https://youtube.com/watch?v=R9Y5Q_aLLG0

Composer's notes:
"The entire text for the piece is from Genesis 28:12. At first thought, a musical equivalent to a ladder might well be a scale or mode. The messengers (the Hebrew word also means angels) ascending and descending then become notes on that scale or mode. Of course, one sometimes only goes up a few rungs to reach something and then descends, or perhaps climbs higher, pauses, and then descends pausing at each rung on the way down. Finally, it becomes clear that metaphorically any melodic musical movement on a scale or mode is included in this dream of ascending and descending a ladder between heaven and earth. Jacob’s Ladder is in four sections as suggested by the division of the text above. At first these four sections are presented briefly and then each is expanded and developed. Probably as a result of thinking of the ‘notes as messengers’ I ended up with a little more than half the music purely instrumental. The voices return at length, however, in the final section, ascending and descending and, at the end, again, ascending."

Performed by Ensemble Intercontemporain and Synergy Vocals under the direction of George Jackson.