Note from the Artist

A note from the artist.

This recital of music and poetry of Jewish artists focuses on the intersection of spirituality and the quotidian. Much of Jewish culture and practice is about giving meaning to the everyday— finding moments of mindfulness in activities as ordinary as eating, sleeping, and counting the days of the week. This recital is inspired by this humanistic idea: that divinity and holiness are all around us and inside of us, and that attention and intention are what bridge the gap between mundane and magic.

Alex Weiser’s and all the days were purple sets secular Yiddish and English poetry, treating each poem with the care and reverence of a sacred text. Weiser writes in his program notes: “Each [piece] deals in some way with the meaning and shape of life, embracing its joy while trying to make sense of its difficulties and transience…each poem a way of seeking God without believing in God.”

Saariaho’s Changing Light, which sets devotional poetry by Rabbi Jules Harlow, exemplifies this idea of the human search for the divine inside of us. Her prismatic writing for flute and soprano plays with textures more commonly associated with electronic music; the thrum and vibrations that create life’s matter.

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