About the piece

In the Talmud, “between the suns” (Bein Ha-Shmashot in Hebrew) poetically refers to the time between sunset and nightfall, when one sun has nearly departed and the following one has yet to arrive. According to the Jewish tradition, at the end of the creation of the world and just before Shabbat, God formed ten extraordinary creations during this time “between the suns.”  This transition from the last moments of chaos into completion and order - alongside the use of the number 10 - is the seed for the piece Bein Ha-Shmashot.

While in the traditional “theme and variations” form the theme is introduced at the beginning of a piece, Bein Ha-Shmashot is a set of ten variations during which the theme is gradually revealed, thus creating a sense of a journey from obscurity to order. Throughout these variations—whose number echoes the ten extraordinary creations—a short melodic theme wanders around and visits different places, cultures and traditions. The journey of this theme represents the journey of the Jewish people that has led them to live as part of different cultures around the world. At the opening variation, which reflects the twilight between chaos and order, the theme is merely a series of abrupt melodic fragments, accompanied by low strings that are reminiscent of distorted electric guitars in American grunge music. The following few variations form a rising sense of structure through various ostinatos (repeated rhythmic figurations) that suggest tribal rituals from around the world. The harp is featured as a soloist in the seventh variation, and alongside continuous glissandos in the strings, it brings to mind the mistiness of French impressionism. Variation no. 9, with its embellished melodies and asymmetric meters, speaks to a Middle-Eastern flavor. The piece ends with a celebration of folk tunes, classical music polyphony, rock harmonies, and funk-dance grooves, while the theme is presented for the first time in its complete, triumphant form, thus offering a sense of catharsis and completion.  

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Bein Ha-Shmashot

For symphonic orchestra (revised 2020)
Length: 14 minutes

Bein Ha-Shmashot is based on Ten Variations for oboe, piano and strings, performed here by Nash Ensemble of London: