Notes on "I Was There"

(Notes by Peter Saltzman)

The final two words of the lyric, "Ein Sof", are Hebrew for "without end." It is one of the names, or descriptions of God. Beyond the highest emanation (Keter, or crown) of God in the sefirot is the Ein Sof, which is completely unknowable to mortals. This simple, almost sing-songy jazz waltz, and the equally simple lyric, sung with absolute grace by Gingi Lahera, seems to contradict the idea of the unknowablity of the Ein Sof—the last stanza certainly seems to suggest this. But then, maybe the voice intoning these words is not supposed to be human at all, but the Shekhina, the last, and most earthbound of the sefirot. This was not my idea, but was suggested to me by some unknown soul who happened to be sitting next to Gingi on a flight to Israel shortly after the CD was completed. As Gingi relate the story, she played parts of Kabbalah Blues on her CD for this gentleman, and after hearing "I Was There", he immediately said that it was the Shekhina speaking. And I thought I was saving her for the 6th movement. But I think he's right.

Part 1

• Prologue
• Unity
• I Was There
• Indeterminacy
• Sooner or Later
• Shekina's Dream
• Interlude
• Quantum Funk
• Quantum Reprise
• Broken Vessels
• Oseh Shalom

Part 2

• Living In Another Time
• Superstrings
• Blues without Barlines
• Force of Nature
• Searching
• Finale
•  
• Main Music Page