The Biblical soggetto cavato

The technique of transcribing letters into musical notes, whose most famous example is B.A.C.H., used by Johann Sebastian Bach, in the Art of Fugue BWV1042 but also by Ferenc Liszt up to A. Schoenberg, has been widely used by such different composers like Robert Schumann (Carnival op.9 ca. 1834) or Alban Berg (Lyric Suite and other works).

It has its roots in the book of Psalms: Psalm 66:4 ``all the earth will worship you and they will play-to You, they will play your Name (ya-zä-ma-ru' shem-hä').''

Psalm 9:2 (9:3 JPS) - of David ``I will be glad and rejoice in you: I will play your Name (ä-zä-ma-rä' shem-hä') Most High.''

Psalm 61:8 (61:9 JPS) - of David ``so I will play your Name (ä-zä-ma-rä' shem-hä') forever, that I may fulfill my vows day-after-day.''

Psalm 7:17 (7:18 JPS) - of David ``I will thank Yahveh according to His righteousness and I will play the Name of Yahveh (vä-ä-zä-ma-rä' shëm Yäh-vah') Most High''

Psalm 68:4 (68:5 JPS) - of David ``Sing to God, 3play His Name (zä-ma-ru' shë-mo'), raise Him up who rides upon the desert plains by Yah, His Name, and be joyful before Him.''

The Hebrew texts attribute to David the usage of this technique. This long lost secret provided to be the basis upon which Synagogue singers were able to ``sing the Name of God'' or ``to play the Name of God''

The seemingly ``unrelated'' aspects of a name and its musical notes is actually in accordance with the Semitic believing that the name of a thing is actually the thing itself. This believing is still perpetuated today in many occasions. Among traditional and Orthodox Jews, it is considered sacrilege to throw away a piece of paper (or a book) containing the Name of God. Similarly it is believed that naming a child will somehow act on his destiny.

The mapping of the letters to the musical scale must be undertaken with care and some special considerations. The Hebrew alphbet contains 22 letters. Our musical scale has 12 notes...The point here is that the Hebrew system of music, like all other Eastern traditional musics, is using quarter tones and do not fit with the recent (invented ca. 1640) Western well-tempered scale.

It is most likely that the octave interval is divided into 22 more or less equal intervals which were forming the basis of the mapping of letters into musical notes.