'Kaddish' is here, and look at what it has brought to KSC
Corey Smith
Issue date: 5/8/08 Section: A & E
|
"Kaddish," a musical production by composer Lawrence Seigel, premiered at 8 p.m. to a packed house. Tickets for the event were reported to be sold out weeks before the scheduled premiere date.
"Kaddish" is a performance about the Holocaust and breaks 15 songs into three parts entitled The World Before, The Holocaust and Tikkum Olam.
Introductions by Keene State College President Helen Giles-Gee and "Kaddish" producer Jan Cohen asserted that this project would awaken, touch, sadden, anger and move audiences. Following this, a member of "Kaddish" lit a candle in honor of those who have died from genocide.
An orchestra comprised of freelance musicians and KSC students and faculty assembled in the middle of the stage, while a men's choir and women's choir, some of them KSC Chamber Singers, surrounded on either side of them.
Four soloists sang the lion's share of most of the songs, while the entire choir continuously sang backup. The choir performed some songs in partial Hebrew, and others in English. The entire musical production was performed in front of a large screen that projected the lyrics to the songs. All song lyrics in "Kaddish" are taken verbatim from the actual testimonies of survivors of the Holocaust and are put to music.
The songs from the first portion of the evening introduced the names of a few survivors and revealed the existing attitudes towards Jews prior to the rise of Hitler, some of them negative.
Members of the audience and even a few performing members wept as the performance went on to touch upon heavier subjects such as concentration camps, death and sacrifice.
One of the more interesting pieces of "Kaddish," called "Litany," took a different direction than singing. In "Litany," a single member of the choir began to read the names and death notices of Jews killed in the Holocaust. Eventually, more and more people began reading names until the sound became incoherent and thunderous. Slowly, members stopped reading until just one person remained reciting and then silenced.
KSC student Meagan Blais worked on "Litany" as part of her minor in Holocaust studies and stage-managed the production. She compiled the 2,600 names read in the piece, attended rehearsals regularly, and helped the choir singers pronounce the names, some of which were in Polish, Czech, Romanian, Yiddish and German.
"I can never fully describe how I have been affected by 'Kaddish.' It has been a privilege and an honor to have a part in this amazing project that I am sure will touch so many people in so many different ways. It has given me only further clarity that I will continue to work in Holocaust Studies for the rest of my life. There are so many parts of 'Kaddish' that will stay with me forever," stated Blais.
The production ended with a hopeful tale of one survivor's trip back to Auschwitz in 2003. The survivor brought family to the camp, stepped into the gate, and said "I am here, and look who is with me." This caused the audience to erupt into applause, which then developed into a standing ovation for the piece.
"Tikkun Olam at the end was my favorite piece because it used the experience of a survivor returning to Auschwitz and shows how everyone has the opportunity to repair the world," noted KSC's interim director of Advancement, Melinda Mosier.
"I came here to help support the Cohen Center's continued success for 25 years. It's one of the academic premiers of this institution. It greatly benefits Keene, N.H., and the nation," added senior John Oullette.
The performance of "Kaddish" centers around Keene because it is home to the Cohen Center for Holocaust Studies and local to Siegel.
"In the point of view of the world, it's unexpected to have it in Keene," said Seigel, pointing out the fact that a world premiere literally constitutes the entire world.
The Cohen Center, located in the Mason Library, conceived the idea of this work with Seigel in 2004 to commemorate the center's 25th anniversary.
Professor Paul Vincent, the former director of the Cohen Center, worked with Cohen and Seigel on this project, and organized a trip to Poland and the Czech Republic in 2006 to visit sites that were once used for worship, celebration, burial, forced concentration and mass murder.
"As a historian and professor of Holocaust studies, my role as part of this group was exceedingly fulfilling for me. I'm delighted that I could share in the Kaddish Project's evolution," said Vincent.
Lawrence Seigel said it's been four years since birthing the idea for "Kaddish" and three years of writing. "Our goals became quite ambitious, but I was very inspired and I'm excited to hear it," Siegel added.
A representative from the American Composers Association briefly mentioned that "Kaddish" is one of about 200 musical pieces in a collection called Continental Harmony, which launched in 2000. Documentation of "Kaddish" will be displayed in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
After the word premiere in Keene, "Kaddish" is being performed in November 2008 in Minneapolis, Minn. From there, the production is being handed into the care of choral instructors and will enter mainstream choral institutions.
Corey Smith is a freshman majoring in journalism. His views do not necessarily reflect those of The Equinox.
Be the first to comment on this story