About

From such sparks was commissioned by the Seattle Jewish Chorale in memory of Mary Pat Graham, who was the Music Director of the Chorale from 2009 to 2014, and who passed away in January 2023.  The Chorale suggested several passages from a variety of sources as possible texts for the piece, from which I chose excerpts from chapter 31 of the biblical Book of Proverbs (a section known as “A woman of valor”), and from Orot Hakodesh by Abraham Isaac Kook. Together these texts communicate how the love and friendship of Mary Pat were felt by all who knew her, and that her life created “sparks…[which] illuminate the entire world”—the light of all people who strive, in all our different ways, to make the world a better place. 

The composition uses distinct melodies for each of the three verses from Proverbs, and then moves to a new key and new texture for the “sparks” section. After this part builds to a climax, the three Proverbs melodies sound together, intertwined, with the dominant line being “Her light radiates undimmed through the night;” this is then followed by a gentle conclusion using the words from Kook combined with the phrase “Her light.” 

The Seattle Jewish Chorale will present the premiere of From such sparks in the spring of 2024, conducted by Jacob Finkle.

—Gerald Cohen

Score

Listen/Watch

Text

She offers her palm to the needy, her hands she extends to the poor. 
She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. 
Her light radiates undimmed through the night. 

Uminitsotsot ka-eile avukot or yitkab’tsu, v’ya-iru et kol ha-olam michvodam.

From such sparks, torches of light gather and illuminate the entire world with their glory. 

Proverbs, chapter 31
Abraham Isaac Kook: Orot Hakodesh  

The translations were compiled by the composer with the aid of several different translations, with special credit to Yaacov Dovid Shulman for his translation of the Kook (permission from translator), and to Zalman Schachter-Shalomi z”l for his translation of the line “Her light radiates undimmed through the night” (Creative Commons).