In 1968 I had not much knowledge about Judaism and much less about Jewish music. This was rather how I imagined the music of the Spanish or Sephardic Jews, and so I wrote this version for violoncello and piano, because as a fledgling cellist I wanted to create a repertoire for myself. Now I provide also parts for violin and viola so that the piece can be played with either one of these instruments instead of the violoncello.