Music on Jewish Themes
- The Priestly Blessing for a capella chorus
2. Hal’lu Et Adonai B’chalil (Praise the Lord with the Flute) for flute and piano
Catherine Hare – Flute; Joseph Ramadan – Piano.
Written in 2013, this short piece is a sparkling and triumphant exposition for flute and piano.
3. Rachamana for a capella chorus
The Joseph Ramadan Singers
Composed in 2015 for the New London Synagogue S’lichot service.
Rachamana D’anei La’aneyei Aneina
May the Merciful One, Who answers the poor, answer us;
Rachamana D’anei Lit’virei Liba Aneina
May the Merciful One, Who answers the broken-hearted, answer us;
Rachamana D’anei L’makichei Rucha Aneina
May the Merciful One, Who answers the lowly in spirit, answer us;
Rachamana Aneina, Rachamana Chus
Merciful One, redeem; Merciful One, have pity;
Rachamana P’ruk, Rachamana Shazeiv, Rachamana Racheim Alan
Merciful One, redeem; Merciful One, save; Merciful One, have mercy on us;
Hashta Ba’agala U’vizman Kariv
Now, speedily and very soon.
4. Ha-N’shamah Lach for cantor and chorus
Composed in 2006 This prayer is taken from the S’lichot prayers recited during the High Holiday season.
There is a well known setting of the first verse of Han’shamah lach attributed to Shalom Carlebach, but there are very few other settings in circulation and I wanted to offer an alternative.
Han’shamah lach v’haguf pa-alach,
chusah al amalach.
Han’shamah lach v’haguf shelach,
Adonai, aseih l’ma-an sh’mecha.
The soul is Yours and the body is Your workmanship;
have compassion on what You have created;
the soul is Yours and the body is Yours,
Adonai, do this for the sake of Your Name.
5. Solu
The Joseph Ramadan Singers
Isaiah Chapter 62 V. 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, and 10
1 L’ma-an tsion lo echesheh
1 For Zion’s sake will I not hold My peace
Ul’ma-an Y’rushalaim lo eshkot
and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest,
Ad yeitsei chanogah tsidka
until her triumph go forth as brightness,
Vishu-atah k’lapid yivar
and her salvation as a torch that burneth.
2 V’ra-u goyim tsidkeich
V’chol-m’lachim k’vo-deich
V’kora lach sheim chadash
Asher pi Adonai yikovenu
4 Lo yei-ameir lach od azuvah
Ulartseik lo yei-ameir od sh’mamah
Ki lach yikarei cheftzi vah
Ul’artseich b’ulah
Ki chafeits Adonai bach
V’artseich tiba-eil
6 Al-cho-mota-yich Y’rushalaim
Hifkad’ti shomrim
Kol hayom v’chol-halay’lah tamid
Lo yecheshu
Hamazkirim et-Adonai
Al-domi lachem
7 V’al-tit’nu domi lo
Ad-y’chonein vad yasim et Y’rushalaim
T’hilah ba-arets.
10 Ivru ivru bash’arim
Panu derech ha-am
Solu solu hamsilah
And the nations shall see thy triumph,
and all kings thy glory;
and thou shalt be called by a new name,
which the mouth of the LORD shall mark out.
4 Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken,
neither shall thy land any more be termed
Desolate;
but thou shalt be called, My delight is in her,
and thy land, Espoused;
for the LORD delighteth in thee,
and thy land shall be espoused.
6 I have set watchmen upon thy walls,
O Jerusalem,
they shall never hold their peace
day nor night:
‘Ye that are the LORD’S remembrancers, take
ye no rest,
7 And give Him no rest,
till He establish, and till He make Jerusalem a
praise on the earth.’
10 Go through, go through the gates,
clear ye the way of the people;
cast up, cast up the highway,
gather out the stones;
lift up an ensign over the peoples
Sak’lu mei-even
Harimu neis al-ha-amim.
6. Meditation on Sh’ma Koleinu
Mitra Alice Tham – Piano
As its title suggests, Meditation on Sh’ma Koleinu is a reflective piece, based around the melody of the prayer from the Yom Kippur liturgy. The origin of the melody is not known. The structure of this meditation is the harmonized melody itself, followed by four variations, the last of which brings us back to the original melody.
7. Kaddish
Cantor Jason Green – Tenor; Cantor Steven Lees – Baritone; Stephen Dickenson – Piano
Kaddish is a Prayer of praises to God in the Jewish Liturgy. The central theme of the Kaddish is the magnification and sanctification of God’s name. In the Liturgy there are different versions of the Kaddish are used functionally as separators between sections of the service.
“The Mourner’s Kaddish”, said as part of the mourning rituals in Judaism in all prayer services, as well as at funerals and memorials. Mourners say Kaddish to show that despite the loss they still praise God.
The opening words of this prayer are inspired by Ezekiel 38:23 a vision of God becoming great in the eyes of all the nations. The central line of the Kaddish in Jewish tradition is the congregation’s response: (Yehei shmëh rabba mevarakh lealam ulalmey almaya, “May His great name be blessed for ever, and to all eternity”), a public declaration of God’s greatness and eternality.
This concert setting of Kaddish Yatom was written in 2006.
8. I never saw another butterfly
My song-cycle, I Never Saw Another Butterfly, is a setting of poems written by Jewish children in the concentration camp, Terezin, otherwise known in German as Theresienstadt. The title I Never Saw Another Butterfly, is also the title of the collection of Art and poetry from which the poems come. The songs, all for single voice and piano, have been performed by adult professional singers but also twice by children, which for obvious reasons provides an particularly poignant experience.
During World War II the Gestapo used Terezin as a ghetto. The majority of the Jews sent there were scholars, professionals, artists and musicians, who were encouraged to lead creative lives. This was all part of a plan to deceive International Red Cross inspectors into believing that Jews were being treated humanely. This façade masked the fact that of the 144,000 Jews who were sent there, about 33,000 died of hunger, stress, disease, and an epidemic of Typhus, mostly as a result of the appalling conditions. About 88,000 were deported to Auschwitz and other extermination camps.
All the poems in this cycle were written 1942 and 1944. A total of around 15,000 children under the age of 15 passed through Terezin. Of these, only about 100 came back. There are 11 songs in the cycle, of which this evening you are going to hear 8. Each song expresses the thoughts, feelings, or concerns of the author.
In 6 of the eleven poems the name of the child is not known, and they are referred to as Anonymous. The other 5 are: Teddy L (surname not known): Eva Pickova: Pavel Friedmann: Miroslav Kosek: and A (first name not known) Lintovd.
At Terezin When a new child comes Everything seems strange to him. What, on the ground I have to lie? Eat black potatoes? No! Not I! I’ve got to stay? It’s dirty here! The floor – why, look, it’s dirt, I fear! And I’m supposed to sleep on it? I’ll get all dirty! Here the sound of shouting, cries, And oh, so many flies. Everyone knows flies carry disease. Oooh, something bit me! Wasn’t that a bedbug? Here in Terezin life is hell And when I go home again, I can’t tell. Teddy L 410,1943
9. Reflection on Psalm 43
Mitra Alice Tham ;- Piano
This piece was written in 2015 as a present to my cousin’s grandson, Luc Roux, on the occasion of his confirmation. I asked him to choose a psalm text that meant something to him, and it also spoke to me. The piece represents my interpretation of the psalm, in which the supplicant has been exiled from Zion. He longs of the joy of approaching the alter in Jerusalem and celebrating God with song.
10. Meditation on Ma’oz Tzur
Mitra Alice Tham
11. Pius v’Shalom
Pius v’Shalom (Reconciliation and Peace) for String Quartet
Written – 2023 – So much of the world is
in turmoil, – at the time I wrote it – and
now -my feeling – is going on – Israel is
particularly important.
I wrote – Pius v’Shalom – string quartet –
try and create a mood of reconciliation
and peace – desperately hoping that the
time will come when some of the major
conflicts of the world can find solutions.
Please welcome back – Holywell string quartet.
12. Songs from Hanagid
Yoav Ovid – Tenor; Mitra Alice Tham – Piano
Samuel Hanagid lived from 993-1056AD. He was born in Cordoba and was among those hwo fled the capital when then Berber hordes destroyed the city in 1013. A renowned Talmudist and statesman, he was the first Spanish Jew to be granted the title Nagid (‘Prince’). He was appointed vizier shortly after the accession to the throne (1038) of Badis, the Berber ruler of Granada. In this capacity he commanded the armies of Granada in a series of victorious campaigns against Seville and her allies, which lasted from 1038 to !056. The many poems he sent his son from the battlefield constitute a unique poetic diary of his tempestuous life. He died after a strenuous compaign and was succeeded as vizier and commander by his son, Yehosef. Ten years later Yehosef was assassinated and the Jewish community of Granada was massacred by the Muslims. Hanagid’s vast knowledge of Hebrew and Arabic culture is apparent ion his technical mastery and in his rich repertoire of themes and motifs. He excels in the fusion of epic and lyrical elements.
The Prison
Eretz l’adam be-it k’lu kol yamav,
Lachein ani omeir emet lasachal:
Tarutz v’shamayim s’vivotecha mi kol avarim;
Kum v’tzei im tuchal.
The earth is a prison to man all his life.
Therefore I say this truth to the fool:
Though you rush about, the sky surrounds you on all sides. Try to get out, if you can.
13. Songs from Hanagid
War
Asher kol ish l’sachek ba y’ave,
V’sofo kaz’keina ham’usa
Asher kol shochra yivke v’yid’ve
War is at first like a beautiful girl
with whom all men long to play,
but in the end like a repulsive hag
whose suitors all weep and ache
14. String Quartet No 5 –