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Debut: Musical piece based on Shoah stories

Lawrence Siegel's 'Kaddish - I am Here' turns Holocaust survivors' harsh testimonies into musical sounds. Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra to perform piece at Yad Vashem in front of 2,000 survivors

"I had a little sister, five years younger than myself / Her name was Raysha… A German officer came, he tore her away from my mother."

 

These words are part of a special musical piece, comprised of the testimonies of Holocaust survivors which were turned into music. The piece, "Kaddish – I am Here," will be performed Thursday evening by the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra in a special concert at Yad Vashem's Warsaw Ghetto Square.

 

Dr. Lawrence Siegel adapted 15 segments of Holocaust survivors' testimonies, some in Yiddish, to a musical piece which will be performed by performed by the orchestra along with soloists and choirs from Israel and the United States, and conducted by Gil Shohat.

 

Some 2,000 Holocaust survivors, for whom this concert will carry a special meaning, are expected to sit in the audience.

 

The first part of the musical piece describes the social and cultural life of Jews in Europe before the Holocaust, the second part presents personal stories from the Holocaust, and the piece concludes with a commemoration of the Holocaust victims and by describing the courage of the survivors, who chose to rehabilitate their lives and start new families.

 

"I presented the testimonies word for word," Siegel said Wednesday, "and therefore this is in fact an authentic and accurate reading of the feelings and thoughts of some of the Holocaust survivors." And indeed, the piece does include segments which are extremely difficult to listen to, like the following one:

 

"I had a little sister, five years younger than myself / Her name was Raysha… A German officer came, he tore her away from my mother / And he pushed her to the left side of the field / My mother said to my father / We need to go with Raysha. / I started crying / That I don't want to go to that side / That I want to live, that I want my parents with me."

 

"Kaddish – I am Here" was first performed at Keene State College in the US, and has since been played several times in the country and received praise.

  

The concert, which is being performed in Israel for the first time, is part of Yad Vashem's ongoing activity to commemorate the Holocaust through musical pieces as well.

 

Thursday's concert will be held in the presence of Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin, members of the Diplomatic Corps and official State guests.

 

 


פרסום ראשון: 09.08.11, 14:06
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