CLASSICAL MUSIC INSPIRED BY THE HOLOCAUST | MUSIC FOR SOPRANO AND ENSEMBLE ABOUT HOLOCAUST | HOLOCAUST-RELATED MUSIC
FOUND IN A TRAIN STATION
for soprano and ensemble
Duration:
11'30" minutes
Instrumentation:
soprano, mandolin, clarinet, violin, cello and piano
Year Composed:
2007
Text:
An authentic note found in a train station during World War II
Language:
To be read in the local language
Written For:
Avi Avital
Commissioned By:
In memory of Edwin Jaffe
Premiere Performance:
26 January 2008
Modena, Italy
Tehila Nini-Goldstein, soprano
Avi Avital, mandolin
Gilad Harel, clarinet
Jonathan Keren, violin
Luca Bacelli, cello
Amit Dolberg, piano
Program Notes:
The text I have used for my composition is a note, written and found at a train station, somewhere in Poland, during the Second World War Holocaust. It contains the last words of a mother, who right before stepping into the train that carried Jewish passengers to their bitter end, had decided to abandon her child with an attached note, bearing the hope that someone will have a heart to save the kid. The music portrays the running thoughts, passiveness, stored-anger, remorse and hope that ran in the mind of the mother, facing this heart-breaking dilemma.
The work is dedicated to mandolin player Avi Avital and was commissioned in memory of Edwin Jaffe, who always looked for the bright and hopeful side of life.
