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Open , Closed, Open

Premiered by the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra on October 25.10.2017
Frédéric Chaslin, conductor
Program of the 80th Season opening concert:
Assaf Shatil – Open, Closed, Open (world première, dedicated to JSO’s 80th Season, commissioned by The Adele and John Gray Endowment Fund)
Beethoven – Choral Fantasy for Piano, Choir & Orchestra
Beethoven – Symphony No. 9, Choral

The work’s name is taken from Yehuda Amichai’s book of poetry of the same name, first published in 1998. It is a small blue book,resembling a prayer book. Its cover picture shows a potter shard with the word Amen. The work on the piece itself drew inspiration from several texts within the book, not so much as a concrete or literal reference, but in the unique way Amichai weaves together secularism and spirituality, a yearning for modesty and faith in humanity and love.

Open, Closed, Open is written as three continuous sonoric pictures, inviting the listener to experience a space/place until disengagement, or a passage to the next space/place. The sonoric materials were largely taken from the open strings of the string instruments. My intuitive reference as a composer was to the ancient playing technique of open strings, as opposed to playing while applying pressure on the string itself.

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