Jerusalem
Composing Year:
1996
Instruments:
Symphony Orchestra [3/pic,3/ehn,2,2 - 4,3,3,1, timp, perc, cel, hp & str]
Duration:
9'
Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra | Conductor: David Shallon (1996)
Commissioned by the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra for the celebration of 3000 years to Jerusalem.
The point of departure for this work is based on the various names by which the city has been called throughout history: Yeru-salem (its name in antiquity), through Yerushalaim, Aelia Capitolina, Jerusalem and El-Kuds.
Each appellation has its own internal rhythm and the means of development in my work rest upon the rhythmic motifs which those rhythms dictate. I have tried to give expression in my work to my own complex feelings for the city and convey my impressions of the earthly city of to-day – its vitality, its multi-layered texture (be it historic, cultural or religious); beset by conflicts, blistering, exploding yet over hopeful. Though it is at the heart of relentless and uncompromising feuds, it remains the object of loving yearning of many the world over.