Uvtuvo M’chadesh was commissioned by Temple Beth Shalom, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY. Conductor Linda Moot, Cantor Robin Joseph and I wanted to create a piece with meditative nature, focusing on one short text. One of my favorite texts, with its idea of constant renewal in the universe, both in a physical and spiritual sense, is the text from the daily and Shabbat morning liturgy: “Uvtuvo m’chadesh b’chol yom tamid maaseh v’reishit” (And in Your goodness You perpetually renew each day the wondrous work of Creation.) An additional text,“Haya / Hoveh / Yih’ye” (was / is / will be), describing the divine in terms of pure Being—past, present and future–also weaves into the work the idea of perpetual renewal. The verse is presented in a simple melody which then is “renewed” and varied throughout the piece. In addition to chorus and piano, the piece features and important solo viola part—the viola helps to bring out the delicate balance of stillness and motion in the music.
Text and translation: Haya, Hoveh, Yihyeh… Uvtuvo m’chadesh b’chol yom tamid maaseh v’reishit. Haya, Hoveh, Yihyeh…
Was, is, will be…
In Your goodness, You perpetually renew each day the wondrous work of Creation.
Was, is, will be…
Note: The literal meaning of “Uvtuvo m’chadesh” is “In His goodness, He renews..”I have chosen, in giving the translation, to put the line in the second person – “In Your goodness, You renew” – as a way of making the language gender-neutral, and also of emphasizing the sense of closeness rather than distance in our relationship with the divine.
Premiere: January 2014: Temple Beth Shalom Choir, Linda Moot, cond. Hastings-on-Hudson, NY
May 2014: Temple Beth Shalom Choir, Linda Moot, cond. Hastings-on-Hudson, NY
May 2018: Florilegium Chamber Choir, Ronnie Oliver, Jr., cond., Mamaroneck, NY and New York, NY
To purchase score and parts, contact Gerald Cohen: gerald@nullgeraldcohenmusic.com PDF version of score and parts: $2.50 a copy (minimum 6 copies, includes viola part)
Adonai Ro’i was originally written, on the loss of a dear friend, as a solo a cappella melody. I am a cantor, and a dear friend and congregant died of cancer at the age of 42 in 1989. Her husband asked me to sing at her funeral, and I decided to write a setting of Psalm 23, which is traditionally sung at Jewish funerals and memorial services. This was indeed one of those cases of a piece of music just writing itself, in the course of perhaps 30 minutes, as I was filled with the emotions of my friend’s death.
As I started singing the piece at other services, I received a very strong response to it, and decided to make a piano accompaniment. This was published in 1995, and soon was used by cantors all over the country, as well as in churches and other services and concerts. It is a very curious thing for a composer: I write many pieces of music of all kinds, and it is hard to know exactly why one particular piece captures people’s emotions so strongly, but that is what happened with this particular piece.
I was soon asked by the Zamir Chorale of Boston (Joshua Jacobson, conductor) to write a version for SATB chorus, and that version has also been widely performed. I have also arranged it for solo voice and orchestra, and chorus and orchestra; these versions have been performed by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the San Diego Symphony.
I just have to assume that the piece somehow taps into the strong emotions that I felt as I was writing it (I had also lost my father about 8 years before, so I am sure that loss is present as well), and that this then communicates itself to performers, listeners, and mourners. In 2003, I had the sad but powerful experience of singing the piece at my mother’s funeral.
I am grateful that this piece has become a way for so many to express deep and delicate feelings. I hope that, if it is a piece that is meaningful to you, that you will feel free to contact me about your experience with it.
I have arranged Adonai Ro’i for many different vocal and instrumental ensembles; a selection of those are listed here. Please contact me with questions about these or other arrangements:
SOLO VOICE OR UNISON CHORUS Solo voice or unison chorus with piano Solo voice or unison chorus with piano and obbligato instrument (Flute, clarinet, violin, viola, cello, etc.) Solo voice or unison chorus with string quartet Solo voice or unison chorus with piano trio (vn/vc/pno) Solo voice or unison chorus with orchestra Solo voice or unison chorus with string orchestra
SATB, SSA, etc. SATB chorus with piano SATB chorus with orchestra or string orchestra SSA chorus with piano Two voices, a cappella
INSTRUMENTAL VERSIONS Solo instrument with piano Two clarinets and piano Clarinet, viola and piano
Solo version also available in transposed keys. For instrumental version without voice, see Sea of Reeds page.
Listen/Watch
Text
Poet/Lyricist: Hebrew Bible, Psalm 23:
Adonai ro’i, lo echsar, binot deshe yarbitseini, al mey m’nuchot y’nahaleini. Nafshi y’shoveiv, yancheini v’maglei tsedek, l’maan sh’mo. Gam ki eileych b’gei tsalmavet, lo ira ra ki ata imadi, shivt’cha umishantecha heima y’nachamuni. Taaroch l’fanay shulchan neged tsor’ray, dishanta vashemen roshi, kosi r’vaya. Ach tov vachesed yird’funi kol y’mei chayai, v’shavti b’veit Adonai l’orech yamim.
Adonai is my shepherd, I shall not want. God gives me repose in green meadows, God leads me beside the still waters. God revives my spirit, and guides me on the right path, for that is God’s nature. Though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no harm, for You are with me, Your staff and your rod comfort me. You prepare a banquet for me in the presence of my foes, You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and kindness shall be my portion all the days of my life, And I shall dwell in the House of Adonai forever.
Performances
Adonai Ro’i has somewhat of a different performance history from many of my compositions, as it is used, probably every day, by cantors all over the world at funerals and memorial services.
A few of its most significant concert performances are listed here: November 2010: American Conference of Cantors, Lauren Bandman, cond., Basilica Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri, Rome, Italy December 2004: Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Meyer, cond., with the Children’s Festival Chorus, Heinz Hall, Pittsburgh PA October 2002: Usdan Festival Chorus and Orchestra, Carnegie Hall, New York, NY (premiere of version for SATB with orchestra) November 2000: Zamir Chorale of Boston, Joshua Jacobson, cond. (premiere of SATB version) March 2000: Marin Cosman, soprano; San Diego Symphony, Jung-Ho Pak, cond., (premiere of version for solo voice with orchestra) 1997: Featured in the film, The Jew in the Lotus, with Gerald Cohen, baritone May 1994: Syracuse Children’s Chorus, Barbara Tagg, cond. (premiere of unison chorus version)
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 […]
“Kumi ori“ was written to be performed, with “Haam Haholchim Bachoshech” and a new arrangement of “Adonai Ro’i Lo Echsar,” as insertions in a performance of Handel’s Messiah, as described below. It can be performed that way, or as a separate choral piece.
About
Kumi Ori (Arise, Shine) was commissioned in 2021 by the Aspen Choral Society under the direction of Paul Dankers, in loving memory of Patricia “Pat” Smith. The chorus wanted, as part of their annual performance of Handel’s Messiah, to have three of the movements of the Handel composition replaced in performance by newly composed movements; in each case, these new pieces were to be choral movements replacing solo or instrumental movements of the Handel. I was intrigued, honored, and a little bit daunted in taking on this task, but then began studying the Handel and grew fascinated with the idea of writing new pieces that would fit smoothly into the flow of Messiah, and yet be true to my own musical voice. And since I am Jewish and write many compositions in Hebrew, I decided to compose pieces that would use Hebrew texts that are composed in English in the Messiah.
This piece is composed to replace the “Pastoral Symphony” movement of the Handel. The “Pastoral Symphony” comes after the great choral movement “For unto us a child is born,” and my piece is written so as to respond directly to the motifs and energy of “For unto us,” beginning with sixteenth-note figures taken from that movement, but in a new, more distant key, and shifts between different tonalities, and rhythmic meters. When the chorus enters, it is singing a long lyrical line against the continuing energy of the accompaniment, and on the text Kumi Ori (Arise, Shine), from Isaiah Chapter 60, one that was also part of the movement “O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion.” The end of the movement eventually becomes more serene, leading to the following recitative and next part of the narrative in the Handel.
The premiere of this and its companion movements was in December 2021, as part of the Aspen Choral Society’s performance of Handel’s Messiah; the Aspen Choral Society has since performed the pieces each year in their Messiah concerts. While they are written to fit into the context of the Handel, they can of course also be performed separately as independent pieces. With their themes of light emerging from darkness, the new pieces are also suitable for Chanukah performance.
Commissioned by the Aspen Choral Society under the direction of Paul Dankers, in loving memory of Patricia “Pat” Smith.
