- The origin of the SYNAGOGE is very ancient and probably predates the Babylonian Exile. However, it was during the Babylonian Exile that the SYNAGOGUE became a permanent institution. Interpreted as "the House of the People" (Jer 39:8), the synagoge was a place of common worship and instruction (as opposed to the Temple which was a place of high liturgy, sacrifice and burnt offering.
- After the return from the Captivity, congregational worship, consisting of prayer and the reading of sections from the Bible, developed side by side with the revival of the cult of the Temple at Jerusalem, and thus led to the building of synagogues.
- The synagogues of Palestine are first mentioned in Psalm 74:8: "... the burned all the meeting places of God in the land."
- Synagogues existed simultaneously with the Temple at Jerusalem.
- Instrumental music (apart from the Shofar) never made a foothold in the Synagogue, probably because much of it was associated with ritual sacrifice. Consequently, there was no NEED for instrumental music in the Synagogue. Therefore, Synagoge music was predominately vocal: solo cantillation, choral antiphonal and responsorial, and congregational responsorial.
- The same style of CANTILLATION of scripture was used both in the Temple and in the synagogue.
- What we know of as "harmony" today was altogether non-existant in ancient times. Even today, Arabs have described western harmony as, "a wild and unleasant noise." Although, keep in mind that there is NO ritual Islamic religious music.*
- The vocal style of ancient times was that of HOMOPHONY, that is instruments and singers playing/singing together in unison or at the octave. This explains the remark in II Chronicles 5:13 that at the dedication of the temple the playing of the instruments, the singing of the Psalms, and the blare of the trumpets sounded as one sound. Also, this may explain the terms "al 'alamot" (Psalm 46) and "al ha-sheminit" (Psalms 6 & 12).
- Melodies repeated at each STROPHE (see Psalm 6 for a model). However, regular strophes (strophes with the same number of lines) did not exist in Hebrew poetry. Consequently, melody must have had much more freedom and flexibility than is known today, similar to modern Oriental melodies. Nevertheless, the melodies were "earnest and simple" and can probably be compared with what we know of as Gregorian Chant or with the Oriental Psalmody as introduce by Ambrose at about 300 CE. As late as the 20th century, there were Jewish synagoges in Yemen which had an unbroken traditions dating from the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. The chant used in these synagogues was almost indistinguishable from Mozarabic Chant [Idelssohn, Jewish Music: It's Historic Development, 1967]
*Islamic musical traditions are diverse and are largely influenced by the secular culture in the various parts of the world, for example: Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Indonesia, India, etc. A common belief for many fundamentalist Muslims is that all music is forbidden ("haraam") . Mohammed evidently disliked music and consequently for many fundamentalist Muslims music is generally regarded as sinful and associated with devils because of some passages in the Qur'an:
Al Hadis, Book 2, Chapter 12, No. 21, Abu Omahmah reported that the apostle of Allah said: 'Sell not singing girls, nor buy them, nor train them, and their price is unlawful...' Attested by Ahmed, Ibn Mahjah
Al Hadis, Book 2, Chapter 12, No. 283, Abu Omahmah reported that the Messenger of Allah said: 'None raised up his voice with a song but Allah sent him two devils upon his shoulders who beat his chest with their heels till he stopped.' Attested by Tirmizi.