- Ano throsko ("Upward Gaze") (2009)
-
Sofia Kamayianni
for string Orchestra and children's choir
ca. 5'30"
- Saouah! (1987)
-
Annea Lockwood
for SATB choir (16 voices), four gongs, and boats (if possible)
The text is by the composer.
- Requiem (1977)
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Ruth Lomon
for flute, B-flat clarinet/bass clarinet, bassoon, trumpets in C, trombone/bass trombone, solo soprano, and SATB chorus
SONGS FROM A REQUIEM are inserts in the setting of a Requiem Mass which Ruth Lomon composed in 1977 and dedicated to the memory of her sister. The Mass proper is set for chorus (SATB) accompanied by trumpets and trombones. The songs, settings of poems she wrote between 1970 and 1972, are orchestrated for soprano, flute, clarinet, bass clarinet and bassoon. The version for soprano with piano accompaniment was written in 1982.
The premiere of the entire Requiem took place in Boston, February 22, 1997, performed by Choro Allegro under the direction of David Hodgkins.
- After the Storm (2007)
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Ruth Lomon
for a capella SATB chorus
ca. 4'15"
Descriptive (narrative) poem of the aftermath of a flood.
Joyce Carol Oates, poet
Commissioned in 2007 by Secession.
- regardisregard (2005)
-
Ruth Lomon
for a cappella SATB chorus
Composed for an installation and film on homelessness.
Visual artist, Mary Oestereicher Hamill.
Text based on words of the homeless.
First performance at Sanders Theater, Harvard University, Secession chorus.
- Testimony of Witnesses (2008)
-
Ruth Lomon
for flute, clarinet, oboe/english horn, bassoon, horn in F, timpani, percussion, harp, soprano, mezzo soprano, tenor, bass, baritone, violin, viola, cello, and bass
An oratorio for SATB chorus, SATB soloists, and chamber orchestra. There are 14 movements, any of which may be performed separately. The text for the oratorio is composed of poetry of victims and survivors of the Holocaust sung in six languages.
The first chorus, a Hebrew supplication from the 2nd century gives a historical perspective to the Testimony of Witnesses Oratorio. The baritone solo The Survivor tells of the guilt of the survivor. Mes Yeux describes poignantly the roundup of Jews in Paris where the poet lived. Lokomotywa is a child's poem about a wonderous train rushing through the countryside - but where is it going?
The following four sections are all poems of children who were in the Terezin concentration camp and the poems move from hope and will to live, to fear, and resignation. The first half of the oratorio concludes with the Sachs poem "We orphans, Oh world, we accuse you!"
After intermission the chorus Transport tells of forcing Jews into trains, children searching for their parents, arrival at the camp, as told in many voices. Poème Macabre describes the taunting and cruelty of a Kapo in a concentration camp. Gedale's Song speaks of hope for a new beginning in Israel 'where we shall be men among other men"
The last chorus Unite is a fragment of poem found in Terezin, a plea for a bright freedom.
- Hildegard's Prologue (1996)
-
Anna Rubin
for six-part women's a capella chorus
ca.10'00"
Hildegard's Prologue (1996) was commissioned by the Urban Sky Consort, of Pittsburgh for 6-part women's a capella chorus 1998 as part of the 900th Anniversary of Hildegard’s birth. I chose the text from the writings of Hildegard von Bingen, the celebrated abbess, and visionary who composed for the nuns of her monastery as well as acting as physician and diplomat. Both English and Latin are used. Many consonant dyads and triads are used in the piece with roving tonics, creating a sense of suspended harmonic motion.