Kabbalah is an ancient Jewish tradition of both academic study of esoteric knowledge, and a body of mystical practices, believed by many to have originated in the Garden of Eden. The word itself, meaning 'receiving', can be understood at many levels: Creation comes into being as it receives the Divine energies of God, humanity is imbued with the qualities of the Divine and made in the image of God, and we receive wisdom as we 'soak' ourselves in study. It is said that God, whose nature is said to be Unity, can paradoxically also be perceived through 10 core attributes, represented by the sefirot (spheres, sapphires, or enumerations), these also being mirrored in Creation, and humanity. This cosmology is represented by the Tree of Life, whose roots are in Heaven, and branches reach down to Earth, with the sefirot distributed through the Tree.

Understanding all the intricacies of kabbalistic knowledge and thought is the work of many lifetimes. 'Songs of Eden' draws on many years of study to create a musical journey that takes us into direct experience of the mystical core of Kabbalah. Just as the angels ascended and descended between Earth and Heaven on Jacob's Ladder (another association for the Tree of Life), we musically ascend and descend the Tree in the course of the song cycle, deepening our relationship with the sefirot each time. And just as there are structures within structures in Kabbalah, the song cycle is bound together by key and motivic relationships, and musical symbolism.

1. Niggun

The cycle opens with a Niggun (literally, 'melody') by unaccompanied voice, calling us into meditation. Spanning a 'ladder' of 10 notes, it rises at first, touching the highest note (Heaven) for a fleeting moment in the middle of the piece, and then gently returning to Earth - the whole ascent and descent of the Tree in microcosm.

2. Ascent (956 Kb soundclip)

Ascent is a musical meditation that takes us from the lowest point of the Tree (the tenth sefira) to the highest. Malkhut is the majesty of creation, the divine kingdom, revealed in the physical world. In Yesod, creativity is expressed as the union of forces generates new life and abundance. With Hod, the principle of regulation ensures that resources are used wisely, obstacles are overcome, and there is clarity of thought. At Netzach, we feel and express emotion, mobilising into action. Tiferet is at the heart of the Tree, where we find balance, harmony and beauty. Gevurah connects us with strength, boundaries, and discipline, while Chesed expands us into generosity and lovingkindness. Binah is the female principle, the place of understanding and the definition of ideas, and is paired with Chochmah, the male principle, our connection with wisdom and universal mind, where the spark of inspiration is ignited. And finally we arrive at Keter, the root of the Tree, the point of nothingness and pure will from which everything comes. The piano patterns and motifs of the Ascent foreshadow the melodies of the songs that follow.

3. Eheyeh Asher Eheyeh (1.5mb soundclip)

Having arrived at Keter, we hear the name of God associated with this sefira. When Moses encountered the burning bush in the wilderness, and received his spiritual mission, he heard these words Eheyeh Asher Eheyeh: "I am that I am; I am becoming what I am becoming." We can experience this both as God's statement to us, and a declaration of own being in the presence of God.

"I am that I am; I am becoming what I am becoming."

4. Betzalel

Betzalel, meaning 'in the shadow of God', was the only biblical figure imbued by God with wisdom, understanding and knowledge (da'at, an extra sefira that synthesises the other two), giving him the God-like power to create with letters/sounds themselves. In this text from Exodus, he is filled with these attributes, and those of the lower sefirot, in order that he can build the portable tabernacle for carrying the tablets of commandments. In the wordless interludes, the voice improvises on four sounds representing the unutterable name of God, YHVH. Traditionally, it is forbidden actually to pronounce the name, and there is, in fact, no commonly agreed pronunciation of this sequence of letters, so its true sound is unknown, adding to its mystery and its power.

"[God filled Betzalel with] the Spirit of God in wisdom and understanding in knowledge and all kinds of workmanship."

5. Lecha Adonai (1.4mb sound clip)

While the previous song focussed on the higher sefirot, Lecha Adonai ('Yours, O Lord', taken from 1 Chronicles) dwells on the lower seven (using gedullah - greatness - as the alternative name for chesed), praising the qualities of the Divine.

"Yours O God is the greatness, and the power and the beauty, and the victory and the splendour, for all that is in heaven and earth is yours; yours O God is the kingdom."

6. Tiferet (1.3mb soundclip)

The sefirot are arranged on 3 columns in the Tree, the right column expressing expansive aspects, the left representing the more contracted and bounded qualities, and the central column, with Keter (and the Eyeheh Asher Eheyeh name) at the top, containing the sefirot that integrate and synthesise the two sides. The next three songs take us down this central column. In Tiferet, at the heart of the Tree, and the song cycle, we hear another of God's names, 'ha makom', meaning 'the place'. This is the place where, in Genesis, Jacob (the biblical patriarch associated with tiferet) dreamt of the ladder, and awoke to say: "Surely God is in this place, and I did not know it. How awesome this place is; it is none other than the house of God - this is the gate of heaven!" At these words, the music carries us gently, ineffably upwards, ending on a wisp of sound.

"Then Jacob awoke from sleep, and said, surely God is in this place, and I, I did not know it. And he was afraid, and said, "How awesome this place is! This is none other than the house of God, and this the gate of heaven."

7. Yesod

Yesod opens in declamatory style with references to Joseph, a tzaddik (righteous person), and water ­ all associated with this sefira. The words are from psalm 42, which speak of the yearning of the soul for union with El chai, the God of Life ('Like as the hart desireth the waterbrooks, so longeth my soul after thee'). Images of water (the element of the emotions) abound, and the 'billows' (mishbarecha, also associated with the word for blessings) are heard in the descending patterns on the piano.

"As the deer longs for streams of water, so my soul longs for you Elohim (O my God). My soul thirsts for you El Chai (God of Life); when can I come into Your presence?[..] Deep to deep calls at the voice of your falling water; your billows and waves pour over me; day after day Adonai (the Creator) pours his love over me; his song is with me every night - a prayer to Elohim Chaiyai (the God of my life)."

8. Malkhut (1.1mb soundclip)

The words of Malkhut draw on three core aspects of this sefira, melech the King, ha aretz the Earth, and shekhinah the feminine presence of God dwelling in Creation. All the attributes of God are poured into Creation: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord of hosts; all the Earth is filled with your glory." Kadosh ('holy') occurs three times in the sacred text, first to honour the heavenly aspect of God, then the earthly, and finally the eternal nature of the Divine.

"God the king, God of the Earth, indwelling presence and bride." "Holy, holy, holy, God of hosts, Filled is whole of the Earth with His glory."

9. Descent

Songs 3 to 8 come after the Ascent of the Tree. Charged with and changed by the energies of the songs and sefirot, we now make the Descent back to Earth, with the piano again threading motifs from the songs into each sefira.

10. Shalom

Shalom is a rousing finale (in the form of a round) that ensures we are well grounded after the intense musical meditations, wishing peace for ourselves, and all those who live on the Earth. Shalom, meaning peace, is much more than just the cessation of conflict; it is linked with the word shaleim, meaning whole, so the blessing of shalom offers wholeness and healing.

"Peace, peace, peace. May the One who makes peace in the highest, make peace for us, and for all those who live on the Earth. Let us say, Amen."

11. Niggun

Just when we might think we have left the Tree of Life behind, the Niggun from the opening returns, transformed by all that has gone before, and the eternal cycle begins once more.

Kabbalists believe that the kavannah (the focus or intent) of a prayer or action can influence the fabric of Creation itself, stimulating the inner and upper worlds. We invite you to use 'Songs of Eden' as a meditation to deepen your experience of the 10 sefirot that remind us that we are all made 'in the image of God'.

Shalom.