I asked Cantor Pamela Schiffer of Congregation Shaarey Zedek,
East Lansing, Michigan if she would comment on the request
for information about Sephardic and Ashkenazic Cantillation.
Here is her reply.
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Subject: Re: [ha-Safran]: Cantillation
Re Sephardic and Ashkenazic Cantillation
1. "The Musical Tradition of the Eastern European Synagogue" by Sholom
kalib has a section on Yeminite chant ("Heritage from the Middle East),
including music examples in Volume Two. This would most likely be found in
a Reference section of a library. Published in 2002, Syracuse University
Press.
2. "Chanting the Hebrew Bible" by Joshua Jacobson is a very thorough
text/reference book on cantillation. It does not have a specific section
comparing the two traditions but, for the patient detective, references
throughout the book to specific Ashkenazic traits that contrast from the
Sephardic tradition can be found. This text, published in 2002 (Jewish
Publication Society), is probably the most comprehensive text on
cantillation now in publication. It explains all aspects of cantillation:
history, halacha, masoretic text, parsing, etc. The Bibliography itself
could be very useful.
3. Abraham Idelsohn's "Jewish Music in Its Historical Development (1967,
Shocken Books) may have some insights.
4. "Selected Sephardic Chant Sets" by Abraham Cardoza
(http://www.jewishmusic.com/index.asp) has cantillations for Torah and
Haftara, Kiddush, Shabbat, Holy Days and Kinot for Tisha B'av. Melody line,
chords, texts, transliterations and translations.
4. The 'Trope Trainer" computer program (www.kinnor.com) has at least eight
different melody systems notated, both Ashkenazic and Sephardic.
5. On the website (http://users.bestweb.net/~mafseek/tape.html) which is
selling a recording "Traditions of Biblical Cantillation, Vol 1", there is
an explanation of a biblical section on the tape chanted to a Spanish
Sephardic tune. "2 Kings 4:1-23 is the beautiful story of how Elisha brings
a young boy back from death. It is chanted, here, to the Spanish Sephardic
tune used when reading from the prophets. [I do not actually get to the part
where Elisha brings the boy back from death because the Sephardim
traditionally end this selection before that point in the story. Since I
chant it to the Sephardic tradition, I stop at the point where the
Shunammite woman is about to go and get Elisha to right the sad situation of
her son's untimely death, which is the traditional Sephardic stopping point
when this selection from Prophets is read in synagogue."
6. Of course, doing a Google search under "sephardic cantillation" may lead
the student towards some interesting information.
7. If there is a Sephardic synagogue in the area, the student may find a
Cantor, Rabbi, or educator there who could help with the paper.
_________________________________________________
Dr. Don Weinshank Professor Emeritus Comp. Sci. & Eng.
1520 Sherwood Ave., East Lansing MI 48823-1885
Ph. 517.337.1545 FAX 517.337.2539
http://www.cse.msu.edu/~weinshan
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