The nation of Israel began as a group of nomad and shepherd tribes. Their history is filled with wars, and devastation. The most altering event in the history of Israel was the destruction of their second temple in 70 A.D., after their failed rebellion against the Roman Empire . This traumatic event caused the Jewish people to be scattered to every part of the known world. As one would imagine, this would have a tremendous affect on every aspect of their culture. It wasn’t until the late 1800’s that the Jews began to return to the land they once called home. Then in 1948, after World War II and 2,000 years of dispersion, Israel was a nation again. During each of these periods, Israel has always made a point to weave music into every part of their social fabric.

Influences in Ancient Israeli music

The history of Israel can be traced far back to the greatest of all Jewish patriarch’s, Abraham. In Genesis 12, Abraham is called by God to go out from his father’s house. This marked the beginning of nomadic life of the Jews. Abraham lived in the ancient Sumerian-Chaldean city of ‘ Ur , a heavily populated country, with his father Terah. The music of the Samarians entered Israel in much the same way it would enter any group of people, through continuous cultural intercourse. “It is commonly known that the Israelites borrowed from other civilizations all elements in conformance with their individuality, their religion, and their artistic conceptions” (Sendry 36). The Samerians had a strong tradition of religious and folk music. In the temple of the Samerians they use all kinds of instruments. The singers and psalmist in these temples were accompanied by stringed instruments like the harp or the lyre, an instrument adopted by the Jews.

After Abraham left his home in ‘ Ur , he settled in Canaan the future homeland of Israel . Soon after Abraham settled in Canaan there was a famine that caused him to travel to Egypt where he would find food for his household. Well not only would he take with him food but he would also take some of Egypt ’s musical tradition. Though there are numerous records about Egyptian civilization, not much is know about their music other than the instruments that they used. In Egyptian culture stringed instrument occupied a prominent place. Likewise stringed instruments had a leading role in the ancient music of Israel .

The civilizations of Babylonia and Assyria also played important roles in the music history of Israel. Both Babylonia and Assyria conquered Israel at one time or another in their history. These two civilizations also held stringed interments in high regard. There are Babylonian pictures that have survived that depict a triumphant king returning from battle to the praises of his people by musicians. This was something that the Israelites would later do as well. From the Babylonian’s and the Assyrians the Israelites adopted the practice of antiphonal singing.

Instruments in Ancient Israel

There is a modern method for classifying musical instruments based on how a tone is produced. Those classifications are 1) Idiophones, 2) Membranophones, 3) Aerophones, 4) Chordophones and 5) Electrophones. In classifying the instruments of Ancient Israel, scholars prefer to use the old method of classification, which is based the appearance of the instrument. These categories are as follows: 1) Stringed instruments, 2) Wind instruments, and 3) Percussive, shaking and rattling instruments. (Sendry 262)

The string instruments by far are the most important instruments. And of all the stringed instruments the preferred one is the Kinnor. The kinnor is also known as “David’s harp”. It is said that this is the instrument that King David played while singing his psalms as a shepherd boy. It is even mentioned forty-two times in the Bible. The kinnor is similar to a lyre and is exclusively associated with joyful occasions. The second most important in Israel was the Nebel. This instrument is mentioned 27 times in the bible. The number of strings on these instruments varied greatly from 4 to 12. Other stringed instruments not as popular as the two mentioned are Asor, Gittit, Sabbeka, Pesanterin, Kathros, Ndginor and Shushan.

The next category of instruments is wind instruments. The most important of these is the Ugav. An ugav has never been found, and the only descriptions we have from it are in the bible. Form the references that are in the Bible scholars have concluded that it is a wind instrument that “must have had a joyous tone character” (Sendry 308). The disadvantage to this instrument was its frailty. If the instrument was damaged then it couldn’t be fixed. Such a fragile instrument is what probably lead to its extinction. Another wind instrument was the halil. The halil is said to be very similar to the Greek aulos. The hazozerah is another wind instrument use by ancient Israel. The hazozerah was a long straight trumpet built by that Israelite after Egyptian models (Sendry 332). It was played after triumphant battles, similar to what the Assyrians did. The last of the wind instruments is the shofar. This instrument is unique because it is the only instrument that has lasted thousands of years and has remained in its original form and is still in use in the Jewish temples. The Hebrews took over the shofar from the Assyrians. Shofar (plur. Shofarot) is derived from the Assyrian word Shapparu, which means wild goat. Originally the shofar was curved, but later through new techniques, the naturally curved shofar became straight. The shofar was originally ornamented with gold and silver. Then after the destruction of the second temple in 70 A.D. gold and silver were prohibited on the instrument. In fact all music was prohibited among the Hebrews as a sign of mourning. “Only the shofar was permitted, but now this practice had a messianic significance and was connected with the providential hope that at some future time the prophet Elijah will sound the ‘shofar of deliverance’, thereby announcing the advent of the Messiah” (Sendry 343)

The last category of instruments is the percussion, shaking and rattling instruments. One of these instruments is the tof (plur. tuppin). Tof refers to any kind of hand drum of the ancient Hebrews. This instrument was the most widespread and easiest to play. It was most commonly played by women. This instrument played a big role in their religious practice during the dancing. Then there is the meziltayim and the zelzelim. These instruments were almost exclusively played in sacred services (Sendry 375). These instruments resemble the cymbals that we have today. They were struck vertically and horizontally. The meziltayim and the zelzelim “were probably no more than noise making instruments, designed to enhance by their bright and metallic sound the general rejoicing”(Sendry 376). The first mention of the meziltayim in the Bible is in 2 Samuel 6:5, where the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem is being moved.

The Diaspora

After several years of Israel being under Roman control the Jews began to develop anti roman feelings. This was escalated when the roman emperor Caligula declared himself a deity in 39 AD and demanded that a statue of him be placed in all places of worship. The Jews refused and Caligula threatened to destroy their temple, but he died of unknown reasons before he could. This caused the Jews to become more radical in their opposition against the Romans. This later led to the Great Revolt of the Jews in 66 AD. Well the Jews being no match for the Romans lost. The Romans Sacked Jerusalem and completely destroyed their second temple, not leaving one stone standing. The Romans renamed Judea to Palaestinia and Jerusalem , Aelia Capitolina, and Israel was left without a home. This marked the beginning of the Diaspora.

After the destruction of the second temple, all music was strictly forbidden by all rabbis, but this law was never really carried out to its full extent. The remaining Jews asked for and received a place of the Romans where they would be able to “establish outside of Jerusalem a central, nonpolitical institution for the preservation and continuation of Jewish spiritual life under the changed circumstances”(Sendry 31). The place was Yavenh in southern Palestine . Here their tradition would be perpetuated, even their music tradition. For example there are several indications in the Talmud that the reciting of sacred text must be accompanied by singing. The Mishna was also accompanied by singing as in evident by this famous remark by Rabbi Jochanan recorded in the Babylonian Talmud: “He who reads the Scriptures without melody and the Mishna without song, of him it can be said as is written: the laws I gave them were not good”(Gradenwitz 84). So even though music was forbidden, it continued to live on in the Jewish culture.

Wherever the Jews were scattered they always were able to maintain their culture and resist assimilation. Many scholars believe that their ability to resist such assimilation and cultural surrender is due to the promises made by God to the patriarchs. The promises the “Kingdom of God and the resurrection of the Holy City ” of Israel (Gradenwitz 72). “The Jews saved their legacy as other nations crumbled and fell. They lost their nationhood and their country but perpetuated their law and ethics. The people of Israel’s strong sense of tradition not only preserved Judaism as such, but handed down to countless generations a poetry and music regarded bay all civilized nations of the ancient and the medieval world as heights of achievement.” (Gradenwitz 72).

Music of the Jews in the Diaspora is not very well documented. The earliest know notation of Hebrew chants date from the twelfth century. These chants were transcribed by a Jewish proselyte named Obadya ha-G ē r. From these transcriptions the style of the Jews seem to reflect the practice of eastern Mediterranean hymnody, as well as the influence of early Gregorian chant (Gradenwitz 87).

During the Diaspora the Jews found a great amount of freedom to flourish in Spain . Originally the Jews were hated and oppressed by the Spanish Christians there. Ironically it wasn’t until the Arabs had conquered Spain that the Jews were able to really live free. The Arabs did away with all the restriction the Jews were forced to live under. This was because the Arabs were able to better relate with the Jew’s character and way of life than the more hostile Spaniards. Here the Jews borrowed some ideas of music from the Arabs and used it for their own. The Arabs really stressed the importance of the arousal of emotion. The religious and musical practices of the Jews were never meant to arouse emotion in the worshiper. The Jews just never really focused on emotion, not like the Arabs. The Arabs felt that the Jewish laws were too rigid and “too much the product of cold reasoning, and devoid of an understanding of the demands of heart and soul” (Gradenwitz 107). This gave rise to Jewish poets and singers know as paytanium toward the end of the fifth century. And there is evidence that many of these poet singers based many of there songs on Arabic tunes (Gradenwitz 115). The Jews remained in Spain until 1492 whey they were expelled, along with the Arabs, from the land.

In Europe , Jews were not as free as they were in Islamic Spain. There they were excluded from all phases of life centered in the Church. “They lived together within the sphere of their own community and took no part in the life of the Christians and in their economic, social, political, cultural, and artistic activities, which were all directed by the omnipotent Church of Rome” (Gradenwitz 126). In this setting the Jews wanted even more to maintain and perpetuate their own traditions. So much more that the Jewish authorities prohibited the influx of foreign tunes to maintain the purity of their traditional chant.

The Return and Today

In Leo Pinsker’s treatise Auto-Emancipation, he demands that all Jews concentrate in two countries. One being America and the other Palestine , the Holy Land of their ancestors. Because the Jews were dispersed for roughly 1,800 years, their return brought with them many diverse musical styles. There are basically three eras of their migration back to Israel .

The first era of immigration spans from 1882 to 1903. During this time many new songs were being written in Hebrew by poets who were either part of the HibatSiyon(Love of Zion) or Hathiyah (revival) movements. The majority of these melodies were borrowed from Hasidic and Yiddish sources. They also borrowed tunes form Russian, Romanian and Polish folk and popular songs.

The next two eras of migration (1904-14, 1919-23) brought 4 distinct song types. The first continued from the first era, Hibat Siyon. The second type was school song. There was a need to teach Jewish children their history and there was the push to revive the ancient Hebrew language. The third type is Arab music. Jewish composers used Arabic melodies; much like they did in times past, and adapted Hebrew texts to them. These songs were usually love songs characterized by use of the interval of a second, often an augmented second. They would also have slow tempos and contain a lot of rubato. The last category is the Eastern European Hasidic song. These songs include versed from the Bible or from prayer books

The last two ears of migration (1924-1948) brought a period of dramatic change for the new Israeli song. One big change was the movement of syllabic emphasis to the last syllable of words, which brought about change in musical rhythm. The subjects of songs were now concerned with work and the homeland, the landscapes of Galilee and the Izrael valley.

After 1948 and the establishment of the Nation of Israel, composes began to compose in a “country song” or “Shepard song” style (Rothmuller 234). These songs would be accompanied by acoustic guitar, accordion and the Arab clay drum. After the 60’s the accordion was replaced by electric organ, and the Arab clay drum by the drum set. As on might imagine, this combination of instruments gave rise to rock groups such as Lahaqat Kaveret. A band that has a lot of influence among modern rock groups.

After almost two thousand years of dispersion the Jews have begun to create for themselves a new cultural center on the same spot that once was home to a mighty nation filled with artistic beauty. The Jews have produced such great composers from King David to Arnold Schoenberg, from Felix Mendelssohn to George Gershwin. They have been oppressed, discriminated against and persecuted. Most peoples would have faded away a long time ago under the same circumstances, but the Jews still remain today. They have kept much of their tradition as it as been passed down to them with minor alterations from foreign influence. The music of the new Israel began much like it did with Abraham. With immigrants coming to a land, bringing with them the habits and customs of their former surroundings, wanting to create for themselves a new culture and art of their own. 4,000 years and they’re right back where they started

Portland , Oregon Amadeus Press, 1996

Jersey: Thomas Yoseloff, 1970
Music in Ancient Israel : New York : Philosophical Library, 1969

Stainer, John. The Music of the Bible. New York: Da Capo Press

Yoseloff, 1967