Neue Aspekte zum strukturellen Zusammenhang zwischen Taame emet und Hebraish- orientalische Psalmodie

The article is based on the writer's MA thesis where he examined the reading of Psalms by Moroccan, Djerba and Iraqi Jews based on field work performed in 1977-1980. The article revisits the connection between taame emet and the reading of tehilim by the these communities in light of Idelsohn’s theory that the Eastern Sephardi communities retained their tradition of tehilim reading according to the taame emet. The historical and ethnomusicological aspects of the topic was examined. A comparison of the teamim of Psalm 24 in the Tiberian and Iraqi tradition shows that A- the Iraqi system is more simple and closer to psalmody, and B- The text in the Iraqi tradition is written in a way which enables identification of the different parts of the verse. The ethnomusicological discourse compares three versions of psalm 24 sung by the three communities referred to earlier. The writer affirms Idelsohn’s claim that Eastern communities retained tame emet however the tradition retained only reveals the structural aspect and not the motivic aspect in contrast to the cantilation of the Torah. The connection between the Jewish psalmody and taame emet could indicate the existence of an ancient reading tradition preceding the Tiberian tradition as it is revealed in the Iraqi manuscripts.


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