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Habel, Habalim

Habel, habalim amar Qohelet. Habel, habalim, hakkol habel. (Ecclesiastes 1:2, Hebrew) “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” (Ecclesiastes 1:2, NIV) "Habel" is a Hebrew word that occurs frequently in the Old Testament. There are thirty-eight occurrences of this word in the book of Ecclesiastes alone and many more occurences in other Hebrew writings including the books of Psalms and Job. In Genesis 4, Habel (Abel) is the name of Adam and Eve's second son, the first man in the Bible to be given God's explicit approval, and also the first man in the Bible to die. The word "habel" has been translated into English as "vanity" (King James Version) and "meaningless" (New International Version). The Hebrew word actually means much more. At its root, it means "vapor" or "breath." It is used as a metaphor to describe life as temporary, fleeting, empty or lacking significance. While the idea of life being futile is certainly a valid interpretation of the metaphor, I tend to prefer interpreting "habel" as temporary or fleeting, without the negative connotation of life being futile or meaningless. In this musical setting, I have left the text in the original Hebrew language, allowing an opportunity for the listener to draw their own interpretation of the metaphor without being influenced by other English translations. The English text used in the anthem elaborates of the habel theme by acknowledging life as similar to a vapor or a shadow. The text acknowledges both good things in life (wisdom, power, wealth) and bad things (suffering, sickness, pain) as temporary and thus allows for the possibility that habel (transient nature of life) is both good and bad, depending on your perspective. Most of the piece is written in the Dorian mode, whose tonality walks along a fence between a major (happy) and minor (sad) sound. This was chosen to represent to bittersweet quality of the verse being set and the book of Ecclesiastes as a whole. The music steps on both sides of the fence along the way. It begins with a dissonant and chromatic chorale, expressing the tension that the teacher (Qohelet) expresses in this verse. The music progresses into a section with a very rhythmic pulse, representing the constant flow of time. There are essentionally two verses, each shaped by rising and falling dynamics. The piece ends with the same dissonant and chromatic chorale that it began with, but the final cadence is in a major key, representing the possibility that habel can resolve peacefully in the end. James W. Miller December 31, 2014 Allen, TX