FEBRUARY, 2010 - LITANY/KADDISH PRAYER CD-ROM NOW AVAILABLE
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)
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.
FEBRUARY, 2010 - KADDISH NOW AVAILABLE ON CD
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."
For more information about Kaddish visit the Kaddish Project web site.
