For Soprano and Ensemble
music for soprano and ensemble | Hebrew | 
Duration: 10.5 minutes
 
Instrumentation: for soprano and ensemble
Text: Canticles 2; 1-13 (“The Songs of Songs” or “Shir Hashirim”)
​Language: Hebrew
Year Composed: 2006
 
For more information recording and score preview, please click HERE
 
 
Program Notes:
Spring Calls for soprano, flute, viola, cello and harp is a setting of texts from the second chapter of Canticles (Shir Hashirim) book, known also as “The Song of Songs.” It is one of the five “Megilot” – sacred scrolls that are part of the Hebrew Bible. Canticles is mainly being read in Passover, the “holiday of spring.” Its theme is love and rebirth of love, symbolized by the spring.
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Usually, only one or two lines of Canticles texts are being set to music. However, I had an interest to create a sort of journey as well as a psychological journey of a woman who searches, awaits and discovers her love. The text parallels the awakening of love with the awakening of spring in a most vivid and colorful way. While choosing instrumentation and musical language to with work, the modal, archaic sound mixed with the new was in my vision. Therefore, one can hear colors of certain exotic and primeval instruments such as the sistrum  – an ancient Egyptian percussion instrument, dated from 2500 B.C. used mostly for religious ceremonies.
 
Spring Calls was written for Close Encounters With Music, Yehuda Hanani – artistic director. It was generously commissioned by Lola and Edwin Jaffe with deep appreciation to their support.