Mike Hinkediker Bursztyn

A Sonic Landscape through the Tree of Life: 

A Sonic Landscape through the Tree of Life By Mike Hinkediker Bursztyn Hebrew University 2012

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In order to clarify this work, let us present definitions of the aspects involved, such as “ music ”, “ harmony ” and “ Jewish musical mode. ”

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MUSIC It is a sort of comportment necessary for whoever thinks it and makes it. It is an individual pleroma, a realization. It is a fixing in sound of imagined virtualities (cosmological, philosophical, . . ., arguments) It is normative, that is, unconsciously it is a model for being or for doing by sympathetic drive. It is catalytic: its mere presence permits internal psychic or mental transformations in the same way as the crystal ball of the hypnotist. It is the gratuitous play of a child. It is a mystical (but atheistic) asceticism. Consequently expressions of sadness, joy, love and dramatic situations are only very limited particular instances. Composer Iannis Xenakis in "Towards a Metamusic" (chapter 7 of Xenakis 1971)

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"Music is a hidden arithmetic exercise of the soul, which doesn't know that it is counting." Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz "Music is the space between the notes." Claude Debussy. "Music is organized sound." Edgard Varese

Harmony: 

Harmony “Joint, union, agreement, concord of sounds” ¨[The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology in English Language] The coexistence of two different frequencies produce a vibratory state that the receiver translates into emotions by the particular way (personal experience) in which this relates to him (affects him). The state of harmony is defined by how similar (close to each other) or dissimilar (far from each other) the frequencies are, just as near and far in the spiritual world is kabbalisticaly understood. Jewish Musical Mode “Jewish liturgical music is characterized by a set of musical modes. There are a number of ways to define a musical mode - many scholars think about a mode as a collection of pitches or a scale, while others define a mode as a collection of musical motives or phrases” Bernard, Andrew. The Sound of Sacred Time

About the present work: 

About the present work The purpose of this work is to translate the essence of the sephirot into actual experience by means of emotional states suscitated by the progression of musical intervals. Ascending scales have always represented for mystics a symbolic and meditative path of ascension. In this construction the harmony progresses upwards in reach for Keter, while in each stage a melody playing with the mode shows us that each sephira (each note) contains the whole scale (all sephirot). Every chord change marks the reach of a new sephira, to make this clearer the change of chord is followed by a bell that indicates that a new state has been reached. Two consecutive trees were used in order to describe the cyclic potential of this system.

System used : 

System used It consists of a progression of intervals harmonizing with a constant drone (Malchut) in an ascendant order. The harmonic journey begins in Malchut, and ends in Chochma, Keter being the beginning of a new sequence in the circle of fourths. The transition from one tree to another is marked by a cymbal and drum. Each interval produces a different emotional state, the relation between this state and the sephira its not arbitrary but follows the intervalic order of the scale used. I.e. Malchut = 1 st grade of the scale, Yesod= 2 nd grade and so on. The musical mode chosen for this work is the Jewish prayer mode called “Ahava Rabbah”, which is as follows:

The scale and the tree: 

The scale and the tree RE RE# FA# SOL LA SIb DO RE RE# FA# SOL

The scale and the tree: 

The scale and the tree RE Drone note for all subsequent sephirot. 1 st grade of the scale. Malchut

The scale and the tree: 

The scale and the tree RE RE# YESOD Dissonance creates tension, A state that must be relieved through the next sephira The feeling is of instability and blurriness

The scale and the tree: 

The scale and the tree RE RE# FA# HOD The first consonance in the scale, the sound opens, reminding us of splendor. 3 rd degree of the scale that forms a “major third” (Splendor)

The scale and the tree: 

The scale and the tree RE RE# FA# SOL Netzach The interval is a “perfect 4th” Characterized by a warrior’s tempered feeling, which relates to the meaning of this sephira (Endurance)

The scale and the tree: 

The scale and the tree RE RE# FA# SOL LA Tiferet (Beauty) “The perfect 5 th is the most consonant interval in the scale, its frequency is the exact half of Malchut

The scale and the tree: 

The scale and the tree RE RE# FA# SOL LA SIb "What is the fifth (utterance)? Fifth is the great fire of God, of which it says “Let us see no more of this great fire, lest we die” (Deut 18:16). This is the left hand of God" [Arthur Green. A guide to the Zohar] The courage of Gevurah is felt in the form of the augmented fifth GEVURAH

The scale and the tree: 

The scale and the tree RE RE# FA# SOL LA SIb DO In Chesed the interval opens as far as possible before the octave. The minor 7 th CHESED Greatness

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RE RE# FA# SOL LA SIb DO RE Daat is an interfacing node which gives the entire tree a sense of completion. Musically in the form of the Octave, being twice the frequency of Malchut.

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RE RE# FA# SOL LA SIb DO RE RE# The sound of the minor 9 th denotes restraint and tension, similar to Yesod since its twice its frequency. (octave) BINAH

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RE RE# FA# SOL LA SIb DO RE RE# FA# The color of this interval reminds us of revelation. It carries the essence of splendor (Hod) as it is twice its frequency (octave) CHOCHMA

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RE RE# FA# SOL LA SIb DO RE RE# FA# Arriving to a place of purity, the end of this journey is also the beginning of a new tree, following the cycle of fourths KETER SOL

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The End Prepared for “Contemporary Kabbalah” Dr. Eliezer Shore Rothberg International School, H.U. 2012