LITANY/KADDISH PRAYER CD-ROM

Litany is the the turning point in the Kaddish narrative. It begins the final section of the work, Tikkun Olam, (Repair of the World) meant to find some way to move forward from the ashes. It consists only of spoken words, and only these words: the names, dates and places of birth, dates and places of death of 2,037 from among the millions who perished in the five extermination camps of the Nazis during the height of the Holocaust: 1942-44. The movement begins with a single voice, and we can clearly hear what is being intoned. One by one, voices enter, with ever-increasing frequency and soon the audience hears a cacophony of voices. There is a loud unintelligible buzz, like in a densely packed train station, as each individual on stage- chorus, soloist, instrumentalist- recites the names on his or her individual list.

In creating Litany, Lawrence Siegel asked Meagan Blais, a Keene State College sophomore who was his assistant as he was preparing the piece during 2007-2008, to go to the Yad Vashem database and find this information. Meagan soon became obsessed with the challenge: even this basic information about so many people known to have perished was difficult to find. The 2,037 souls who are named in Litany stand, in Kaddish, for the 6,000,000 Jews and millions and millions of others who died and whose memories are so extinguished as not to allow for even this simple naming. Anyone who participates in performing Litany and anyone who hears it, comes away haunted by the souls he or she is charged with naming, and moved to live on their behalf in some measure.

In performance of the whole work, Siegel's setting of the Mourner's Kaddish follows Litany. It is strongly encouraged that those wishing to perform Litany follow it with Kaddish Prayer; thus the two movements are offered together. In the Jewish tradition, Kaddish is said for those personally dear to us: our friends or relatives. We who perform Litany are "claiming" those whom we name as our own, and in some way doing our part to let them find peace.

The CD-ROM contains the following:

• Creating Kaddish, an Introduction (PDF)
• Litany Conductor's Score (PDF)
• Litany Pronunciation Guide (PDF)
• Litany Names (PDF)
• Litany World Premiere Recording (MP3 and WAV)
• Kaddish Prayer Score for Piano and Baritone (PDF)
• Kaddish Prayer World Premiere Recording (MP3 and WAV)

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For more information about Kaddish visit the Kaddish Project web site or contact the publisher: Larilea 128 Paine Rd. Westmoreland, NH 03467 603-355-8353
larry@tricinium.com.

KADDISH

World Premiere Performance recorded live with the 130-voice VocalEssence Chorus and Orchestra, conducted by Philip Brunelle, featuring soprano Maria Jette, mezzo Krista J. Palmquist, tenor Anders Eckman and bass-baritone James Bohn, at the Ted Mann Concert Hall, Minneapolis, Minnesota, November 15, 2008.

Kaddish is an hour-long oratorio for chorus, soloists and chamber orchestra, whose libretto is fashioned from the testimony of survivors of the Holocaust. Kaddish tells their stories in their own words, providing a window into their lives, allowing us to share their experience directly. As the youngest of the survivors approach their eighties and nineties, this window is beginning to close. Kaddish will allow us to hear their voices forever.

Of this premiere performance of Kaddish, the Minneapolis Star Tribune said: "... In its lyrical simplicity, the music created an emotional connection to the story. Kaddish had a gravitas and an emotional immediacy that made even the familiar story of the Holocaust fresh and compelling." The Minnesota Pioneer Press said: "... Joy of a kind born in resiliency emerges like a glow of white light in the final section of Lawrence Siegel's oratorio ... the impact of the conclusion is thrilling."

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CD TRACK LIST - CLICK LINK TO PLAY MUSIC CLIP

1.	Where We Came From
2.	Like Cherries in the Winter
3.	My Father Bought Me A Horse
4.	Hate Me Till Tuesday
5.	Mutter Erd
6.	My Daughter's Name
7.	Arrival at Auschwitz
8.	Himmler's Aria
9.	What a Beautiful Place You Have Here
10.	A Burden You Cannot Share
11.	Is My Voice Too Loud?
12.	Litany
13.	Kaddish Prayer
14.	Nothing is as Whole as a Heart which has been Broken
15.	So Here I Am

Produced by Lawrence Siegel.

MONADNOCK TALES

and the world premiere of The Light Staccato of Souls


Monadnock Tales features an extraordinary, book length poem by Edie Clark. The combined work for chamber ensemble and narrator is a symphonic poem unique in the intricacy of its dialogue between words and music. This chamber version, narrated by Tom Putnam, is performed by a wonderful group of instrumentalists who have made it their own.

The Light Staccato of Souls was commissioned by Tom Putnam in memory of his father, David F. Putnam, a visionary and global citizen committed to his communities. Encompassing three winning entries from Tricinium's poetry contest on the theme of community, these songs emerged as love songs demonstrating the passion of people for the personal, local and everyday: our families, friends, partners, associates and neighbors.

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...or buy from the following retail establishments: Toadstool Bookshops in Peterborough and Keene.
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CD TRACK LIST - CLICK LINK TO PLAY MUSIC CLIP

	The Light Staccato of Souls
	Three songs about people, together For soprano, violin and piano
1.	Quorum Words by Atar Hadari
2.	Who Was Playing the Piano at My Party Last Night? Words by Jeanne Mahon
3.	Choosing a Seat Words by Marian K. Shapiro
	Music by Lawrence Siegel Peggo Hodes, Soprano; Sarah Atwood, Violin Dedicated to Leigh Marthe
	Monadnock Tales
4.	I	Introduction, Allegro and Vignette 1
5.	II	Farming, Fire and Wolves
6.	III	The Past (Through a Glass Lightly)
7.	IV	Ice Glass Music
8.	V	Monadnock Rap
9.	VI	Music Rising
10.	VII	Summation
	Words by Edie Clark Music by Lawrence Siegel Tom Putnam, Narrator Dedicated to Rosamond and David Putnam

Produced by Thomas P. Putnam and Lawrence Siegel

ALL GO FORWARD AND BACK!

Larry Siegel's Verbatim Projects
A Retrospective, 1990 - 2005


What's it like for the people who live in small-town America at the beginning of the twenty-first century? This recording is a collection of original songs created in residencies that composer Larry Siegel of Westmoreland, NH has had over the past decade and a half. The words were mostly created by participants in these Verbatim Projects - sometimes in groups, sometimes solo. The projects have generally been performed by community groups with or without any prior experience.

For this retrospective recording, some of the best traditional players in the world have graciously come together to help showcase this work. You'll hear funny stories, sad stories, and visions of a life that might have been, and that might yet be, beautifully sung and played in a wide variety of styles.

Verbatim Projects were created and performed by ordinary citizens playing together over the course of a weekend, a month, or a year. You could do this yourself!

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...or buy from the following retail establishments: Toadstool Bookshops in Peterborough and Keene.
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CD TRACK LIST - CLICK LINK TO PLAY MUSIC CLIP

1.	Hills of Nelson
2.	Connections
3.	Boccia's Storey / Sixty Years
4.	Town Meeting / Cocktails and Dreams / Nothing to Do in this Town / Walmart / Let Bygones Be Bygones
5.	I'll Fly Away / All Day Meeting / Old Mountain Woman
6.	Kristen and Terry's Waltz / Police Log
7.	Goldman's
8.	Wilmot Flat / Milkweed / Milt Haley
9.	There Was a Time
10.	The Little I Earn
11.	Father and Daughter
12.	Sounds of the Mill
13.	That's How It Is In Our Small Town
14.	Steamer Jig / Felicitous Destinies / Liberation
15.	In Those Days / All Go Forward and Back
16.	Kristen and Terry's (reprise)

Produced by Pete Sutherland.

"It is often said that collaborations yield results which are greater than the sum of their parts. In the many collaborative projects of which I have been part, much of the magic has had something to do with this phenomenon. But at the same time - and never more than with this recording - I have been graced with some REALLY talented work partners."
1111Larry Siegel