Biblical Daughters and Queens Re-imagined in Music
By (author) Helen Leneman
In <em>Biblical Daughters and Queens</em> Helen Leneman continues her sustained approach to biblical reception in music traversing several centuries. She offers a immersive reading of two types of biblical women-daughters and queens-in a wide range of musical representations spanning over 300 years (1648-1993). Music as Leneman highlights goes beyond words: music expresses how feelings sound. Leneman’s unique analysis shares the ways in which these women’s stories have been altered their emotions imagined and amplified.
The stories of two daughters are explored: the tragedy of Jephthah’s daughter (Judges 11); and the Apocryphal story of Susannah. The tragedy of Jephthah’s daughter seems to have been of greater interest to early composers with most works whether oratorios or operas dating to pre-20th century. Susanna was a lesser-known story yet was treated both in two early oratorios and unusually in an operatic retelling of the story from the mid-20th century.
Queens included are Sheba (1 Kings) Athalia (2 Kings) and Esther (Book of Esther). In general the Queen of Sheba has not been re-imagined with much nuance in musical works mostly depicted as a sexy siren (though not always). Esther is the most popular queen for musical retellings featured in no fewer than nine works in this volume. An interesting discovery was an eighteenth-century oratorio with a Hebrew libretto. Athalia is the least known of the three but Handel thought she was worth an oratorio (he is well represented throughout the book).
In previous volumes Leneman has considered the biblical reception in music of Moses and Miriam in Exodus; David Saul and Bathsheba in the Book of Kings; Ruth and Naomi in the Book of Ruth; and Judith in the Book of Judith. Leneman also discussed the varied biblical characters in the Book of Genesis.
In previous volumes Leneman has considered the biblical reception in music of Moses and Miriam in Exodus; David Saul and Bathsheba in the Book of Kings; Ruth and Naomi in the Book of Ruth; and Judith in the Book of Judith. Leneman also discussed the varied biblical characters in the Book of Genesis.
This volume encourages an experiential approach to enable the reader and listener to hear and feel these women’s stories as never before. Links to the musical works are provided throughout. Each setting is filled with both text and music that will inspire the listener to return to the original story with a new and different understanding.
- By (author) Helen Leneman
Similar Books
Extracanonical Traditions and the Holy Land
Texts, Rituals, and Material Culture in Late Antique Palestine
Punning in Odd or Elegant Constructions in Jeremiah
The Convergence of Linguistics, Rhetoric, and Textuality in the Hebrew Text of Jeremiah
Shame in the Worlds of the Hebrew Bible and Akkadian Texts
A Linguistic Study and Its Implications
Volume 33
The Body
Lived, Cultured, Adorned: Essays on Dress and the Body in the Bible and Ancient Near East in Honor of Nili S. Fox
The Therapeutae as the Best Paradigm for the Contemplative Life
A Contextual Reading of Philo of Alexandria's De Vita Contemplativa
Die Jüngerinnen und Jünger im Thomasevangelium
Ein narratologisch inspirierter Zugang zum Text als Einheit
Parola di Dio, di uomo e di Re
L'assoluta verità della Bibbia nella dottrina cattolica di Bacchisio Raimondo Motzo
Übergemeindliche Verbindungen in den Briefen der paulinischen Mission
Vorkommen, Bedeutung, Funktion und Plausibilität
Wie JHWH spricht
Die temporelle Steuerung von Verbalaussagen in den Reden nach den Gottesspruchformeln
Breaking New Ground in John
Imagery, Parables, Characters, Christology, and Ethics in the Fourth Gospel
Volume 531
But the Wise Shall Understand
Reuse of Prophecies, Chronotope, and Merging of Eschatological Horizons in Daniel 10-12
Creation Concepts and Creation Care
Perspectives from Early Judaism, Early Christianity, and Beyond. Kontexte und Normen neutestamentlicher Ethik / Contexts and Norms of New Testament Ethics XVII
De-colonising the Biblical Narrative. Volume 4
The Colonial Worldview of the Book of Joshua
Volume 4
Paul and Sacrifice in Corinth
Rethinking Paul's Views on Gentile Cults in 1 Corinthians 8 and 10
Volume 623
