass of their gamut (as on a ten-stringed harp) must have been a wide one — that "accidentals" were not unknown — that they usually played or sang in octaves — that the melodies were simple, somewhat sombre, as being in a " minor mode," and perhaps even a trifle monotonous. At the same time we must not forget that on festive occasions " the people " added their thousand voices, and the instruments of music supplied and covered countless deficien- cies. We may conclude therefore that on festi- vals and special days of thanksgiving and joy grand effects were produced by, and dependent on, volume and bulk rather than on scientific grouping of chords. We can judge of this for ourselves by reading the account of the dedica- tion of the temple, or of Solomon's coronation. " And Zadok the priest took an horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet ; and all the people said, ' God save King Solomon ! ' And all the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that thi earth rent with the sound of them (1 Kings i. 39> 40). Yet David's fetching of the ark from the house of Obed-edom to Jerusalem seems to have surpassed all other displays of sacred joy and 4^ PATRIARCHAL AND HEBREW gladness in its blaze of grandeur and magnifi- cence — somewhat barbaric to our Western ideas, but so pleasing to the eye and ear of the Oriental. The army of priests and Levites, clad in white linen, marshalled in their ordered ranks and " courses," the blaring trumpets, the clashing cymbals, the clicking castanets, the timbrels, usually adorned with gaudy ribbons and orna- ments, beaten or shaken, the twanging harps, the multitude adding their voices to those of the trained choir in the hymn of praise, or rending the very heavens with their acclamations ; so the long procession slowly, as in a military march, ascended the hill of the Lord — the steep slopes of Zion— until they reached the "grating port- cullis, stiff with the rust of ages, and swept through the ancient and everlasting gates of Jebus." Then the people returned home, wild with exhilaration as in the day of victory ; for the Lord had prospered the whole undertaking with a great blessing (S.). Even at the risk of prolonging (I hope not unduly) this chapter, I must remind the reader that by general consent of commentators the twenty-fourth psafon is assigned in its compo- sition and use to the festivities of this great day. In our Bibles the heading is simply " A Psalm of David." In the Septuagint is added, " on the first day of the week," which the Vulgate merely copies, and thus the Jews were indirectly MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND TERMS. 43 and by anticipation singing the Resurrection of Messiah. In the Christian Church it has been chosen as one of the special psalms for Ascension Day. But for none of these reasons do I refer to it. It has its musical value, inasmuch as it reminds us of the solo and responsions of the Song of Miriam (Exod. xv. 20, 21). It is evidently to be sung in responsive parts, and the following division will give a general and fairly correct idea of the plan (cf. Ps. lxviii. 24, 25). Verse 1. David alone — "The earth is the Lord's," &c. Verse 2. Response by orchestra — " For He hath founded it,* &c. Verse 3. Davidalone — "Who shall ascend T'&c. Verse 4. Response by " j st course " — " He that hath clean hands," &c. Verse 5. Response by " 2nd course" — "He shall receive the blessing," &c. Verse 6. Response by whole orchestra — " This is the generation," &c. Here there is a pause of voice (Selah), while the instruments play a short recitative, leading on to the outburst of the full orchestra, voice and music, in — Verse 7. " Lift up your heads," &c. Verse 8. David alone — u Who is the King of glory 3 " &c. 44 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND TERMS. Verse 8. Response by " ist course " — " The Lord strong and mighty," &c. Verse 9. Repetition of verse 7 by full chorus — "Lift up your heads," &c. Verse 10. Question repeated by solo (verse 8) — "Who is this King of glory — Who?" Verse 10. Response and grand climacteric- — " Jehovah Sabaoth — He is the King of glory." (Kitto.) 1. At the dedication of Solomon's Temple were combined the fetching of the ark from Zion and the feast of tabernacles (see 1 Kings viii. sqq. and 2 Chron. vii. 8). For brevity, the festivity is referred to (above) as " the Dedication." 2. The Temple was not a very large building, and would not therefore require a vast volume of sound to fill it. " The length by cubits . . . was threescore cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits." The length of the "most holy house was twenty cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits " (2 Chron. iii. 3, 8). A cubit = aibout one foot and a half. 3. The reader might refer with profit to passages in the Revelation of St. John, where the Apostle evidently records reminiscences of temple-worship : e.g. iv. 4, 8-1 1 ; vii. 9-15. CHAPTER VII. TEMPLE-MUSIC IN SUBSEQUENT TIMES. We may fairly assume that the orchestra of the Temple, thus instituted and perfected by King David and his successor, continued intact and in a high condition of excellence until the catastrophe of the Captivity. We frequently read of its members doino- musical duties during the reign of various kings of Judah (2 Chron. xiii. 12, xv. 14. xx. 19, 21 ah), for with the kings of Israel we have no concern. At last came the destruction of Jerusalem with the massacre and dispersion of priests and Levites and people alike (2 Chron. xxx vi). In their own country silence and desola- tion prevailed everywhere. "The elders have ceased from the gate, the young men from their music" (Lam. v. 14) ; no slight testimony to the depth of their sorrow and misery ; for it was among the added horrors of a captured and sacked city that '' the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters shall be heard no more at all in thee" (Rev. xviii. 22). 46 PATRIARCHAL AND HEBREW In the land of the captivity Hebrew music re- mained silent, the captives persisted in voiceless grief; the harps dangled from the willows, idle and dumb. In due course (2 Chron. xxxvi. 22) Cyrus, u the Persian Sun " (Ges.), arose upon the scattered and peeled nation, and permitted their return. Jerusalem with its walls and temple was rebuilt ; and, as we might reasonably surmise, musical matters were not neglected. Its sacred orchestra was reorganized and reinstated, and its members " dwelt in their cities " (Ezra ii. 70). It was present at the laying of the foundations of the new temple (ib. iii. 10-13), and again at the dedication (ib. vi. 16-22). Fresh relays returned in later years, and by the King of Persia's law were exempt from certain taxes (ib. vii. 7, 24). Frequent mention is made of them in the Book of Nehemiah : e.g. vii. 1, 73, ix. 5 sqq., x. 28, 39, xii. 35 sqq., xiii. 5 al. All this shows that Sacred Music had its importance. It had its difficulties in the stormy days of the Maccabees (2 Mace. v. 15 sqq. ; vi. 2 al.), but, surviving all these calamities, was reinstated with the splendid restorations of Herod the Great, and then came to its final and irrecoverable end, as an organized institution, in the last great tragedy — the overthrow and destruction of Jeru- salem by the Romans, a.d. 72. Music, of course, as an abstract entity, cannot perish utterly in absolute annihilation. " Music," MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND TERMS. 47 says Plato, " is eternal, and depends not for existence on anything material such as the lyre or the harp. These may be destroyed, yet music still lives." This is one of the philosopher's arguments for the immortality of the soul, even though the outward " tabernacle " of the body decay and perish. This statement may be applied to Hebreiv music. During the first Captivity the Jews came for the first time in contact with Greek influences. And in due course we shall see how Jewish melodies, surviving every form of adversity and persecution, and outliving even the fire and sword and exile of Rome, emerged into new conditions of life, tempered by the civilization of Hellas, until, through the widening experiences of centuries, they ripened into the perfect fruit of Christian Hymnody. CHAPTER VIII. GENERAL SUMMARY. I. Summary of Occasions when Music ivas used. 1. Religious worship. Exod. xxxii. 4-6, 18, 19; Num. x. 2, 10; 2 Sam. vi. 5, 12; 1 Chron. xxiii- xxv ; 2 Chron. v-vii ; Dan. iii. 5. 2. In private houses. Job xxi. 12; xxx. 31 : 2 Sam. xix. 35 ; Eccles. ii. 8 ; Dan. vi. t8 ; Isa. v. 11, 12 ; xxiv. 8, 9 ; Ezek. xxvi. 13 ; Amos vi. 4-6. 3. In war. Num. x. 9 ; Josh. vi. 4 sqq. ; Judges vii. 16-20; 2 Chron. xx. 19, 21; xiii. 1 2-14. 4. In mental depression. 1 Sam. xvi. 23 ; 2 Kings iii. 15. 5. In love. Ps. xlv (title); Isa. v. 1 (precursors of Troubadours). 6. In mourning. 2 Sam. i. 17 ; 2 Chron. xxx v. 25; Eccles. xii. 4; Jer. ix. 17-21 ; cf. St. Matt, ix. 23. MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND TERMS. 49 7. In joy:— (a) Triumph. Exod. xv. 1, 20, 21 ; Judges v ; xi. 32-34; 1 Sam. xviii. 6, 7 ; 2 Chron. xx. 27, 28. (b) Coronation. 1 Kings i. 39, 40 ; 2 Chron. xxiii. n-13. (c) Well-digging. Num. xxi. 16, 17. (d) Grape-gathering. Isa. xvi. 10; xxvii. 2; Jer. xlviii. 33. (e) Wedding. Jer. vii. 34. (/) Mill-grinding. Eccles. xii. 4. (g) General. Gen. xxxi. 27 ; St. Matt. xi. 17 ; St. Luke xv. 25 ; cf. Isa. xxiii. 15, 16. The reader can of course add to this list and supply omissions, at his own discretion, and by private study. David's Great Choir-masters and Leaders. 1. Asaph. 1 Chron. vi. 39 ; xv. 17 ; xvi. 7 ; Neh. xii. 46. 2. Heman. 1 Chron. vi. 33.) See 1 Chron. ii. 6; 4. Jeduthun. 1 Chron. xvi. 41 ; xxv. 1,6; Ps. xxxix (heading). He was the father of Obed-edom (1 Chron. xvi. 38). Some hold him to be identical with Ethan (D.). Descendants of the above are mentioned in Ezra ii. 41 ; Neh. vii. 44 ; xi. 17, 22. II. 1 Kings iv. 31. i) 50 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND TERMS. III. On the Connexion of Music ivitk Prophecy. See i Sam. x. 5, 6 ; 2 Kings iii. 14-16. In some passages, however, the Hebrew term simply means to "forth-te\\" <; sing," " play on a musical instrument," probably the voice accompanying. Cf. 1 Chron. xxv. i, 2, 3 ; 2 Chron. xxix. 25-28. (Ges.) IV. General Notes. 1. The opinion of an uninspired critic on music may be found in Ecclus. xxxii. 3-6 ; xlix. 1. 2. On the character of female itinerant min- strels and dancers, see Isa. xxiii. 15, 16 ; Ecclus. ix. 4. 3. The later Psalms of the Captivity, of which the heading is " A Psalm of David," K of Asaph," &c, are either traditionary compositions of those writers, or " worked up " fragments, of which they sketched the original outline. 4. The material of which some of the musical instruments were made was " fir/' or rather " cypress " wood (2 Sam. vi. 5), and " almug " (algum), i.e. "sandal" wood (1 Kings x. 11, 12). (Ges. and W.) CHAPTER IX. DETAILS OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. I. Stringed Instruments. 1. (i) Haep. Heb. kinnor, Gen. iv. 21 ; Ps. xxxiii. 2 al. . Not necessarily, as according to Josephus, played with a plectrum : see 1 Sam. xvi. 16, 23; xviii. 10; xix. 9. It was portable (1 Chron. xv. 28, 29), and therefore was like the Egyptian and Assyrian harp, without a sounding-board and a front supporting pillar. Its root suggests a tremulous, plaintive sound (Ges.), like Greek Kuvpa. This is the Hebrew expression in all places, except (2) Mahalath, used only in the headings of Pss. liii and lxxxviii, of which the root suggests the idea of soothing (Ges.). 2. (1) Psaltery. Heb. nebel; Gk. vafiKa (Soph. Fr. 728); Lat. rtablium (Ovid, A. A. iii. 327). It was a ten-stringed (Ps. xxxiii. 2), not a twelve- stringed (Joseph.) instrument, played with the ringers, in the shape of a pyramid standing on 52 PATRIARCHAL AND HEBREW its apex or of an inverted delta (St. Jerome). The root signifies " flaccidity," and hence the original meaning of the word is a bottle of skin, a pitcher, or flask, as in Isa. xxx. 14 al. ; and as these vessels were made in the shape of a pyra- mid or cone, the term was applied to the musical instrument of that form : see 1 Sam. x. 5 ; 1 Kings x. 12. It is used frequently in the Books HARP ON STAND, A MAN BEATING TIME, AND A PLAYER ON A TAMBOURA (OR GUITAR). l^FROM E.) of Chronicles and the Psalms, twice in Isaiah and Amos, and once in Nehemiah. Occasion- ally it is translated :£ viol," as in Amos v. 23, vi. 5 ; and in the Prayer Book version of the Psalms " lute." Probably " guitar " is nearer the true translation (D.). " Psaltery " is merely the Anglicized form of the Greek " psalterion." It was played with either quill or finger, and was MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND TERMS. 53 thus the prototype of our harpsichord (G.). It corresponds with modem Arabian al'ud (E.). From this musical instrument we apply the name " Psalter " to the Book of Psalms. (2) Akin to the " nebel" and sometimes added to it is the " ashor." Meaning "ten" (Gen. GROUP OF HARPS AND OTHER MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. (See p. 15.) xxiv. 55), it either signifies an " instrument of ten strings" or defines the instrument with which it is conjoined ; see Ps. xxxiii. 2, xcii. 3 al. The LXX. gives Iv ^aXrrip'up 8e/ca.)(op8, which the Vulgate copies, " in psalterio deca- 54 PATRIARCHAL AND HEBREW chordo," or "in psalterio decern chordarum." In Ps. xxxiii. 2 it means " the decachord nab- lium" (Ges.). The psaltery differed, from the cithara in having its strings above the sounding-board, whereas the latter had them below it (from St. Augustine on Ps. xxxiii). 3. "Instrument of Three Strings." i Sam. xviii. 6, A. V. marg. ; ditto R. V., which also TRIANGULAR MUSICAL INSTRUMENT FROM HERCULANEUM : A SAMBUCA OR TRIANGULAR HARP (SUIDAS). suggests " triangles " (Ges.). The LXX. and Vulg. do not regard it as a stringed instrument : kv Kvufiakois, in sistris. Some triangular in- strument seems to be meant, or one which recognizes the number "three" which is the root (Ges. and W.) ; Heb. 4. " Stringed Instruments." Heb. min aim. ; h xophais, Sept. ; in chordis, Vulg., Ps. cl. 4 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND TERMS. 55 only. The original idea seems to be that which is "divided," "a part" or "portion," and hence " that which is divided or portioned out into slender strings or threads" (Ges.). In Ps. xlv. 8 Ges. and Revised Version translate, "out of the ivory palaces the strings, i. e. concerts of music, gladden thee." The Authorized Version has followed the LXX. and Vulgate, "whereby," &v, "ex quibus." Either translation is correct, the Hebrew being *30. II. Wind Instruments. 1. Ram's Horn. Heb. shophar ; Sept. adh- Tny£ ; Vulg. buccina, Josh. vi. 4, 6, 8, 13. See also Exod. xix. 16 ; Lev. xxv. 9 ; Job xxxix. 25 al., some thirty times in Old Testament. The name was derived from its clear, shrill sound: it was curved at the further end, and corresponds with the Roman " lituus " (Ges.; St. Jerome on Hos. v. 8) ; see Shawm (p. 66. 3). 2. Horn. Heb. kerert ; Sept. Ktpas ; Vulg. cornu, Josh. vi. 15 ; 1 Chron. xxv. 5. This was not curved so much as the " shophar." In Dan. iii. 5, 7, 10, 15, it is translated "cornet" (French come), a reed instrument of the oboe family. 3. Silver Trumpets. Heb. chatsotsrah; Sept. cra\T7iy£] Vulg. tubae. These trumpets were quite straight, about two feet in length. The word is primarily used in Num. x. 2, frequently 56 PATRIARCHAL AND HEBREW in the historical books, once in the Psalter (Ps. xcviii. 6), once in the Prophets (Hos. v. 8). It is probably an onomatopoeic word, that is, formed from the sound, like " taratantara " in Latin, and " hadadera " in Arabic. Our " trom- bone " probably best corresponds with it. MODERN JEWISH RAMS* HORNS. (FROM E.) Jewish Kabbis refer their use to Gen. xxii. 13. 4. Pipe. Heb. nekeb ; Vulg. foramen, Ezek. xxviii. 13. The Sept. shirks the difficulty by a general translation of the original. The Authorized and Revised Versions translate it by " pipes,'* which, as a musical instrument, goes well with preceding " tabret." Ges. ; with St. MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND TERMS. 57 Jerome, prefers "a socket for setting a gem" (pala gemmarum): there are other suggestions in Bp. W. It literally means " anything hollowed or bored through." It is only to be found in this passage. A LLMTE WITH RAM's HORN. 5. Pipes. Heb. chalil; Sept. avXoi iVulg.tibia, 1 Sam. x. 5 ; 1 Kings i. 40 marg. " flutes," Isa. v. 12; xxx. 29; Jer. xlviii. 36. The word means " that which is perforated " (Ges.). 53 PATRIARCHAL AND HEBREW III. Instruments of Percussion. i. Timbrel or Tabret. Heb. toph ; Sansc. tup: Gk. r^ro); Lat. tympanum; Span, adduffa, "that which is struck," Gen. xxxi. 27 ; Exod. xv. 20 ; Judges xi. 34 ; 2 Sam. vi. 5 ; Job xxi. 12; Ps. cxlix. 3; cl. 4; Isa. v. 12; Jer. xxxi. 4 al. EGYPTIAN DRUMS. (FROM E.) A light kind of drum beaten with the hand. See the metaphor used in Nahum ii. 7. '"The mournful voice of doves, beating with their beaks upon their breasts as upon a 'tabor' or timbrel " (Bp. W.). The Authorized and Revised Versions translate the passage with accuracy ; the LXX. and Vulg. rather give the meaning. MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND TERMS. 59 The word " Tabret " is a shortened form of Taboret ; other forms are Tabor and Taborine. The performers on the instrument were called Taborers or Tabreres,from the Old French Tabour, Tabourin. These terms are to be found in Shakspeare, Spenser, Drayton, &c. The curious expression in the Authorized Version of Job xvii. 5 is wrongly translated, no doubt from inadequate know- ledge of Hebrew. The Sept. gives the supposed sense : ye'Acos he clvtols air^-qv, and the Vulg. exemplum sum coram eis, " I became an object of merry- making to them " (Poole). But the Revised Version gives no doubt the correct translation ; see "Tophet" in Ges. = "that which is despised, abhorred, base." 2. Cymbals. Heb. tzelt- zelim, metzilloth, metzilthaim ; O J / n \ XT 1 7 ASSYRIAN DRUM. ( E. ; oept. KvupaAov, VuJg. cymua- lum. These were round disks of brass, fitted with leathern straps through which the hands passed, and so were loudly clashed together (see p. 34). They are frequently mentioned in the Historical Books ; only once in the Psalter (Ps. cl. 5) ; and not at all in the Prophetical Books ; once also 6o PATRIARCHAL AND HEBREW in the New Testament, i Cor. xiii. i, Kv\ifia\ov a\aka(ov ; Vulg. cymbalum tinniens. 3. Castanets. Heb. nienaaneim, 2 Sam vi. 5 only. " Cornet " in Authorized Version seems decidedly wrong. "Casta- nets" in Revised Version may be nearer the mark. Some instrument which, when shaken, makes a rattling, tinkling noise, from root "to shake," as at lo-Tpov from o-etco, is meant (Ges.,W.,E.); Sept. ez> ku/x- fiakois ; Vulg. in sistris (see p. 31). 4. Triangles, i Sam. xviii. 6 ; Revised Version marg., "instruments of EGYPTIAN CHOTOLA OR CASTA- . ,, nft>. shaken to dancers, (e.) three strings (see p. 54). IV. I nstruments of Music in Dan iel 111 and VI. 1. Cornet. Heb. farm; LXX. cmATnyf; Vulg. / a ha ( see p. 55, II. 2). 2. Flute. Chald. mishroJeith a ; LXX. avpiyg ; Vulg. fistula, from root signifying " whistling, hissing, piping " (Judges v. 16, Revised Version) ; = a musical pipe (Ges.), or " flute or reed " ( W.)> or " double pipe " (E.). MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND TERMS. 6l 3. Harp. Chald. Jcithram ; LXX. KiBapa ; Vulg. citkara (see p. 51). 4. Sack but. Chald. sambuca ; LXX. a-a^vK-q ; Vulg. sambuca ; French eacqueluta. A musical instrument with strings similar to the " nablium " (see p. 51) (Ges.) ; a four-stringed instrument (W.) ; according to Suidas, a triangular harp. DOUBLE PIPES. " Its derivation is barbarous, that is, Oriental (Strabo) or Semitic." Perhaps from a root im- plying