Sacred Service for the Sabbath Evening
Judith Lang Zaimont
About this work:
Sacred Service for the Sabbath Evening (1976) -
baritone (or alto) solo; chorus SSATB; 2(pic)-2 (Eng hn)-2-2; 2--2-2-0;
timp-piano; strings (72')
Publisher: Galaxy Music Corporation (E.C. Schirmer)
Oratorio commissioned by the Great Neck Choral Society, in honor of the US
Bicentennial.
First Performance: June 1976, Great Neck, NY.
Other Performance: Princeton Pro Musica
"Zaimont's new setting of 'Sacred Service' proved to be a beautiful,
musically rewarding piece which held the audience's interest throughout
and won an ovation at the finish. Her score is complex yet always
accessible and expressive. The music invariably seemed to fit the words. . .
which came alive in glowing or intensely moving fashion. Zaimont's
orchestration was also impressive. She used all the sections to excellent
advantage and blended them in skillful fashion."
-- The Trenton Times
"The Sacred Service sings out with a new and startling beauty. It inspires
and disturbs as it brings to us one of America's most important new
talents."
-- Cantor Arthur S. Koret, Emanuel Synagogue, Hartford, CT
"Judith Lang Zaimont has brought a new and exciting voice to liturgical
music. Her ideas are fresh; her combination of voice with text, added to her
considerable skills in choral and orchestral writing have created a
memorable composition."
-- Canton Paul Kwartin, Cantica Hebraica
"The star of the evening was a performance of Judith Zaimont's Sacred
Service for the Sabbath Evening. The work is an oratorio using the text of
the third Sabbath Evening Service from The Union Prayer Book for Jewish
Worship found in Reform synagogues. The orchestration was extremely
colorful. The writing was always interesting and never trite. Filled with
traditional harmonies, the piece is extremely accessible and received a
glorious realization from the Pro Musica chorus and soloist David Arnold."
-- Princeton Packet
Year composed: 1976
Duration: 01:12:40
Ensemble type: Orchestra:Standard Orchestra
Instrumentation: