A quiet notice V2Melody closes at midnight on , Spanish time.

Closes

A note from Richard

V2Melody will close at midnight on 20 January 2028

This site has been a retirement project in musical poetry: poems chosen with care and set to music, offered freely for as long as it felt right to keep the garden open.

The work no longer holds the place it once did in my life. I have gone as far with it as I wish to go. Like a sand mandala, it was made to be completed and then released. I am not attached to its permanence, and I do not believe any of it needs to last beyond the time it was given. The poems were already here before I arrived and began to experiment with them. They will still be here when these musical experiments, and indeed myself, have been swept away, like the sand of a mandala. Nothing has been lost.

I want a simpler end to my life, days of simple love and enjoyment with my wonderful wife of 20 years. The work of maintaining a server, the monitoring, and the residual obligations that come with keeping a site alive no longer fit that life.

From 4 November 2026 I will not be adding new poems or musical poems to the site.

The experimental music I am making now is on my Suno profile. Those pieces stay there, and are not added to this site.

Until midnight on 20 January 2028, Spanish time, everything remains available exactly as it is. That is when my VPS server contract comes to an end, and it will not be renewed. After that, the server will be switched off and the site will disappear.

The Mandala Is Finished explains this more fully.

Thank you to anyone who found a poem, a track, or a quiet moment here.

The pleasure was in the making.

Richard

Home › Glossary › Letter J

Jubal

Biblical
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Jubal is a biblical figure from Genesis 4:21, described as the son of Lamech and the “father of all such as handle the harp and organ” (or lyre and pipe), traditionally regarded as the originator or patron of music and musical instruments.

Detailed Definition
In the poetry glossary under the Biblical category, Jubal functions as an archetypal allusion representing the divine or primordial origins of music, harmony, and artistic civilization. Mentioned only once in Scripture as a descendant of Cain, he embodies the early human impulse toward creative expression through sound, transforming raw auditory experience into structured art. Poets frequently invoke him to evoke the civilizing power of music—its ability to tame chaos, foster community, and bridge the earthly and the divine. In literary contexts, Jubal serves as a typological figure: a prefiguring of later musicians and a symbol of humanity’s God-given capacity for beauty amid a fallen world. His appearance adds biblical authority and mythic resonance to themes of harmony emerging from discord.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Andrew Marvell’s “Music’s Empire,” Jubal appears as the heroic civilizer who “first made the wilder notes agree, / And Jubal tuned Music’s Jubilee; / He called the echoes from their sullen cell, / And built the organ’s city, where they dwell.” Here, Marvell elevates the biblical musician into a foundational architect of musical order, using him to launch the poem’s narrative of music’s imperial rise from primordial noise to cosmic dominion.
Additional Notes
Historical context/origin: Derived from the Hebrew “Yūḇāl” (possibly linked to “stream” or “ram’s horn”), Jubal belongs to the antediluvian genealogy in Genesis 4, alongside his brother Jabal (father of tent-dwellers and herders) and half-brother Tubal-Cain (forger of metals). Medieval and Renaissance writers, including music theorists, often portrayed him as the inventor of music, sometimes contrasting him with sacred figures like King David. Related terms: Often paired with Orpheus (classical myth) or David (biblical psalmist) as contrasting or complementary musician archetypes; see also “music of the spheres” or “harmony” in metaphysical poetry. Usage tips: In poetry, reference Jubal to lend scriptural weight to celebrations of music or to explore creation, order, and redemption. Avoid reducing him solely to “inventor” without acknowledging his role as symbolic progenitor. Etymology and variations: Hebrew יוּבָל (Yūḇāl); sometimes spelled Yuval or Jabal in older texts (distinct from his brother). In literature, he symbolizes the birth of the arts in a Cainite line, adding nuance to themes of profane versus sacred music.
Also Known As
musical progenitor harp father biblical minstrel
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