In 2003, I was commissioned by Viki Roth, through Meet The Composer’s New Music, New Donors program, to compose a piece to honor her friend Jane Perman, and in memory of Jane’s parents. After considering some traditional Jewish texts, I found this powerful poem by Marge Piercy, entitled “Kaddish.” Ms. Piercy’s poem takes the form and the words of the Kaddish, (the Jewish prayer for mourners) as a starting point for a moving and life-affirming reflection on life and death, time, and the interconnectedness of all people and generations.
The work was given its premiere in March 2004, at Temple Shalom in Naples, Florida, with me as the vocalist; Paul Green, clarinet; and Peter Lewis, piano.
—Gerald Cohen
Listen
Text
Kaddish by Marge Piercy
Look around us, search above us, below, behind. We stand in a great web of being joined together. Let us praise, let us love the life we are lent passing through us in the body of Israel and our own bodies, let’s say amein.
Time flows through us like water. The past and the dead speak through us. We breathe out our children’s children, blessing
Blessed is the earth from which we grow, blessed the life we are lent, blessed the ones who teach us, blessed the ones we teach, blessed is the word that cannot say the glory that shines through us and remains to shine flowing past distant suns on the way to forever. Let’s say amein.
Blessed is light, blessed is darkness, but blessed above all else is peace which bears the fruits of knowledge on strong branches, let’s say amein.
Peace that bears joy into the world, peace that enables love, peace over Israel everywhere, blessed and holy is peace, let’s say amein.
L’dor Vador (“From generation to generation”) was commissioned by the Cantors Assembly for HaZamir: The International Jewish High School Choir, in honor of their founder and director, Matthew Lazar; the piece received its premiere in March 2015 at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City. After thinking about several different texts for the commissioned piece, the musical idea for L’dor Vador came to me as soon I as began composing: the perpetual motion in the piano, like time flowing by, with the choral melody poised, hovering, over the accompaniment. The text, from the Kedusha (holiness) section of the central daily Amidah prayer, is a natural choice for a choir that plays such a key role in transmitting our rich Jewish musical tradition “from generation to generation”. HaZamir is a treasure, one that we are so fortunate to have for our young people in their growth as musicians and Jews. I am so pleased to have had the opportunity to write this piece for them, especially with the support of the Cantors Assembly, another vitally important organization in preserving and advancing Jewish music.
L’dor vador nagid god’lecha, U’l’netsach n’tsachim k’dushat’cha nakdish. V’shivchacha, Eloheynu, mipinu lo yamush l’olam va-ed, Ki El Melech gadol v’kadosh Atah. Baruch Atah Adonai, haEl hakadosh.
From generation to generation we will declare your greatness, And for ever and ever we will make sacred your holiness. Your praise, our God, shall never depart from our lips, For you, God and sovereign, are great and holy. Praised are you, Adonai, the holy God.
– from the Siddur: Kedusha section of Amidah
Photos
Photos from the premiere of L’dor Vador, March 2015 at Avery Fisher Hall, New York, NY
Performances
Premiere: March 2015: HaZamir: The International Jewish High School Choir, Kelly Shepard, conductor, Avery Fisher Hall, New York, NY June 2015: The Zamir Chorale, Matthew Lazar, conductor, New York, NY December 2015: The Zamir Chorale and Zamir Noded, Matthew Lazar, conductor, New York, NY May 2017: Gerald Cohen Vocal Ensemble, Scarsdale, NY
PDF version of score and parts: $3.00 a copy (minimum 6 copies, includes clarinet part). For printed version of score and parts, contact me.
About
Praise Life! Praise Wonder! is a setting of Rami Shapiro’s adaptation of Psalm 150, and was commissioned by Sharim v’Sharot, Dr. Elayne Robinson Grossman, Music Director, in honor of their 18th (Chai/Life) year as a chorus. I have known Elayne for 35 years, and am thrilled to write this celebratory piece for her and her chorus!
For the commissioned piece, we wanted to do a piece that celebrates life, and expresses gratitude and wonder. After thinking about many different possibilities, Elayne and I decided on doing a setting of Psalm 150—the last of the book of Psalms, a great outburst of joy and praise, and also a text that has been set many times. I had never set Psalm 150, so I was excited by that. But then there was the choice of Hebrew vs. English, and if English, which translation? We decided on a superb poem by Rami Shapiro, which is not exactly a translation, but more of a transformation of the psalm. I had set Rami’s poetry before in other choral works, and love his wonderful way of engaging with the text to create something new which is nevertheless deeply tied to the original.
The commission of this piece was funded by the following generous donors: —Amy Rappaport and Allan Freedman in celebration of their marriage, and in celebration of the Chai – 18th Anniversary of Sharim V’Sharot, Dr. Elayne Robinson Grossman, Music Director and Conductor —Ron and Joan Portman, L’dor vador: in honor of our family and their love of Jewish music —Max Yaffe and Joan Amatniek, in honor of synagogue Singers everywhere.
Libavtini Achoti Chala (You have captured my heart, my dear one, my bride) was originally composed as a solo a cappella song for a wedding at which I was the cantor. The Connecticut Hebrew Chorale, Carol Kozak Ward, conductor, commissioned me to expand this into a choral piece in 1983. The words come from the great Biblical love song, the Song of Songs (Shir Hashirim), and capture words of passionate love being sung to a bride. The Connecticut Hebrew Chorale gave the premiere of the piece in New Haven, CT in 1983. I have also arranged the piece for solo voice and piano.
You have captured my heart, my own, my bride, You have captured my heart with one glance of your eyes, With one coil of your necklace.
How sweet is your love, my own, my bride, How much more delightful your love than wine, Your ointments more fragrant than any spice.
Awake, O north wind, come, O south wind! Blow upon my garden, that its perfume may spread. Let my beloved come to his garden and enjoy its luscious fruits!
[Translation from Tanach (Jewish Publication Society)]
Performances
Premiere performance: Gerald Cohen, baritone;Connecticut Hebrew Chorale, Carol Kozak Ward, conductor, New Haven, CT 1983.
by Andrew Adler For Frank A. Heller III, every concert describes a small journey of inner space. Voces Novae, the chorus he trains and nurtures season after season, looks first to the spirit present within each of its singers, and by extension his audiences. It’s no exaggeration to call Heller’s perspective a pan-theistic, summoning faiths […]
by Sheila Steinman Wallace In one of the most cohesive and moving concerts I have heard from this community chorus, Voces Novae presented “Choral Portraits: Gerald Cohen, Eleanor Daley and Eric Whitacre” on Sunday, March 7. … Gerald Cohen’s “Adonai Ro’i” (Psalm 23) has long been a personal favorite. The chorus and soloist Sarah Nettleton […]
“Dayeinu”, from V’higad’ta L’vincha, performed by HaZamir, the International Jewish Teen Choir, Carnegie Hall, New York, NY, April 2016. Conducted by Cantor Joel Caplan, HaZamir North Jersey and accompanied by composer Gerald Cohen on the piano.
About
V’higad’ta L’vincha (And You Shall Tell Your Child…) was composed in 1996 for the Syracuse Children’s Chorus, Barbara Tagg, founder and director, and was commissioned by the Chorus as part of the “Commissioning Music/USA” program of Meet The Composer and the National Endowment for the Arts, with support from the Helen F. Whitaker Fund. In addition to this original SSA version, I have also written a version of the piece for SATB chorus.
V’higad’ta L’vincha is based on selections from the Passover Haggadah. The Haggadah, or “telling,” is the text that is used at the Seder, the family meal—full of discussion, ceremony, and song—that is the central feature of the Passover celebration of freedom and rejoicing.
One of the most significant themes of the Haggadah, emphasized in my choices of text for the piece, is that we all must experience the story of the deliverance from slavery as if we ourselves had lived through it; we must then tell our children that story so as to pass it down, vividly, from one generation to the next. Children are thus the central figures in the Seder, and it seemed most appropriate to write a setting of this text in a work composed for children’s chorus.
The piece begins with a chant-like presentation of the biblical verse that instructs us to tell our children the story of the Exodus, and then moves, as does the Haggadah, from the oppression of slavery to the joy of deliverance. That joy is expressed especially in the famous text “Dayeinu” (“It would have been enough…”), set here as a lively dance, and in the final “L’fichach,” which gives thanks to God in a procession which grows from a quiet beginning to an exuberant conclusion.
NOTE: Also available in a version for SATB chorus. Both versions can either be performed with the instrumental version of clarinet, cello, and piano, or with the piano reduction as accompaniment.
3. Ha lachma anya, diachalu avatana, b’ara dimitsrayim. Kol dichfin yeitei v’yeichul, kol ditsrich yeitei v’yifsach. Hashata hacha, lashana haba’a b’ara d’yisraeil. Hashata avdei lashana haba’a b’nei chorin.
4. Kama maalot tovot lamakom aleinu! Ilu hotsianu mimitsrayim, Dayeinu! Ilu kara lanu et hayam, Dayeinu! Ilu sipeik tsorkeinu bamidbar arbayim shana, Dayeinu! Ilu keirvanu lifnei har sinai, Dayeinu! Ilu natan lanu et hatorah, Dayeinu! Ilu hichnisanu l’erets yisraeil, Dayeinu!
5. B’chol dor vador, chayav adam lirot et atsmo k’ilu hu yatsa mimitsrayim. Shene’emar: V’higad’ta l’vincha bayom hahu leimor: baavur ze asa Adonai li, b’tseiti mimitsrayim.
1. And you shall tell your child on that day, saying: it is because of what Adonai did for me when I went out of Egypt. For with a mighty hand did Adonai bring you out of Egypt.
2. We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and Adonai our God brought us out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. And the more one talks about the exodus from Egypt, the more praiseworthy it is.
3. This is the bread of poverty which our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. Let all who are hungry come and eat; let all who are needy come and celebrate the Passover. Now we are here; next year may we be in the land of Israel. Now we are slaves; next year may we be free people.
4. How many acts of kindness God has performed for us! If God had brought us out of Egypt, Dayeinu! (it would have been enough for us!) If God had split the sea for us, Dayeinu! If God had sustained us in the wilderness for forty years, Dayeinu! If God had brought us before Mount Sinai, Dayeinu! If God had given us the Torah, Dayeinu! If God had led us to the land of Israel, Dayeinu!
5. In every generation, each person should feel as if he or she had actually experienced the exodus from Egypt. As it is written: And you shall tell your child on that day, saying: it is because of what Adonai did for me when I went out of Egypt.
6. Therefore, we should thank, praise, laud, glorify, exalt, honor, bless, extol, and adore the Power who performed all of these miracles for our ancestors and for us. God brought us from slavery to freedom, from sorrow to joy, from mourning to celebration, from darkness to great light, from bondage to redemption. Let us then sing a new song to God, Halleluya!
Arrangements
Arrangement for SATB chorus, clarinet, cello and piano (1999)
Both versions can either be performed with the instrumental version of clarinet, cello, and piano, or with the piano reduction as accompaniment. Prices are as follows: SA Octavo: $7.00 SA Full Score and parts: $25.00 SATB Octavo: 10.00 SATB Full Score and parts: 30.00
The 4th movement “Dayeinu“, is often performed as a separate piece, and is available with the instrumental ensemble, or with piano reduction.
Listen/Watch
V’higad’ta L’vincha: complete performance of SSA version by Syracuse Children’s Chorus, Barbara Tagg, conductor—from album Generations
Performances
Selected:
Premiere: April 1997 – Syracuse Children’s Chorus, Barbara Tagg, cond.; Syracuse, NY May 1998 – Juilliard Pre-College Chorus, Rebecca Scott, cond.; New York, NY (SSA version) April 2006 – Princeton Pro Musica, Frances Slade, cond., Lawrenceville, NJ (SATB version) December 2006 – Zamir Chorale, Matthew Lazar, cond., Merkin Concert Hall, New York, NY, (SATB version, “Dayeinu” movement) April 2010 – Choirs of Jewish Theological Seminary and Hebrew Union College, Joyce Rosenzweig, cond. (SATB version) May 2010 – Concerto Della Donna, Iwan Edwards, cond.; Montreal, Québec (SSA version) April 2016 – HaZamir, the International Jewish High School Choir, Joel Caplan, cond., New York, NY (SATB version, “Dayeinu” movement) See video of this performance at Carnegie Hall
by Andrew Adler For Frank A. Heller III, every concert describes a small journey of inner space. Voces Novae, the chorus he trains and nurtures season after season, looks first to the spirit present within each of its singers, and by extension his audiences. It’s no exaggeration to call Heller’s perspective a pan-theistic, summoning faiths […]
by Eric Haines Hebrew liturgy provides blessings for every major event in the Jewish life cycle. Blessings for children, weddings, the Kaddish, the Kol Nidre and the Song of Solomon have inspired composers to write works that deserve a place on the concert stage. The Pittsburgh Jewish Music Festival ended its three-concert season on Tuesday […]
by Sheila Steinman Wallace In one of the most cohesive and moving concerts I have heard from this community chorus, Voces Novae presented “Choral Portraits: Gerald Cohen, Eleanor Daley and Eric Whitacre” on Sunday, March 7. … Gerald Cohen’s “Adonai Ro’i” (Psalm 23) has long been a personal favorite. The chorus and soloist Sarah Nettleton […]
