A'ufah Eshkona

Acrostic "Ani Itzhak hazak". The piyut is a dialogue between lovers in the form of rhyming two-line strophes, stringly reminiscent of the Song of Songs. The beloved, the People of Israel, is called to make teshuvah (repent) to hasten redemption. The melody does not have a clear beat and is strophic in nature, i. e. different singers perform variants of the same melodic pattern with each strophe, The first three strophes and the last strophe of the poem are the only ones performed. The arrangement is minimalistic; a single voice accompanied by a ney is echoed by the choir at the end of each verse. This is the lonely voice of the individual in exil who is separated from his beloved.