Choral Piece of the Day, Installment 49: El Yivneh Hagalil (The Lord builds Galilee) for SATB Chorus unaccompanied
Year of Arrangement: 2018
Melody: Traditional
Choral Arrangement: Stanley M. Hoffman
Words: Traditional, and Psalm 147:2
Sheet Music Distributer: www.oysongs.com
Product Link:
Copies can also be digitally licenced directly from the arranger.
Follow the URL below to view a watermarked copy of the choral score.
Follow the URL below to hear a synthesized rendition of this piece which is awaiting a world premiere performance.
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Program Notes
El Yivneh Hagalil (The Lord builds Galilee) is an exuberant setting of a traditional Hebrew melody and a creative mix of Hebrew lyrics for SATB chorus, the essence of which embodies what is best in the spirit of the Jewish people who, post-Holocaust, proceeded to build up the areas of the Galilee and Jerusalem, revitalizing them. The message of the piece is that those who were present in creating what are now the thriving modern day areas known as the Galilee and Jerusalem, and those who continue to do so to this day, sought to succeed, succeeded, and continue to succeed in building up these areas of the indigenous Jewish people's 3500 year old ancestral homeland with god's strength and blessing.
The Al Aqsa Mosque is built on the ruins of the Second Temple hence the Western Wall. Whenever one wishes someone a happy Hanukkah, then one is acknowledging this fact. The author is choosing to avoid the polemic involved in raising the issue of the barrage of missiles that is currently unfairly raining down on the State of Israel other than to mention it, and to keep this posting about this amazing traditional melody and the hope embodied in the words.
The piece is sung in Hebrew. For reference, here are the lyrics in English translation.
The Lord builds Galilee.
Blessed be the builder of Galilee.
The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem.
He gathers the exiles of Israel.
The nation of Israel lives!
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A plea to choral directors, performing ensembles, and performers of all kinds:
PERFORM JEWISH-CENTRIC MUSIC!
So much of Jewish-centric music has been and continues to be ignored, or worse, boycotted, today because of the crazy, divisive, upside-down times in which we live. A rich treasure-trove of Jewish-centric music exists.
Explore creative programming options from the time of the Renaissance through the music of today. Many reliable databases of sacred and secular Jewish-centric music exist.
Contact me for more programming ideas about my Jewish-centric music, and the music of countless other composers and arrangers, who include both Jews and Gentiles. I will be happy to help point you in whatever direction I am able.
If you are truly devoted to diversity, then you simply cannot arbitrarily exclude the music of a culture that is over 3500 years old because of geopolitics; to do so is the height of hypocrisy.
Thank you for your time and attention. Be well.
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