The Megillah is the Book of Esther, an account of the story of Purim. While the story itself is about Queen Esther and King Mordecai’s leadership against the plots annihilation by Haman, this piece is intended to use the Megillah, as canted by Sarah Boivin, as the voice of a spiritual battle as old as time. The Megillah in this piece is a disembodied voice. It speaks out of the wind and fire, forces of nature that sweep through the soundscape. The voice of Megillah is offset by the presence of chimes. Both compete for their place in the cosmic order, taking turns exchanging their magic. The focus of the piece shifts from scenes of water to morning dawn choruses, to burrowing in the earth, to orchestras of crickets and tumults of thunder and rain. The voice of Megillah is born from this struggle. It gathers strength in the wind and rain and fire. It evolves slowly, reaching eruptive climaxes like spells cast over the entirety of the forest.
The wind chimes are hand made pipe chimes made of aluminum. These are raw upsampled recordings that make audible a different kind of magic. Like the disembodied singing of the Megillah, it finds its voice in the wind. It articulates the wind with passive energy, transforming the movement of gentle air into melodious music. It holds its place against the active might of the Megillah. This piece has no beginning and no end, but is meant to be played as a loop.
Framed as this struggle, the Purim story becomes an example of Hashem’s endless Test. As Abraham followed, so did Moses, David and the patriarchs of the Torah. The ancient spiritual struggle between humanity and the Divine, nature and story are the wheels of history.
This work originally premiered as part of the Lost in the Woods Purim celebration on March 2 2026 at Ptit Ours in Montreal. It was one of two works played by Lou Raskin.