| Description |
The book "Israel" contains three songs for Choir and Piano (or any other keyboard instrument), lyrics (both in Hebrew and English) and music by the composer.
1. The first song is about the Jewish State: how it was "yesterday" (before the "intifada"), how it is "today" (with terrorists roaming around) and how it hopefully will be "tomorrow", when there will be real peace and quiet. It is like a triptych, of which the side panels ("yesterday" and "tomorrow") have the melody in the dorian mode [the Re mode], while the middle panel ("today") has the same melody in the phrygian mode [the Mi mode]. As much as this song is describing the political situation, it is also a prayer to God for peace for the Jewish Nation (and the entire world).
2. The second song ("Quiz") is about the eternal question people ask themselves: "Why?", meaning: why is this or that happening to me (to us, to mankind). When the song repeats itself, it gives the answer: "We humans don't know 'why', but, in order to survive, we must take measures of wisdom, understanding and knowledge like Jacob the Archfather, who is called 'Israel', and implore God for His blessing.
3. The third song is a hymn for the Sabbath. It depicts the history of the Jewish nation from Adam and Eve till the Jewish State of today. The chorus extols God as the Creator of the Universe, Who gave mankind the gift of the Sabbath. |