Songs Of War And Peace
Judith Shatin
About this work:
Songs of War and Peace (1998), is a setting of four Israeli poems in translation by outstanding American poets, on the ever-timely topic of war and peace. I chose four poems that particularly moved me from the compelling book After the First Rain, a title which, in colloquial Hebrew, also means “After the Shooter.”These poems represent the sadness and shock of the post-Rabin enivronment, although some sing of hope as well. The poems include: And How My Brother is Cain (Azriel Kaufman, trans. Barbara Goldberg), The Rain is Ready to Fall (Eytan Eytan, trans. Merrill Leffler); Peace (Ella Bat-Tzion, trans. Barbara Goldberg) and Peace Poem After a Ugarithic Inscription (Eli Netzer, trans Moshe D’or). The first poem reflects the devastation of Rabin’s assassination and its aftermath; the second sings of ambivalence and acceptance; the third of hope for peace; and the fourth, a command to end the cycle of war. I composed Songs of War and Peace in commemoration of Israel’s Fiftieth Anniversary. The music is available from Wendigo Music.
Year composed: 1998
Duration: 00:16:00
Ensemble type: Chorus, with or without Solo Voices:Chorus with Keyboard
Instrumentation: 1 Piano, 1 S, 1 A, 1 T, 1 B
Instrumentation notes: SATB, piano