The “Crown of the Kingdom” is one of the peaks of the religious poetry of Solomon Ibn Gabirol, a poet of the Golden Age in Spain, and one of the masterpieces of religious poetry in general. Ibn Gabirol described in stormy philosophical-mystical poetics the gap between the greatness of God and the lowliness of the longing man, while praying deeply for closeness, correction and inspiration. Eastern Jewish communities used to recite the “Crown of the Kingdom” on Yom Kippur, at dawn. For four years the kamanja and nay player Yagel Haroush worked on new melodies for the “Crown of the Kingdom” in the maqam tradition. Each stanza in the song was composed in a different maqam. The ensemble will be accompanied by a choir, which will sing and perform chapters from the text. This will be an evening of gathering, where the performance space becomes a house of prayer.
Yagel Haroush, kamanja, nai, vocals; Uriah Haroush, oud; Moshe Shalev, santur; Erez Munk, percussion; Yair Ofir, double bass; Shlomo Ilan Kenan, guitar; Choir: Neriah Lahiani, Yarden Ezra, Rotem Dori, Rachel Balzar; Guest: Ziv Yehezkel, vocals
*The performance was created as part of Shir laShira, an innovative project of Confederation House promoting composition of new Israeli works connecting musicians to Hebrew poetry from the Middle Ages to the present day.
Photos:
Ziv Yehezkel. Photo: Eyal Cohen
Yagel Haroush. Photo: Miri Davidovitz
