Musical Compositions

This setting of Mah Tovu was my first Jewish composition. In writing it, I was thinking about parshat Balak. Balak, king of the Moabites, sends his sorcerer Bil’am to curse the Israelites. Instead, as he reaches the top of the mountain on which he is supposed to curse them, he sees the Israelite camp, and what comes out of his mouth was not a curse, but a blessing: “Mah tovu ohalecha Ya’akov, mishk’notecha Yisrael.” “How good are your tents O Jacob, your dwelling places O Israel.” I wanted to capture the joy of this blessing. I also wanted to be able to play the piece on guitar.

I wrote this Sh’ma Koleinu in honor of the publication of Mishkan Hanefesh, the new Reform machzor. In writing this piece, I wanted to incorporate traditional elements of chazzanut in a contemporary context. I utilized some of the traditional modes of Yom Kippur, but I incorporated flute and choir. I have used this piece in Yom Kippur services for the past few years.

I wrote this setting of Ya’aleh V’yavo, a festival insert in the Amidah, while I was learning about the Three Festivals. I noticed that the word “zichron,” “memory,” kept coming up in the prayer. I thought about how many of our Jewish holidays have elements of memory attached to them. For example, at the end of each of the Three Festivals, it is customary to include Yizkor, liturgy of remembrance, during the morning service. I wrote this setting with that in mind.

When I was doing my thesis research on Max Janowski, I decided that I wanted to compose a piece in the style of his music. Janowski had written a piece called “Y’rushalayim” using the words of Israeli poet Avigdor Meiri. I decided to set the poem “Im Eshkachech Y’rushalayim,” “If I Forget Thee, Jerusalem,” by Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai. Like Janowski, I made use of triplets, trope forms, and Jewish modes. For example, I included a development section in Ahavah Rabbah mode (Phrygian with a raised third). I debuted this piece at my cantorial school recited, entitiled Max Janowski: Then and Now.