Salamone Rossi: Al naharot Bavel (1623) with Synthesizer V

Описание: Despite the long history of Jewish communities in Italy tracing as far back as Greco-Roman times, it was only in 1623 that the first collection of polyphonic music with Hebrew text for liturgical use was printed in Venice by the Mantuan composer Salamone Rossi (aka il Ebreo, or the Jew). Due in part to its slightly less intolerant anti-Semitic policies, Mantua was one of the last city-states in Italy to build a walled ghetto for its Jewish population. Rossi, however, being a composer of significant importance, regularly commissioned by Vincenzo, the Gonzaga Duke of Mantua, traversed easily past the ghetto walls to mingle with the outside world -- the likes of Claudio Monteverdi, Giovanni Gastoldi and others. Rossi created a large body of works both secular and sacred, instrumental as well as choral. This four part setting is a lamentation based on the Hebrew Psalm 137, which refers to the Babylonian Captivity in the 6th Century BCE. It was likely intended for use in the Norsa Synagogue of Mantua during the 9 days of mourning leading up to Tisha B’av. It is difficult to imagine that Rossi would have ignored the plight of European Jews in his own time when composing this mournful song.

The original MIDI for this soundtrack minus the singing was created by John Hetland and uploaded to cpdl.org. I inserted the Hebrew text using Synthesizer V software with the Solaria and Kevin voice banks. The pronunciation of Hebrew is a simulation of Venetian Sephardic phonemes in the early 17th century. The harsh overtones in the finished soundtrack was reduced using Audacity v.3.75.

Text:

Psalms 137

עַ֥ל נַהֲר֨וֹת ׀ בָּבֶ֗ל (Al naharot bavel)
שָׁ֣ם יָ֭שַׁבְנוּ גַּם־בָּכִ֑ינוּ (sham yashavnu gam bachinu)
בְּ֝זׇכְרֵ֗נוּ (bezochrenu)
אֶת־צִיּֽוֹן׃ (et tsiyyon)
עַֽל־עֲרָבִ֥ים בְּתוֹכָ֑הּ (al aravim betochah)
תָּ֝לִ֗ינוּ כִּנֹּרוֹתֵֽינוּ׃ (talinu kinnoroteinu)
כִּ֤י שָׁ֨ם שְֽׁאֵל֢וּנוּ שׁוֹבֵ֡ינוּ דִּבְרֵי־שִׁ֭יר (ki sham sh'elunu shoveinu divrei shir)
וְתוֹלָלֵ֣ינוּ שִׂמְחָ֑ה (vetolaleinu simha)
שִׁ֥ירוּ לָ֗֝נוּ (shiru lanu)
מִשִּׁ֥יר צִיּֽוֹן׃ (mishir tsiyyon)
אֵ֗יךְ נָשִׁ֥יר אֶת־שִׁיר־יְהֹוָ֑ה (ech nashir et shir adonai)
עַ֗֝ל אַדְמַ֥ת נֵכָֽר׃ (al admat nechar)
זְכֹ֤ר אֲדֹנָי לִבְנֵ֬י אֱד֗וֹם (Zechor adonai livnei edom)
אֵת֮ י֤וֹם יְֽרוּשָׁ֫לָ֥‍ִם (et yom yerushalaim)
הָ֭אֹ֣מְרִים עָ֤רוּ ׀ עָ֑רוּ (ha omerim aru, aru)
עַ֗֝ד הַיְס֥וֹד בָּֽהּ׃ (ad hayesod bah)
בַּת־בָּבֶ֗ל הַשְּׁד֫וּדָ֥ה (bat bavel hasheduda)
אַשְׁרֵ֥י שֶׁיְשַׁלֶּם־לָ֑ךְ (ashrei sheyshallem lach)
אֶת־גְּ֝מוּלֵ֗ךְ (et gemulech)
שֶׁגָּמַ֥לְתְּ לָֽנוּ׃ (shegamalt lanu)
אַשְׁרֵ֤י ׀ שֶׁיֹּאחֵ֓ז (ashrei sheyochez)
וְנִפֵּ֬ץ אֶֽת־עֹ֝לָלַ֗יִךְ (venipets et olalayich)
אֶל־הַסָּֽלַע׃ (el hassala)

Translation:

By the rivers of Babylon
we sat and wept
remembering Zion.

Upon the willows
we hung up our lyres.

For there our captors asked us for songs,
our tormentors told us to rejoice,
“Sing for us,
a song from Zion!”

How can we sing a sacred song of the Lord
on foreign soil?

If I forget you, Jerusalem,
let my right hand lose its strength.

Let my tongue stick to my palate
if I do not remember you,
if I do not place Jerusalem
above all my greatest joy.

Remember, o Lord, the Edomites,
that day in Jerusalem! —
they said, “Strip her, strip her,
to her foundations!”

O daughter of Babylon, you despoiler,
happy is the one who pays you back,
for what you did to us!

Happy be the one who grabs
and smashes your babies
against the rocks!

Description of the photos:

1. “Al naharot bavel” cantus part, S. Rossi, Hashirim asher Lishlomo, Venice, 1623
2. Destruction of Jerusalem, from the Nuremberg Chrinicles, 1493
3. Cover page of the collection Hashirim asher Lishlomo, Song of Solomon, 1623
4. The Norsa synagogue interior first built in 1513 in the Jewish Ghetto of Mantua and rebuilt according to the original plans using original materials in the early 20th century
5. View of the Jewish Ghetto of Mantua near where Rossi composed his Psalm settings
6. The Great Psalm Scrolls 11Q5 (Dead Sea Scrolls) which includes one of the oldest surviving copies (albeit damaged) of Psalm 137 “Al naharot Bavel.” copied around CE 30-50
7. Fall of Giants, Hall of Giants, Palazzo Te, Mantova; perhaps a mural familiar to Rossi
8. Close up of Figure 6 with the “Al naharot” appearing at the right lower margin which has been mostly destroyed.