Meira Warshauer Akhat Sha'alti (One thing I Request)

(Please watch in HD setting)
Music by Meira Warshauer, art by Lyssa Harvey. Text from Psalm 27:4.
Commissioned by Coastal Carolina Univerisity Nancy A. Smith Visitor Series. Premiere performance March 10, 2010, Coastal Carolina University Chorus, Dr. Terri Sinclair, Director, and Percussion Ensemble, Kurry Seymour, Director.

Text and translation:
Akhat sha'alti me'et HaShem, Otah avakesh: Shivti b'veyt HaShem kol y'mei chayai.
One thing I asked of the Holy Living Essence, this I will seek: that I may dwell in the House of the Holy One all the days of my life.

http://meirawarshauer.com/

Composer notes:

It is traditional to read Psalm 27 during the month before and including the Jewish New Year, as part of the season of teshuvah or return. The simplicity of verse 4 always holds my attention and gives me strength throughout the year:

In this composition, I hope to convey how it may feel to sit with awareness of the Holy Presence. The first movement focuses on the word akhat, which means one: one request, one God, one holy Essence creating and pervading the universe in every moment. In repeating and overlapping that word, the chorus creates a texture to hold and embrace us in that intention.

It is understood that Hebrew is a holy language, and that the words themselves embody the meaning they represent. The second movement plays with the sounds of the words otah avakesh (this I will request). I felt more extroverted energy in these words, and the chorus sings them with joy, conveying a spirit that builds in excitement as the movement progresses. A sustained melody of the entire text holds the central core, while otah avakesh dances around it.

The last movement, shivti b’vet HaShem (that I may sit in the House of the Holy One), returns to a state of calm, integrating the joyous connection with an inner peace, which radiates throughout.

view score: http://meirawarshauer.com/works/akhat-shaalti-one-thing-i-ask/

Видео Meira Warshauer Akhat Sha'alti (One thing I Request) канала Meira Warshauer