From the composer's notes: "El Male Rachamim (God, full of mercy) takes its title from both the poem by Yehuda Amichai and the litany that inspired it. The Jewish funeral prayer recited by the hazzan accompanies the ascension of the soul and is used to evoke the memory of the deceased. My response for solo piano, written to the memory of Gyorgy Ligeti, takes a narrative approach to the text. It is cast in five sections that flow continuously with little pause."