About the creation

Yefei Nof, written in 1978, draws on an earlier work by the composer written for choir a cappella to the text of Psalm 48 "Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth…", which speaks of the beauty of Jerusalem, the Holly City.  In this, the composer complied with the request of James Galway to write a short Israeli piece for flute solo.

The work was first performed by the Israeli flutist Hanoch Tel-Oren in the USA at Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass., on August 1, 1980. It was premiered in Israel by James Galway on February 26, 1982 at the Mann Auditorium, Tel Aviv.