Ambient Mizmor

The word “psalm” derives from a Greek verb meaning “to pluck,” as in a string; a psalm is a song sung to a stringed instrument. The Hebrew word for a psalm is “mizmor,” meaning “something sung,” and the Book that we call Psalms “Tehillim” or “Praises.” This atmospheric work plays on the dual instrumental and vocal nature of the Psalms by mixing vocal recordings of Psalm 29, a poem very much concerned with the explosive power of God’s voice, with a purely instrumental enactment by the members of the Technotexts seminar. The makers were also inspired by the possibilities of the Hebrew word higgayon, which could mean both “meditation” and “resounding noise." It appears, for example, in the beloved ending of Psalm 19: “May these words of my mouth and this higgayon of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”