EXILE by Be'eri Moalem

1. Perpetual Motion 1
Part Bach prelude, part Philip Glass minimalist loop, an unyielding stream of 16ths in the electronics sets a glittering backdrop for a searching violin melody. The music screeches to a halt as the harmonies and rhythms overlap and clash.

2. Exile
Not fully at home in my adopted country, nor in my country of birth. For a people exiled for generations from place to place, home is a journey. A repeating bass line is the basis for overdubbed violin and viola improvisations. The sounds of whooshing rockets and relentless percussion punctuate the experience.

3. Bach Up
The Bach unaccompanied suites are written for one instrument, which alone outlines harmonies that would normally require an orchestra (or pipe organ) to sustain. Here, layered synthesizers are used to sound the harmonic overtones that Bach only implied in his Courante from the G Major Suite BWV 1007. Bach frequently borrowed from other composers and even rearranged his own music in different keys and instrumentations. I’m sure he would be tickled by this rendition.

4. Naxos Dubstep
On a sleepy Greek island, transported by thirst on a psychedelic journey from an ancient temple in ruins to sandy beaches that thump with electronic dance music.

5. Warriors ​
​ 20,000 fans sing together for basketball. The Warriors chant at Oracle Arena is the inspiration for the melodies in this track. DJ Daris provides hip hop beats in a fusion with classical conservatory string technique. In the finale, the crowd’s two-note song is digitally manipulated to form a harmonic cadence.

6. Scarab
Trying to escape the constraints of tonality and the imprisonment of predictable bar lines on rhythmic cells-- but always getting pulled back in.

7. Batya
The healing power of love.

8. Tzeva Adom
Israel’s alarm for incoming rocket attacks is dipped in common-tone harmony and turned into a song. Like a Shofar blast, the piercing whine of the red alert stirs fear in our hearts.

9. Mizmor ​
Reverb synthesizers echo the melody of a thousand synagogues singing Carlebach’s song in prayer every Friday night.

10. Siman Tov Siman Tov & Mazel Tov!
Hebrew for “Good sign and good luck!” Because you’ll need more luck than anything to reach the next simcha (happy occasion).

11. Sher
“Sher” has two meanings. In Hebrew it means “song”. In Yiddish it refers to “shears.” The dance features the men kicking their feet back and forth like a pair of scissors. Aside from these factoids, this song is a Klezmer classic.

12. Kleztronic
The 80’s are back in this one, tinged with Eastern-European Klezmer flavor that always manages to work itself into my compositions.

13. Perpetual Motion 2
A symmetrical answer to the first track, this one resolving on more solid tonal ground.

Violist, violinist, composer, Be'eri Moalem is originally from Jerusalem and now lives in Palo Alto. Performing in a wide variety of styles including classical, Klezmer, middle eastern, and improvisation in contemporary idioms. His chamber music and orchestra scores have been performed around the world.

beeri.org