For patience joins time to eternity

"My composition for the Cities & Memory Spring Project, For Patience Joins Time to Eternity, draws on a field recording of the Maghrib call to prayer, captured at 6:45 p.m. from the Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakesh, Morocco. I was drawn to this recording for the haunting, resonant quality of the voice, as well as its poignant relevance to contemporary events unfolding across the Middle East.

"As tensions in the region intensify, the work incorporates gradually evolving synthesizer drones and layered textures that mirror a sense of mounting unease, while also seeking moments of stillness and reflection. The Maghrib adhan—the Islamic call marking sunset and inviting the faithful to the fourth of the five daily prayers—provides both a structural and symbolic foundation. Traditionally beginning with the phrase “Allahu Akbar” (“God is Greatest”), the call unfolds as a melodic and contemplative invocation.

"In this composition, the adhan becomes both source and metaphor: its echoes are transformed and extended, suggesting multiple layers of meaning across time and space. Ultimately, the piece aspires, like the prayer itself, to offer a sense of calm and a quiet gesture toward peace."

Koutoubia mosque call to prayer reimagined by Jeff Dungfelder.