I saw a dream. Images upon my bed and visions in my head frightened me. (Daniel 4:2, or 4:5 in Christian translations)
My name is Daniel Pearl. (I'm a Jewish American from Encino California.)
Let the dream fall back onto the dreaded. (Daniel 4:16, or 4:19 in Christian translations)
I sure hope that Gabriel likes my music, when the day is done
Repetitions of each text unfold within a series of harmonic variations structured similarly to Reich's You Are (Variations) (2004), amidst a texture of interlocking string motifs, piano and vibraphone accents and woodwind accompaniment.
Daniel Variations was commissioned by Daniel's father, Judea Pearl and the Daniel Pearl Foundation, along with the Barbican Centre, where it received its premiere in 2006 as part of the composer's 70th birthday retrospective.