Baal HaSulam - Melodies of the Upper Worlds (Mikael Ayrapetyan)

Information

Composer: Baal HaSulam

1. Draw Close to Me
2. You Saved My Soul
3. Have Pity on Your Deeds
4. Melody
5. The Sons of King's Palace, Part I
6. The Sons of King's Palace, Part II
7. Passover Meal
8. The Creator Hides in Secrecy
9. March
10. Accept Our Prayers
11. Like Matter in His Hands
12. The Assembly of Sages
13. David's Song
14. To Proclaim in the Morning About Your Mercy
15. Consecration
16. Saint
17. Beloved of the Soul

Mikael Ayrapetyan, piano

Date: 2019

Label: Grand Piano

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Review

The sleeve note with the disc relates the life-journey of Yehuda Leib HaLevi Ashlag, born in Warsaw into a Jewish family in 1885, he spent most of his life in Jerusalem. He was to become known as Baal HaSulam as he devoted his life to the Kabbalist Book of Zohar. If that means little to you, I can add from the disc’s enclosed booklet that it is ‘an ancient spiritual wisdom that empowers us improve our lives, and to achieve a lasting fulfilment’. It was during his two years in London, beginning in 1926, that he composed the cycle ‘Melodies of Upper Worlds’ in a series of tunes without words that have been arranged for the keyboard by the Armenian pianist, Mikael Ayrapetyan. The titles I have shown in English translations, though, like myself, you may find little in the music to picture those words, but they were intended to be easily memorised for singing. Maybe best to start at track 16, Saint, which, from a musical point of view, is a score of substance as it leads into the final Beloved of the Soul. Born in 1984, Ayrapetyan studied at the Tchaikovsky State Conservatoire in Moscow, and is now a very active concert artist and composer. Here he has also acted as Producer and disc Editor for a recording made in the Conservatoire last year.

— David Denton

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Rabbi Yehuda Leib HaLevi Ashlag (1885–1954), known as Baal HaSulam (“Owner of the Ladder”), was a prominent Kabbalist recognized for his Sulam commentary on the Book of Zohar. Born in Warsaw, he was ordained as a rabbi at 19 and served for 16 years as a Dayan and teacher. In 1921, he immigrated to Israel, settling in Jerusalem, where he became a leading authority on Kabbalah. His major works include the 18-volume Perush HaSulam and the six-volume Talmud Eser Sefirot. In addition to his extensive writings, he composed Melodies of the Upper Worlds during a three-year stay in London (1926–1928).

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Mikael Ayrapetyan (born 1984) is an Armenian pianist, composer and researcher. Following his debut at Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium, he has championed the works of numerous Armenian composers through performances, recordings and his Secrets of Armenia project, initiated during his studies at the Moscow Conservatory. Trained in the Russian piano tradition, Ayrapetyan performs a broad repertoire from Baroque to contemporary music, with a particular focus on rarely heard Armenian works. He is a recipient of Armenia's State Prize and has received critical acclaim for his many award-winning recordings.

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