El Ginat Egoz (Into the Walnut Garden) (2006)

The words of the biblical book, the Song of Songs, have for thousands of years served as a wellspring of musical composition. The texts here were chosen for their very forthright exposition of love as a reflection and inspiration of the natural world.

The music attempts to paint a picture of longing, of rapture, and of passion expressed, and sometimes even misplaced. The overall material belongs in a Middle Eastern context, especially that of the music of Israel.

El Ginat Egoz is the fourth of a suite of pieces initiated by the Orchid Ensemble. The entire suite, still a work in progress, is meant to be a musical journey from one end of the Silk Road to the other, and is called Wan Li Xin (The Journey of Ten Thousand Miles). Needless to say, El Ginat Egoz belongs to the western end of the Silk Road, by the shores of the Mediterranean.

Moshe Denburg