G.N.Z. [2023] .ג.נ.ז
for voice (tenor or other) and electronics
About the piece:
G.N.Z. is a Hebrew root signifying “storing, archiving or hiding”. It points to the history of the texts I chose for the piece, which were found in the Cairo Genizah. The word “Genizah” — meaning, a storage area for worn-out religious Hebrew texts — is derived from the root G.N.Z. The Cairo Genizah is a special one for its enormous capacity — more than two thousand fragments were found there — but also for the variety of the manuscripts it accommodated: from religious texts to shopping lists, from business letters to writing exercises.
The two Genizah manuscript featured in G.N.Z. are undated and their authors unknown. The first is a poem of which only the second half of each line survived. Its theme is therefor rather enigmatic, yet its aura still present. The fragmented nature of the manuscript was, too, very stimulating. The second text is a homoerotic poem. I was greatly touched by the imagery of this text, some of which seeming almost contemporary, and provoked me to set it in what for me is the epitome of the contemporary gay scene: the rave party.
The work on the two anonymous and partially incomplete texts allowed me to reimagine the identities of their authors and embed them in a contemporary context. Like the Genizah itself, the piece serves as a common, curating space for the two texts to cohabitate.
