Ma Lecha Nirdam?

Ma Lecha Nirdam? (What Makes You Sleep?) sets five lines from the piyyut “Ben Adam Ma Lecha Nirdam” by Yehuda Ibn Balaam (Seville, 11th century). Drawn from the Book of Jonah’s account of a sailor sleeping through a storm, the text asks why one remains passive in the face of danger—a question that resonates today, from environmental crisis to civic responsibility.

The work opens in a hushed instrumental space: bass recorder, muted strings, and gentle percussion create a cool, restrained soundworld, coloured by non-vibrato and soft articulations. When the voice enters, it is multiplied into several overlapping lines—each recorded by Etty Ben-Zaken—so that a single timbre becomes an intimate choir. This layered voice alternates between urgency and quiet reflection, shaping the piyyut’s questions into waves of sound.

The instruments respond and comment: the recorder’s tone sometimes shadows the melody and sometimes weaves a counter-line; the guitar moves between harmonics, plucked notes, and soft strumming; cello and bass provide a resonant foundation; percussion appears sparingly as punctuation rather than pulse. Later, a small recorder ensemble joins, adding a bright, breathy colour before the music retreats into stillness.

The result is a compact, seven-minute work that draws its power from restraint, clarity, and the interplay between a solo voice—at once singular and multiplied—and finely balanced instrumental textures.