Jeremy Arden’s Im Freygish was initially inspired by Rebecca Abrams’s book The Jewish Journey: 4000 Years in 22 Objects from the Ashmolean Museum (2017). Excited by the idea that traditions and objects, and – in the case of music – scales and melodic forms, are passed between the generations and have travelled with the Jewish diaspora across the world, the composer wanted to write a piece that reflects this complex and multilayered story. Each of the four movements is inspired by generalized characteristics that Jeremy associates with Jewish culture: a yearning for truth, a questioning of authority, a thirst for mystical connection and a talent for joyful celebration.

 Music example (pdf)