This volume examines the stories of Genesis in music, showing how musical settings can illuminate many of the Bible's most noted tales. Helen Leneman studies oratorios, operas and songs (as well as their librettos) to shed light on how Genesis has been understood and experienced over time. Examining an extensive range of musical settings of stories from the book of Genesis, Leneman offers an overview of chiefly 19th and 20th century musical engagements with this biblical text. Leneman first discusses how Eve's inner thoughts are explored by noted French composers Jules Massenet and Gabriel Faure. The text then enters the deep waters of Noah's flood in examination of several compositions, including two unusual settings by Igor Stravinsky and Benjamin Britten, as well as more conventional settings by Saint-Saens and Donizetti. Two major 19th century oratorio settings of Abraham's story by lesserknown German composers Martin Blumner and Karl Mangold provide fascinating illuminations of the Abraham narratives, whereas parts of Rebecca's story are found in works by Cesar Franck, Ferdinand Hiller, and most unusually, by a French woman composer, Celanie Carissan. Finally, Leneman shows how Joseph's story was set in numerous oratorios (including by Handel) but that one of the most important works based on his story is an opera by 18th century French composer Etienne Mehul. In addition to discussing these larger 19th century works, Leneman also examines several interesting atonal 20th century works based on the stories of Eve and the Flood, shedding new light on the history of the interpretation of the Book of Genesis.

In 1968, Turkish whirling dervishes accepted an invitation by UNESCO to perform in Paris for the first time, to the delight and fascination of French audiences. Kudsi Erguner, a Sufi musician specialising in the ney (reed flute), was amongst them, and accompanied the dervishes throughout their subsequent tours of Europe and the United States. Istanbul's Sufi community. In the tekke, the traditional meeting-places for dervishes, he grew close to the last great representatives of this community and was inspired by their words and music. He experienced their astonishment at the growing interest of Westerners in a culture the elders believed was doomed to extinction under the repressive laws of the Turkish authorities. In the West, Erguner would go on to meet other adepts of Eastern spirituality, including disciples of G. I. Gurdjieff and adherents of traditional music. He thus became aware of the fascination that the East exerted on Westerners, as well as the misunderstandings arising from this attraction. community, but also to relate the encounter of traditional Sufi culture with the Western world. He raises issues relating to the transmission of a teaching both musical and spiritual and the role of a 'traditional' musician.