At-Tahajjud (The Night-Vigil), composed by Preben Antonsen

At-Tahajjud (The Night-Vigil) is a special event composed by Preben Antonsen. Join us at the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles for a night of spiritual reflection and connection. This event is a unique opportunity to experience the beauty of the night-vigil tradition. Don't miss out on this chance to deepen your spiritual practice and find peace in the tranquility of the night. Come and join us for an unforgettable experience!

The featured women are: Habiba al-‘Adawiyya, early 9th century; Rayhana al-Majnuna, from Basra, 8th century; Rabia al-‘Adawiyya, from Basra, 8th century; Rabia Bint Isma’il, from Syria; Sha'wana, from al-Ubulla, 8th century; Hind Bint al Muhallab, from Basra, 9th century; Dhakkara, early 9th century; Aisha of Merv; Fatima al Barda’iyya, from Arbadil, in Azerbaijan, 10th century; and Athama, daughter of Bilal Ibn Abi ad Darda, blind, 8th century.The performance will present 2 songs approximately 40 minutes.

The first half thematically focuses on spiritual struggle, weeping and ecstasy. The ardent prayers evoke the trope in Arabic poetry of “love majnun,” or love-madness (as seen in Rayhana’s epithet “al-Majnuna”). This is combined with another trope, that of the Beloved being far away. As Rayhana says, “My yearning is endless! When will I finally meet you?” The second half pertains to divine insight and knowledge — for example, Fatima discusses the theology and practice of divine remembrance, while Aisha explains the relationship between soul, spirit, intellect, and heart. Most of the songs address God, but some take the form of advice and encouragement to other practitioners.

The midpoint of the cycle, with words by Dhakkara, is a recipe for enlightenment, using a pastry recipe as an extended metaphor (“Take the sugar of the divine gift, the starch of purity, the water of modesty, the butter of self-awareness, and the saffron of recompense, and strain them in the sieves of fear and hope….”).

Preben Antonsen (b. 1991) grew up in Berkeley, California and graduated from Yale College in 2013, majoring in music and computer science. He has been composing since he was a small child, and studied composition with John Adams from 2001-2009. From 2015-2020, Preben served as co-director and pianist of the San Francisco-based new music ensemble After Everything, which performs older music such as Bach, Ravel, and Stravinsky alongside Grisey, Crumb, Saariaho, Rautavaara, Harrison, Lindberg, Wolfe, Eastman, and the like. After Everything has also premiered three of his works, Instruments of Straw for string orchestra, A Basil Tale for soprano and mixed ensemble, and Voices from the Nettle-Path for eight double basses. In 2017, Symphony Parnassus premiered his orchestral work What Wondrous Love, and chose him as their composer in residence for the 2018-2019 season, commissioning an additional work, Arthur Machen’s Childhood, premiered in June 2019. In August 2019 he was featured at the Cabrillo Music Festival in Santa Cruz, California, with Cristian Măcelaru conducting the premiere of Psalm Without Words. Preben has also worked with virtuoso piano duo Christina and Michelle Naughton on two transcriptions of Adams’ music — Roll Over Beethoven and Short Ride in a Fast Machine. Both are featured on their CD “American Postcard.” His arrangement of Short Ride has also been performed in Finland by Risto-Matti Marin and Emil Holmström. In 2024, Preben received a master’s degree from the Sibelius Academy, studying with Juhani Nuorvala and Veli-Matti Puumala.

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