All Explanations Come To An End Poem by gershon hepner

Somewhere all explanations come
to an end, said Wittgenstein,
which may make you seem rather dumb,
since lack of them may undermine
identity, which is what thoughts
define. However hard you try
escaping from divine onslaughts,
or lack of explanations why
you’re really who you think you are,
you really need to take good care
of thoughts, which will not travel far,
although you may be unaware
of what they are. They do not fly away,
and nor can you, since you remain
precisely where they’re forced to stay,
oblivious, while you complain,
and end, like every explanation,
precisely where you stand, there’s no
support for their deinspiration
where they came from, ex nihilo.

Inspired in part by a saying of Wittgenstein’s, “Explanations come to an end somewhere, ” and in part by an aphorism by Rabbi Nahman of Breslov, the Hasidic master (1772-1810) who once declared: “You are wherever your thoughts are, ” words that inspired Steve Reich’s “You Are (Variations) , ” as Vivien Schweitzer points out out the NYT on September 17,2008 (“Up to the Moment Pieces With Ancient Inspiration”) :
Signal played “You Are (Variations) ” in the New York debut of the version for solo voices and ensemble. (The Los Angeles Master Chorale performed it with chorus and ensemble at Lincoln Center in 2006 during extensive celebrations of the composer’s 70th birthday that year.) The work features Mr. Reich’s familiar patterns, insistently repeated at a fast tempo under a much slower choral line. In addition to Rabbi Nachman’s saying, the work uses a text in Hebrew from the Psalms, “I place the Eternal before me, ” and a saying of Wittgenstein’s, “Explanations come to an end somewhere.” Mr. Reich, a serious student of Judaism, has used Hebrew texts in previous works like “Tehillim” (1981) . In “You Are (Variations) ” he doubles the vocal lines with woodwind instruments, as did Bach. The first movement is more harmonically varied than the second, which primarily uses four chords. The work as a whole is rhythmically more intricate, harmonically bolder and at times more introspective than “Music for 18 Musicians” (1976) , Mr. Reich’s seminal chamber work, which Signal also performed on Sunday. In that piece he meshes the rhythmic vitality of his early “phasing” works with increased harmonic movement. Undulating rhythmic patterns unfold over a hypnotically steady pulse, and vibraphone chimes at the end of each section provide a cue for the performers and herald the onset of new textures and harmonies for the listener. After the music ebbed away, and the crowd cheered, Mr. Reich enthusiastically hugged each of the performers, a rock star composer among devoted champions of his music. “As the music goes, so we go, ” Mr. Reich has said. He must be gratified that so many listeners enjoy the ride.

9/17/2008,2/5/09