This morning’s music was chosen for the Jewish High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah (New Year) and Yom Kippur (Day of atonement), a sacred period for deep spiritual reflection, teshuvah (return/repentance), and renewal.

We start with Leonard Bernstein setting of the liturgical hymn Yigdal as a 3-part round. The text comes from the 14th-century poem based on the Maimonidean creed and translates as:

We exalt and praise the presence of the living God;
His existence and being transcend all time – was, is, and will forever be.
His essence is unity – His uniqueness lies in His oneness, He is unlike any other unity;
That oneness is inscrutable and without end.
Praised be His glorious name for all eternity.

The first theme in Kol Nidre (Op. 47 for cello and orchestra by Max Bruch, 1880), played by Erica and Shaylor, is from the Kol Nidre declaration, which is recited during the evening service on Yom Kippur. In a letter Bruch wrote, “even though I am a Protestant, as an artist I deeply felt the outstanding beauty of these melodies and therefore I gladly spread them throughout my arrangement.” (Idelsohn, from Jewish Music in Its Historic Development, 1929)

The adult choir sings Adonai Ro’i by composer Gerald Cohen. Cohen says of the setting, “it was originally written, on the loss of a dear friend, as a solo a cappella melody. I am a cantor, and a dear friend and congregant died of cancer at the age of 42 in 1989. Her husband asked me to sing at her funeral, and I decided to write a setting of Psalm 23, which is traditionally sung at Jewish funerals and memorial services. This was indeed one of those cases of a piece of music just writing itself, in the course of perhaps 30 minutes, as I was filled with the emotions of my friend’s death.” The text for Psalm 23 utilizes the imagery of God as a devoted shepherd who provides for, guides, and protects His people even in the darkest times.

 

—Chris E. and Erica K.