Lauren\u021biu Ganea is a Romanian composer whose work was pointed out to me by a fellow New Testament scholar, and whose musical exploration of biblical texts should be of interest to those who (like me) are fascinated by this intersection. Below are a couple of examples of his works. Let me preface them by offering an English translation of an excerpt from an article which features comments by the composer about his setting of the Song of Songs<\/a>, including his interest in using only instruments mentioned in the Bible. Lauren\u021biu Ganea said<\/a> (my translation):<\/p>\n I said that I want to respect the original text, even though I had no knowledge of Hebrew. I took it slowly and since 2009, a work that I imagined would take around 6-7 months instead took years to finish. It was performed in London, preceded by a presentation by me. After the conference I performed the music with local musicians from London. When I conceived of the piece, I thought it best to stick as closely as possible to their tradition. I chose instruments mentioned in the Bible or at the least very similar ones: flute, clarinet, bassoon, harp, and percussion as well as tenor and soprano voice. At the same time I tried to preserve and mirror, in a way, the sound of traditional synagogue chant\u2026combined with regional folkloric elements. I succeeded, because I had positive feedback from specialists. I also performed it in Bucharest in the Choral Temple, which was completely full. Most in attendance were Christians. It is a work that belongs to our universal human heritage. It is a work that also raises a question mark for many. What is a love story doing in the Bible?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Another article:<\/p>\n https:\/\/uzp.org.ro\/11\/08\/2021\/premiera-cantarea-cantarilor-shir-hashirim\/<\/p>\n Here is Ganea\u2019s setting of Song of Songs:<\/p>\n