Psalterion on Ten Strings
for harp

Nevel Asor (an instrument of ten strings) It is written: "Give thank unto the lord with the lyre: sing praises unto him with the harp of ten strings. Sing unto him a new song: play skillfully with sounds of joy." (psalm 33:2-3) What did the instrument of ten strings sound like? What kind of music did it perform? Were the ten strings octave duplications of the seven stringed harp used in the temple or did its additional strings suggest a different tuning, a division of the octave into ten parts? In approaching the idea of composing for hypothetical instrument (to be performed on a contemporary seven stringed chromatic harp), the idea of playing with sounds of joy, "nagen b'teruah", which in Hebrew also implies a deep inner emotion, fascinated me. Playing "teruah" is normally associated with the shofar, a wind instrument; yet the harp is stringed instrument. S. R. Hirsch in his comments to the Psalm clarifies the issue as follows: "According to Arachin 13b "nevel" (English translation – harp) is in reality a wind instrument the tones of wich are produced by means of air. The tones of the harp of ten strings were so similar to those of a "nevel" in their melodiousness. That this harp (italics mine) was given the name "nevel"" I conceived the form and content of the work with reference to an elongated shofar sounding: tekiah (short phrases), shevarim (broken sounds) and teruah (long proclamations). S.R. Hirsch concludes: "the instrument of ten strings is symbolic of the perfect harmony of the future… reserved for the song which shall arise on that day when the world that is to be will be united in one harmonious whole". As it is written: "Let thy loving kindness be upon us, even as we have waited for thee." (Psalm 33:22) Max Stern