Michael Shapiro
Here I am! (Hineni!) for piano
(2018)
for piano
Duration: 4'
Solos:
piano
Here I am! (Hineni!) for piano
Sample pages
Video
Work introduction
Here I Am or "Hineni" is the final movement of "Passages" for piano. These are the words that Abraham declared on Mount Moriah when asked to bring his son Isaac to the mountaintop for sacrifice. The words represent pure devotion and obedience to an absolute belief.
To do anything else other than what Abraham thought was a dictum was contrary to his nature despite the impossible difficulty he faced. Abraham's showing of this righteousness may be viewed as an exemplar of purposeful and directed behavior. But behavior that is not beyond going in a different direction when told to do so.