| Genootschap voor de Joodse Wetenschap in Nederland | ||||
zondag 10 juni 2012 Reading the Song, Remembering the Word. On the Historical Development and Practice of the Ta‘amei Hamikra (Jewish Cantillation Signs)Prof. dr. Dániel Péter BiróThe Jewish cantillation signs, the ta’amei hamikra, are of particular interest to chant scholars interested in the gradual transformation of oral music performance into notation. Each sign, placed above or below the text, acts as a melodic idea which either connects or separates words of the text, thereby functioning to clarify syntax, pronunciation and, in some cases, meaning of the text. Unlike standard music notation, the interpretations of each sign are flexible and influenced by regional traditions, practices of given Jewish communities, larger musical influences, and improvisatory elements incorporated by a given reader. In this talk Prof. Biró will discuss various theories about the historical development of the Te’amim and investigate aspects of the practice of Torah trope in various Jewish communities. In addition, he will discuss his recent research, done in coordination with scholars at the University of Victoria and Utrecht University. Using a participatory design process they developed an interactive web-based interface that enables researchers to aurally and visually investigate recordings of Torah and Haftarah trope and explore the relations between signs, gestures and musical representations. Prof. dr. Dániel Péter Biró (born 1969) is Associate Professor of Composition and Music Theory at the University of Victoria, Canada. He studied in Hungary, Switzerland, Germany, and completed his PhD in composition and Judaic studies at Princeton University in 2004. His dissertation was a comparative study of early notational practices, looking at relationships between orality and notational development in examples of Jewish Torah trope, tenth century plainchant from St. Gallen and Hungarian laments. He researched Hungarian folk music at the Academy of Science in Budapest and Jewish and Islamic chant in Israel and the Netherlands. In 2011 he was Visiting Professor at Utrecht University. His compositions are performed around the world. Dániel Péter Biró is co-editor of Search - Journal for New Music and Culture and co-founder of the Tsilumos Ensemble. De lezing wordt gehouden in het Engels. |