DESCRIPTION:
music by Meira Warshauer, text from "Song of Songs"
http://meirawarshauer.com/
performed by the Jerusalem Lyric Trio at UNC-Wilmington
http://www.jerusalemlyrictrio.com/
Amalia Ishak, soprano; Wendy Eisler-kashy, flute; Allan Sternfield, piano

soprano, flute, piano
15 min.

"Yishakeyni (Kiss me)" sets the first four verses of "Song of Songs," the great love song of the Bible. It invites the listener into a realm of human and Divine love which transcends boundaries through intimate merging. In this realm, all is beauty, with longing and ecstacy the poles of expression.

The soprano sings the original text in Hebrew, with a modal melody derived from the traditional cantillation for "Song of Songs." She also plays with the sounds and sensuality of the language itself, sometimes using vowels alone, as if disrobing the words of their consonants for greater intimacy. The piano and flute provide a gentle harmonic and melodic landscape for the Song.

It is my hope that by entering the world of "Shir HaShirim (Song of Songs)," a world known to mystics and lovers from all traditions, we will come closer to making its reality our own.

text:

Yi-sha-key-ni min-shi-kot pi-hu
O that He would kiss me with His lips!

ki to-vim do-de-cha mi-ya-yin
For Your love is sweeter than wine.

al keyn a-la-mot a-hey-vu-cha
Therefore do the maidens love You

mash-key-ni a-cha-re-cha na-ru-tza
Take me with You, let us hasten.

he-vi-a-ni ha-me-lech cha-da-rav
The King has brought me into His chambers.

na-gi-la v- nis-m'-cha bach
We will be glad and rejoice in You.

naz-ki-ra do-de-cha mi-ya-yin
We will find Your love more fragrant than wine.

mey-sha-rim a-hey-vu-cha
Rightly do they love You.

(translation by the composer)

Meira Warshauer, August 2003

Kol Meira Publications
3526 Boundbrook Lane
Columbia, SC 29206

Meira Warshauer's works have been performed to critical acclaim throughout North America and Europe, as well as in South America, the Middle East, and Asia. Her music is regularly heard on radio, and has recently been featured on American Public Media's Performance Today, the most listened-to classical music radio program in the U.S. Meira's musical palette is wide, ranging from traditional Jewish prayer modes to minimalist textures with rich melodic contours, and from joyful jazz-influenced rhythms to imaginative orchestrations of the natural world. At its core, it expresses her personal spiritual journey, and her love for the earth. She has received many awards, and Fellowships from the MacDowell Colony, the Hambidge Center, and the S. C. Arts Commission. Dr. Warshauer has served on the faculties of Columbia College, University of South Carolina Honors College, and as the Nancy A. Smith Distinguished Visitor at Coastal Carolina University. She currently resides in Columbia, SC.