About the creation

L'David Michtam for Harp and String Orchestra (1975, rev. 1978) was originally scored for harp with string quartet and was commissioned by harpist Pearl Chertok (who has long been connected with Israel and with the International Harp Contest established by the late A. Z. Propes). It was in this version that the piece was first performed by the strings of the Beersheba Orchestra in March 1978, with Irena Kaganowsky as soloist under the baton of David Amram. The work was revised by the composer and in its new version it was premiered in Tel Aviv in July 1978 at the Israel Festival by Ursula Holliger and the Israel Chamber Orchestra conducted by Rudolf Barshay.  The work reflects the composer's impressions of Psalm LVII ('Michtam of David when he fled from Saul in the cave'). Its single movement has several sub-divisions depicting the reflections of a man in peril and distress: SUPLLICATIONS AND PRAYER evokes an atmosphere of mystery (in this section, seen by the composer as a kind of confession, the harp has a major role); STRUGGLE, an agitated passage ('My soul is among lions') in a stormy mood culminating in the 'struggle' motif played by all the strings in unison in a forward seeping recitative; DANCE ('And David danced before the lord in all his might'); HYMN - a thanksgiving ('Awake psaltery and harp; I myself will awake early'). After a repetition of the dance, the work ends with a CODA in the optimistic mood of the Hymn.  Tzvi Avni, who is very much at home with the string idiom (among his major works for strings are "Summer Strings", "Prayer", and "De Profundis"), has chosen the string instruments to give expression to his deeper feelings on this Psalm.    - William Y. Elias, July 1985