“KADDISH”

By Avi Berman

 

A musical work composed for a choir, solo singers and orchestra (consisting mostly of strings) and based on the prayer which is said by a child at a parent’s grave or by a parent at the grave of a child.

 

 

The composer on his work:  “Yitgadal ve׳Yitkadash Shmei Raba”.  At a young age I found myself at my father’s grave; this moment and this text were engraved deep in me,  and as I wrote the piece I chose to deal with the complexity  between the exalting text and the emotions felt on this occasion.

 

The piece contains different ways of treating the text, from an almost monotonous reading, to a wordless shout  expressed by the orchestra immediately after reading parts of it, and then to a chaotic texture in which the sequence of the exalted words is taken completely apart.

 

The conclusion is sung by a solo bass singer (the same voice which opens the piece) who sings the first two words, Yitgadal veYitkadash, on a single, almost voiceless note of exhausted  surrender.

The composition style reflects the influence of synagogue chanting in its melodic line, in its intervals and in the heterophonic treatment. Also recognisable is the influence of Penderecki’s liturgical pieces for choir and orchestra.

 

The harmony is dissonant and consists of a small number of chord structures that is typical of my work.

 

In this piece I chose not to use trumpets and trombones, an unusual choice for orchestral works which deal with the subject of death. This decision stemmed from my desire to avoid their loud and penetrating sound and to remain with the expressive ability of strings and the softer woodwinds (flutes, clarinets and bassoons) in order to preserve a chamber element. Even in its explosive moments this is not a declarative composition, but an introverted expression of a solitary person’s pain, in order to preserve a balance between inner disintegration and the need to honour the occasion of reading the Kaddish.