Some
friends of mine are professional or amateur musicians in various choirs or
ensembles and as they know I love classical music, I can often get free tickets
or for a reduced price. Last evening I had again a chance for attending a
concert: the Margaretha Consort performing beautiful baroque music by composers
from cities which once belonged to the Hanseatic League. This league was active
from the 13th to the 17th century and consisted of cities
from the Low Countries to the Baltic with a common interest in commerce and defence.
Amongst
the pieces was a motet by Henri Dumont (1610-1684), set on a text from the Song
of Songs. The Song of Songs is actually
erotic poetry, standing in a long line of Near Eastern erotic poetry of which
modern Arab love poetry is the youngest offshoot. The reason that this text forms part of the
Bible is that the love described was explained as a metaphor for the love of
God for Israel.
I
noticed that in the program booklet a line was missing in the Dutch translation
and that the translation has been altered: quaesivi
(quaeram) quem diligit anima mea was translated as `I searched (I will
search) the one whom I love’. I decided to
sort this out. Well, the Hebrew × ַפְשִׁ֑×™ (nphshi `my soul’) can be used as `I’, so `my soúl loves’ = `I love’. I am sure this
has been explained to me some 30 years ago while learning Biblical Hebrew in
the first year of my study theology, but I completely forgot. Time to revive my
Hebrew…
As for
the translation: this is an interesting example of a translator’s choice: not
only the modern Dutch Bible translations opt for `I love’ but also some modern
English translations. But isn’t `whom my
soul loveth’(KJV) far more poetic?
Canticum
Canticorum 3, 1-2
1. In lectulo meo,
per noctes,
quaesivi quem diligit
anima mea:
quaesivi illum,
et non
inveni.
2. Surgam,
et circuibo civitatem:
per vicos et plateas
quaeram quem diligit
anima mea:
quaesivi illum,
et non inveni.
lectulus: bed
surgo surrexi: to
rise
circuibo: from circum-eo
vicus: street
platea: broad street, avenue
A
performance of `In lectulo meo’:
More
about the Song of Songs:
And more
about the Margaretha Consort:
Illuminated
manuscript of the Song of Songs (details unknown to me).
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