Scored for: SATB chorus and piano, also in arrangement for SSAA chorus and piano Text: Sima Yashonsky-Feitelson, English translation by Raya Gonen Language: Yiddish Duration: 7:00 – 7:30 Premiere: 5/11, Prince Theater, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Commissioned by: Nashirah through the generosity of Cynthia and Jeffrey Silber Published by: Self-published, Angelfire Press
Contact Andrea Clearfield for score and parts:
The original song cycle Farlorn Alemen was commissioned by Israeli soprano, Raya Gonen. “Farlorn Alemen” is the first movement of the cycle. The work is set to texts by Sima Yashonksy-Feitelson, an inmate of the Kovno getho.
Sima Yashonsky-Feitelson was 16 years old when she lost both her parents and sibling in the Kovno Getho, Lithuania, during World War II. Her young husband was taken to a forced labor camp near Kovno, in which all of the Kovno Ghetto Jews were shot. His job was to burn their bodies. Sima documented her life and experiences in the ghetto in a booklet of poems in Yiddish, which bears witness to the atrocities, her feelings of fear, loss and doubt whether she would see her husband ever again. She also documented her resistance activities in the underground movement, which was formed there against the Nazis.
Sima immigrated to Israel (with her husband, who survived the Holocaust) and re-united with friends from the Ghetto, including soprano Raya Gonen’s parents. As a token of their friendship, Sima gave an autographed copy of her poems to Raya’s parents. After reading the poems, Raya felt compelled to be able to sing them, and thus commissioned
Andrea Clearfield to set these poems to music so that they could be included on Raya’s touring Holocaust songs program. The work was premiered at Monmouth University, N.J. in 2008.
Dr. Clearfield created this choral arrangement of Farlorn Alemen for Nashirah, Jonathan Coopersmith, Artistic Director. The commission was made possible through the generosity of Cynthia and Jeffrey Silber. The premiere took place at the Prince Theater in Philadelphia in May, 2011. The composers wishes to express gratitude to the Oberpfalzer Kunstlerhaus in Schwandorf, Germany where this work was created.
LISTEN
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
QUOTE
“It was immediately clear that Andrea understood Nashirah and our hopes for this commission. Her suggestion of a choral setting of the Yiddish Holocaust poem “Farlorn Alemen” was completely in harmony with Nashirah’s mission and esthetic. We knew we had not commissioned a mere choral piece, but a relevant and contemporary piece of art. Andrea’s music is a reflective and deeply moving commentary on the Holocaust, and should be a permanent piece of the Holocaust artistic canon. It was an honor to premiere this challenging and rewarding work, and we are deeply fortunate to have been a part of its creation.”
FARLORN ALEMEN
(Losing Everyone)
poems by Sima Yashonksy-Feitelson, English translation by Raya Gonen
Do you know what it means to be alone?
Can anyone understand my heart’s pain?
Losing mother, father, husband and friend
Who can I turn to today?
My heart is bleeding with pain
My eyes can shed no more tears
Everything in me has turned into stone from the pain
Together with them, I’ll never be again.
I will never know anymore the happiness which
I felt only a few weeks ago
I have no mother, father, husband anymore.
Is there still any happiness reserved for me in the world?
Will I never see them again, then?
Is my life lost forever?
Will I ever hear the words “I love you” anymore?
Will my life story thus be empty forever?
Farlorn Alemen
Nashirah Chorus at Andrea Clearfield's Salon
Scored for: SATB chorus and piano, also in arrangement for SSAA chorus and piano
Text: Sima Yashonsky-Feitelson, English translation by Raya Gonen
Language: Yiddish
Duration: 7:00 – 7:30
Premiere: 5/11, Prince Theater, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commissioned by: Nashirah through the generosity of Cynthia and Jeffrey Silber
Published by: Self-published, Angelfire Press
Contact Andrea Clearfield for score and parts:
See preview score pages: FARLORN ALEMEN Choral excerpt (PDF)
PROGRAM NOTE
The original song cycle Farlorn Alemen was commissioned by Israeli soprano, Raya Gonen. “Farlorn Alemen” is the first movement of the cycle. The work is set to texts by Sima Yashonksy-Feitelson, an inmate of the Kovno getho.
Sima Yashonsky-Feitelson was 16 years old when she lost both her parents and sibling in the Kovno Getho, Lithuania, during World War II. Her young husband was taken to a forced labor camp near Kovno, in which all of the Kovno Ghetto Jews were shot. His job was to burn their bodies. Sima documented her life and experiences in the ghetto in a booklet of poems in Yiddish, which bears witness to the atrocities, her feelings of fear, loss and doubt whether she would see her husband ever again. She also documented her resistance activities in the underground movement, which was formed there against the Nazis.
Sima immigrated to Israel (with her husband, who survived the Holocaust) and re-united with friends from the Ghetto, including soprano Raya Gonen’s parents. As a token of their friendship, Sima gave an autographed copy of her poems to Raya’s parents. After reading the poems, Raya felt compelled to be able to sing them, and thus commissioned
Andrea Clearfield to set these poems to music so that they could be included on Raya’s touring Holocaust songs program. The work was premiered at Monmouth University, N.J. in 2008.
Dr. Clearfield created this choral arrangement of Farlorn Alemen for Nashirah, Jonathan Coopersmith, Artistic Director. The commission was made possible through the generosity of Cynthia and Jeffrey Silber. The premiere took place at the Prince Theater in Philadelphia in May, 2011. The composers wishes to express gratitude to the Oberpfalzer Kunstlerhaus in Schwandorf, Germany where this work was created.
LISTEN
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
QUOTE
“It was immediately clear that Andrea understood Nashirah and our hopes for this commission. Her suggestion of a choral setting of the Yiddish Holocaust poem “Farlorn Alemen” was completely in harmony with Nashirah’s mission and esthetic. We knew we had not commissioned a mere choral piece, but a relevant and contemporary piece of art. Andrea’s music is a reflective and deeply moving commentary on the Holocaust, and should be a permanent piece of the Holocaust artistic canon. It was an honor to premiere this challenging and rewarding work, and we are deeply fortunate to have been a part of its creation.”
–Jonathan Coopersmith, Artistic Director, Nashirah
TEXT
FARLORN ALEMEN
(Losing Everyone)
poems by Sima Yashonksy-Feitelson, English translation by Raya Gonen
Do you know what it means to be alone?
Can anyone understand my heart’s pain?
Losing mother, father, husband and friend
Who can I turn to today?
My heart is bleeding with pain
My eyes can shed no more tears
Everything in me has turned into stone from the pain
Together with them, I’ll never be again.
I will never know anymore the happiness which
I felt only a few weeks ago
I have no mother, father, husband anymore.
Is there still any happiness reserved for me in the world?
Will I never see them again, then?
Is my life lost forever?
Will I ever hear the words “I love you” anymore?
Will my life story thus be empty forever?