Miamma'amaqim

«Mimma’amaqim» (Out of the depths)

Premiere: Stadtcasino Basel – Musiksaal, January 25, 2024
10th Mizmorim Chamber Music Festival Basel
Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra (LFCO)
Basler Madrigalisten
Tito Ceccherini, conductor
Recorded by SRF (Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen)

This Psalm is a cry, a call out for help, for being heard by God.
It is often described as a canticle of gradual ascent (Shir Hama’a lot). This ascent could be understood as a rise from the abyss to redemption.
I believe this Psalm could resonate with many, even non-believers, as it shows a universal and tragic part of human life and human nature. That is the experience of grief, depression, abuse, solitude or simply being in a place so dark that leads to despair.
But it also sends a message of light, optimism, and hope, through the conviction that one will be heard.
Even inf it comes from the Hebrew tradition it shows universal values that can be embraced by many cultures and promote tolerance and acceptance. In fact, this psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies.
In this sense, during the piece the text follows a chronological use and adaptation throughout the Judaism and the different versions of Christianism: Latin: 530, Rule of Saint Benedict; German: Martin Luther Hymns, 1524, al and eventually the English: King James Version from 1610