Sh`mah

Listen

Listen to a brief excerpt: click this paragraph for MP3 audio. The music is performed by Pieter Blonk.

Duration

7 minutes

Program Note

"'Sh`mah` is a Hebrew word, meaning 'Listen!' It is the first word of the 'Sh`mah Yisrael', the sequence of excerpts from Deuteronomy which is most often repeated as a credo in Jewish daily practice.

"For this work, I have taken the word 'Sh`mah' for its meaning in isolation, and I have appropriated the chant tune of the 'Sh`mah' for its melodic intervals which are a fine match for the natural resonances of great bells. The resulting carillon tocatta was first played by Tin-shi Tam at Iowa State University."

--Matthew H. Fields

Instrumentation

carillon

Year of Composition

1995.

Score

Scores are available from Fields.