Composed By: Joshua Jacobson

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Voicing: SATB, div

Keyword Torah, Ten Commandments

Event/Holiday: Shavu’ot

Language: Hebrew, Aramaic

Difficulty: moderate, some challenges

Country: America

Solos: none

Instruments: none

Lyrics: Exodus 20

Publisher: Transcontinental

Year Composed/Published: 1991

Timing: 4:45

Tempo: slow

First Line: akdamut milin

description: The holiday of Shavu'ot celebrates the first harvest of Spring and commemorates the giving of the Decalogue (Ten Commandments) at Mt. Sinai. This composition is an attempt to convey some of the mystery surrounding the theophany, the revelation of the Lord’s presence. The text of the Ten Commandments is preceded and followed by verses from an eleventh-century hymn that is chanted in the synagogue on Shavu'ot. Traditional Ashkenazic melodies for both texts have been utilized in this composition. The antiphonal effects of this piece work best if the choir abandons the stage and surrounds the audience on opposite sides of the hall. The aleatoric sections are meant to simulate a deep reverberation, as if the voices were being echoed in an extremely resonant chamber. This piece is most effective performed by a large choir performing in a reverberant venue.