Reflections on Tehillim: Jewish Music in Research and Practice
As the founding director of the Zamir Chorale of Boston, a longtime professor of music and choral director at Northeastern University, and a visiting professor at Hebrew College, Jacobson combines musical practice with scholarly research. His choral works are performed worldwide. With his book *Chanting the Hebrew Bible* and as a co-author of *Translations and Annotations of Hebrew Choral Repertoire*, he has made significant contributions to the study and dissemination of Jewish music.
Two essays on the world of the Psalms
The articles “Decoding the Secrets of Psalms” and “Cantillation of Psalms,” published in the *Journal of Synagogue Music*, invite you to explore the Psalms and their musical tradition in greater depth. Both texts are available on this page as PDF files.
In this way, Joshua R. Jacobson accompanies us—even from afar—as we explore the world of the Psalms. We hope you enjoy reading them and find them thought-provoking!
The Cantillation of the Psalms
Cantillation is the art of reciting a biblical text in song during a synagogue service. Traditionally, this is performed by a soloist who uses an ancient system of musical motifs in a free rhythm. These motifs are indicated in the text by so-called phonetic symbols, the te’amim. This system of symbols was developed more than 1,100 years ago at the Ben-Asher School in Tiberias and eventually gained acceptance in all Jewish communities. However, the symbols indicate more than just the musical motifs: they also mark the correct pronunciation of each word and structure the sentence according to its grammatical composition. [ …]
Decoding the Secrets of the Psalms
Has any book ever been set to music more often than the Book of Psalms? For more than two thousand years, the poetic songs in this collection have inspired the creation of magnificent music: from monophonic chants to polyphonic compositions and popular melodies, all the way to symphonic masterpieces. Inspired by the words of Psalm 96—“Sing to the Lord a new song”—musicians in every generation have reinterpreted these verses, filled with prayer, lament, praise, and thanksgiving, in the musical language of their own time. [ …]
