'Agadelcha' (I shall praise thee) by Nissim Khalifa

'Agadelcha' (I shall praise thee) is a poem written by the physician and poet Rabbi Abraham Iben Ezra in 12th century Spain. In this poem stands the poet with fear and awe in front of god and the eternal rift between man and his creator. Different emotions rising and floating here -- confession, fear, reverence, wonder and amazement -- from there comes and rises the paradox of the desire and aspiration to glorify god despite of man's futility.
The origin to this poem's melody is Persian, and the relations between the poem and its melody are wonder in every word and word, therefore this match was taken in consideration when the process of composition began

In addition, a motif was composed which draws his meaning from the poem's title, matches the Persian melody, and tries to express the greatness of god in front of man's insignificance. The motif relies on an harmonic progression from a diminished chord to an augmented chord, which returns throughout the piece, evolves and grows according to the poem's title.

This piece, composed by Israeli composer NISSIM CALIFA, was specially comissioned for the 13th Israeli Music Celebration, by Renanot Institute & the Piyut Festival, for the 'Eternal theme' Concert which took place in 15.9.10, at the Henry Crown Hall, Jerusalem Theatre, part of the ISRAELI MUSIC CELEBRATION 2010.
The piece was performed by Maureen Nehedar and the Jerusalem IBA Symphony Orchestra, conducted by maestro Daniel Cohen, and directed by Dr. Michael Wolpe.