Biblical Verse in Classical Settings

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1. Biblical verse was not commonly set to music for secular occasions, until a sort of semi-secular genre was created - the oratorio. Which of these characters does not appear in an oratorio or opera? Aholiab (Oholi'av) God Jephetah (Yiftach) King Saul (Sha'ul)

2. Which of the following stories was not set to music? The creation of the world The Exodus King Josiah and the renovations of the temple Elijah on Mt. Carmel

3. Robert Schumann should be credited for creating the adjective "Philistine", which referred to ignorant people who didn't understand his work. The word stuck as one of an artist's terms for an ignorant or unappreciative audience. But why Philistines? The Bible portrays the Philistines as a boorish, ignorant people Schumann was referring to Goliath, who was defeated by David despite the incredible odds The Bible portrays the Philistines as an unmusical nation All of these

4. The German Requiem ("Ein Deutsches Requiem") is the only piece by its composer for voices and orchestra in which verses from the Old Testament are set. True False

5. Which of these composers did not set Old Testament verses in their original Hebrew or Aramaic? Igor Stravinsky Salamone de Rossi Johann Hermann Schein Arnold Schoenberg

6. In Mendelssohn's "Elijah", how is the voice of Baal portrayed in the music? Low tones in the strings and the timpani Full chorus singing the verses where Baal speaks Dissonant, grotesque brass chords Complete silence

7. In what language did Leonard Bernstein chose to write his "Chichester Psalms"? Latin Hebrew Greek English

8. Martin Luther's translation of the Bible was Bruckner's top choice for setting Biblical verse. True False

9. In what language did Igor Stravinsky write his "Symphony of Psalms"? Greek Hebrew Latin Russian

10. The "Lamentations of Jeremiah" were popular texts in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. In the original Hebrew, these verses are written as alphabetical acrostics. How was this idea set to music by most composers? The Hebrew alphabet was set to melismatic music before the verse was set No notice was taken of this The music was set in Hebrew Hebrew letters were written in the margins, but not as part of the music