About the creation

This work was written in memoriam of the 73 victims of the tragic collision between 2 IDF helicopters which occurred in 1997. I have found a passage from the Bible, which reflects the very image which I have seen and still see in my mind's eye: 

"Then said the Lord unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shearjashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field; And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah" (The Book of Isaiah, 7:3-4). 

Finding those lines was of the greatest importance to me to reassure me that it had not been meant as a punishment sent in the wake of an incredible premonition.

The piece is written for a string orchestra but can be performed by a smaller group and even by a string quintet. I make use of various techniques in this work which range from atonality through tonal and serial ones, in the hope of finding a way to express fully my feelings.

Leon Schidlowsky