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 Jericho 2.0 for two
trombones and computer Jericho
(West Bank) is one of the oldest continuously-inhabited cities
in the world, with settlements dating back to 9000 BC. In the course of
its
long history, the city has been controlled by countless rulers,
including
Assyrian, Babylonian and Persian. In classical antiquity, Jericho
served as the
private estate of Alexander the Great. The Christian Bible states that
Jesus
passed through Jericho where he healed two blind men and converted a
local tax
collector named Zacharias. Christianity
took hold in the city during the Byzantine era, around 300 AD. Later,
the city
came under Islamic rule, was eventually invaded by the Christian
Crusaders and
finally taken by the Turks. During World War I Jericho was controlled
by the
British and then captured by the Jordanians in the 1948 Arab-Israeli
war.
Jericho was captured by Israel in the Six-Day War of 1967 and handed
over to
Palestinian Authority control in 1994. Soon after, The Oasis
Casino was established in an attempt to promote
Jericho as a sort of Las Vegas of the Middle East. The casino thrived
and often
had a daily turnover of close to a million dollars. In late 2000 Hamas
used its
roof for gunfire attacks at Israeli targets. The building was heavily
damaged
by Israeli retaliatory fire, and though it was later refurbished, it
has never
re-opened. Jericho was re-occupied by Israel during the Al-Aqsa
Intifada of
2001. Jericho is mentioned over
70 times in the Hebrew Bible. The Book of
Joshua describes the famous battle of Jericho. After crossing the
Jordan,
Joshua led the Israelites into Canaan where they laid siege to the city
of
Jericho. The Lord spoke to Joshua telling him to march around the city
once
every day for six days with the seven priests carrying ram's horns in
front of
the ark. On the seventh day they were to march around the city seven
times and
the priests were to blow their ram's horns. This Joshua did, and he
commanded
his people not to give a war-cry until he told them to do so. On the
seventh
day, after marching around the city the seventh time, the priests
sounded their
ram's horns, and Joshua ordered the people to shout. The walls of the
city
collapsed, and the Israelites were able to charge straight into the
city. The
city was completely destroyed, and every man, woman, and child in it
was
killed. Only Rahab and her family were spared, because she had hid the
two
spies sent by Joshua. After this Joshua burned the remains of the city
and
cursed any man who would rebuild the city of Jericho at the cost of his
and/or
her firstborn son or daughter. Jericho 2.0 is composed for two
trombones and computer.
References are made to various scenes in the history of Jericho,
including the
battle of Jericho of biblical times as well as to the destruction of
the Oasis
Casino in 2000 AD. |
