SEMA (2023)

This composition represents an engagement with the mystical traditions of Sufism and the Maqam scale, an Arabic scale that has also been used by Jewish people for generations in the Middle East. It serves as a sort of hinge between the Jewish liturgical tradition and the music that often accompanies the whirling meditation. The piece, inspired by the Sufi Whirling ritual, embodies the perpetual motion of the universe, from the macroscopic orbits of planets to the microscopic spin of atoms. I am fascinated by how the Sufi Whirling dance can symbolize the natural movements of our cosmos. I've sought to capture this through a rich orchestration almost like an organism that constantly swirls round and around, changing color and shape, combined with the melodies of a clarinet that leads the narrative, much like a preacher, guiding us through a musical representation of cosmic and spiritual cycles.