1. ‘Anta Mehari Meharena

This prayer closes the morning services for any of the holidays, as well as the New Moon and the 10th, 12th and 15th of the month. It is a call for God’s mercy. The reasons for such a call are that God defines Himself as merciful, and He should be merciful given the observance of the Sabbath, the holidays and the Torah. The request is then extended to the Forefathers and to the Sages. The prayer concludes with the declaration that God is eternal.

The melodic material in this piece resembles that of the prayers in CD I, nos. 4 and 14. In many prayers of the Beta Israel, the contour of the melody develops in an upward movement followed by a downward one, like an arc. In this prayer, the contour follows the opposite direction, downwards and upwards. The melodic material, following the hemiola pattern, is distributed between the soloist and the choir as follows: A-A-A’/A A-A’. A unique dynamic performance by the soloist sets this piece apart.