the song about the child (2015)
CHORAL 6:00
INSTRUMENTATION
SATB chorus
The Song About the Child was commissioned by the Terezin Music Foundation for the Concert Choir of the Boston Children's Chorus. It is a setting of a poem by Arab-Isareli poet Salman Masalha.
It received its American premiere in Boston Symphony Hall as part of the 2015 Terezin Music Foundation Gala. It received its European premiere in Prague and Berlin as part of the Terezin Music Foundation's 2015 Liberation Tour.
In my setting I first of all wanted to be true to the text. Masalha's poem has beautiful rhymes and double rhymes in Hebrew. It is an anthem of sorts, and also a tragic lullaby. When I created the relationship between the soloist (singing in Hebrew) and the choir (singing in English) I wanted to highlight these two qualities.
Read more about the work HERE.
“Sivan Eldar’s “The Song About the Child” was vividly imagined. The singers of the Boston Children’s chorus were on hand to deftly present the work. ”
EUROPEAN PREMIERE
Spanish Synagogue, Prague, Czech Republic, 26 March 2015.
The Boston Children's Chorus. Maddy Kline, soloist. Anthony Trecek-King, conductor.
AMERICAN PREMIERE
Boston Symphony Hall, Boston, MA, 5 October 2015.
The Boston Children's Chorus.
ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCES
Bohemian National Hall, NY, NY, 5 Nov. 2016 (Ghostlight Chorus)
American Choral Directors Association Convention, New Orleans, LA, 4 Nov. 2016 (Lafayette Chamber Singers)
St. Luke in the Fields, NY, NY, 23 Nov. 2016 (Ghostlight Chorus)
St. Stephen Church, Brooklyn, NY, 22 Oct. 2016 (Ghostlight Chorus)
International Alliance of Women in Music Annual Concert, University of Lafayette, LA, 22 Oct. 2016 (Lafayette Chamber Singers)
Radialsystem-V, Berlin, Germany, 4 July 2015 (BCC)
Lobkowicz Palace, Prague, Czech Republic, 1 July 2015 (BCC)
