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| N.B.: A WinZip
(.zip) archive (17.9 MB) containing a PowerPoint Presentation (.ppt) and
sound files (.mp3) summarizing the historical and musical background to Suzanne
Haïk-Vantoura's work may be downloaded via
this link. |
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SCORES BY EDITIONS CHOUDENS |
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The scores that correspond to the recordings Volumes
1-3 and the original Cantique des cantiques
de Salomon (including full
choral editions of seven Psalms) were published by Editions Choudens
in Paris. The French Web site di-arezzo.com (see below)
has also listed the scores by Editions Choudens (and a set of piano pieces produced by Haïk-Vantoura as well)
for purchase by individuals.
Presently all the scores by Editions Choudens
(pending further commercial negotiations) are out of print. They are
being made available on The Biblical Chant Library DVD-ROM, produced by
the Webmaster.
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SCORES BY THE INSTITUTION ROI DAVID
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Under the auspices of her own Institution Roi
David (formerly Fondation Roi David), Haïk-Vantoura published a large number of biblical texts in melody-only format. These
were handwritten texts produced in facsimile and comb-bound into compact volumes. They included Les 150 Psaumes dans leurs melodies antiques (in
two volumes), Quatre Meghilot, and Haïk-Vantoura's
final and summary work, Message biblique intégrale.
Other arrangements of some of the Psalms with accompaniments, and possibly other sections of the Bible as well,
remained unpublished at Haïk-Vantoura's death. In all, some 5,000 verses -- about a quarter of Hebrew Scripture
-- had been transcribed by Haïk-Vantoura and her volunteer assistants before her death.
Unfortunately, every one of these volumes is currently out of print. They are being made available on The Biblical Chant Library DVD-ROM, produced by
the Webmaster. |
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LES 150 PSAUMES DANS LEURS MELODIES ANTIQUE
Tomes 1 et 2 (Parts 1 and 2), Second Edition, Bilingual, Revised (Paris: Fondation
Roi David, 1991)
This set of melody-only scores (1st edition, 1985) was originally published in French only, with a transliterated
Hebrew text and an interlinear French translation and commentary in French. For the second edition, Dennis Weber
added an English interlinear translation to the score and an English translation of the commentary. (An incomplete
third edition added very simple instrumental harmonies to the Psalms in Part 1.)
As always, Haïk-Vantoura scrupulously observed the forms of the te`amim and their positions relative to the
syllables they mark, even in places where the Letteris Edition has obvious typographical errors. The commentary
includes the deciphering key, a summary analysis of the biblical psalmody and psalmists, and an extensive bibliography
which offers many points of comparison with ancient musical practice. Marginal notes in the scores themselves refer
back to the commentary and/or give other important information. The scores also note the reconstructed choral structures
of the Psalms and the modality used in each. |
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QUATRE MEGHILOT: Esther, L'Ecclesiaste, Les Lamentations, Ruth dans leurs
melodies d'origine
(Paris: Fondation Roi David, 1986)
This set of melody-only scores was originally published in French only; to my knowledge it was never translated.
There is a brief introduction to the books and a summary of the deciphering key, in addition to the melodies. (Since
the Song of Songs was published separately with a complete arrangement, this volume contains only four of the "Five
Megillot", hence the title.)
In this edition, the Book of Ruth is given but one mode throughout. Haïk-Vantoura remarks here that the book
(so rendered) "has the flavor of a legend, which separates it from the other books" (p. II). Apparently
further analysis of the book changed her mind as to the correct modal structure, for the recording Visages Antiques d'Israél by Myra Zakai (Alienor
CD AL 1092) has a considerably more complex modal structure (with the several modes having, in some places, "variable
degrees"). Should this set of scores ever be republished, presumably this change in the reconstruction of
the modality will be taken into account. |
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MESSAGE BIBLIQUE INTEGRALE dans son chant retrouvé
(Paris: Fondation Roi David, 1992)
This set of melody-only scores was originally published in French only; to my knowledge, it was never translated
into English. It contains forty major texts from the three sections of the Hebrew Bible (the Law, the Prophets
and the Writings), plus the most detailed explanation Haïk-Vantoura had yet offered concerning the mechanics of how the te`amim interpreted the verbal syntax
and meaning. (Much of what she wrote on this subject is summarized on the page How the Bible Says What It Says.)
There are also summary commentaries on the meaning of the various texts, a good number of which are also found
on the recordings L'ésprit de Dieu et les prophètes by Esther Lamandier (Alienor CD AL 1061) and Visages Antiques d'Israel
by Myra Zakai (Alienor CD AL 1092).
A number of the texts found in this volume were chosen because of their parallel verbal content, allowing the reader
to see how the accentuation compares in such texts. In some cases, a text that is found in prosody is also found
in psalmody, so here the prosodic version is given. Remarkably, there are often points of comparison between the
melodies of these parallel texts, even though two different melodic systems may accentuate them in different places
in the Bible. (One text, Isaiah 53, owes
its presence to my personal suggestion to the author.) |
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