By the rivers of babylon: echoes of the babylonian past in the musical heritage of the iraqi jewish diaspora

Abstract

This article is dedicated to the musical heritage of the Babylonian (Iraqi) Jews. It centres on the question of possible musical vestiges of the Babylonian past and their uncovering. The history of the Jewish settlement in Babylonia and the particular scientific interest in it are discussed as well as questions of age and origin of Babylonian Jewish music, musical sources and the problem of ancient Temple music. The core of the article focuses on the older strata of Babylonian Jewish music – psalmody, Bible cantillation and the tradition of lamentation, examining the phenomenon of collective memory and deploying strategies beyond those employed in traditional musicology.