Raya Gonen and Andrea Clearfield after the premiere of Farlorn Alemen
Scored for: soprano and piano, new arrangement soon for SATB Chorus and piano Text: Sima Yashonksy-Feitelson Language: Yiddish Duration: 15 min. Premiere: 11/19/08, Monmouth University, Pollak Theatre, Raya Gonen, soprano Commissioned by: Raya Gonen Published by: Self-published, Angelfire Press
Contact Andrea Clearfield for score and parts:
This song cycle, commissioned by Israeli soprano, Raya Gonen is set to texts by Sima Yashonksy-Feitelson, an inmate of the Kovno getho. The song cycle consists of three sings: “Farlorn Alemen” (Losing everyone), “Du bist Avek” (You are gone), “Mein Land” (My homeland), a poem that Ms. Feitelson wrote after having been liberated and immigrated to Israel.
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 labot 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.
TEXT
FARLORN ALEMEN
poems by Sima Yashonksy-Feitelson (translated from the Yiddish by Raya Gonen)
I Farlorn Alemen (Losing everybody)
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 empty forever?
II. Du Bist Avec (You are gone)
You are gone, I have sent you myself.
It is enough for me to know: you love me only.
But often my heart is heavy.
And then, my love, I think only of you.
Who knows if we ever will see each other again?
Will we ever be happy together?
Will the suffering ever end?
Will there be an end to the pain?
Thus separate the roads:
You are fighting and I am ready for that.
But know one thing only: I’ll love you forever.
And only death will separate us.
So let us, beloved, fight for our freedom.
And let us hope: It will still be good.
Let us know only one word: vengeance!
For our innocent spilled blood!
III. Mine Land (My Land)
You are beautiful, my land, my blooming secret.
You are restored by the sweat and blood of your children.
And beautiful is my nation in its land.
My proud and animated nation, from slavery made free.
We come to you from all angles of the world.
And like a mother you hold us close to your heart.
Your beauty and greenery is our consolation.
Your attention heals our pains.
We bring to you generations of suffering.
Courage and bravery from the suffocating “galut” (exile).
Even today our brothers still fight bravely.
Those who refuse to be oppressed.
The new generation mustn’t know all this.
Our children should now grow healthy, proud, free.
Because our generation’s is only the base.
But they will renew the old one.
Farlorn Alemen
Raya Gonen and Andrea Clearfield after the premiere of Farlorn Alemen
Scored for: soprano and piano, new arrangement soon for SATB Chorus and piano
Text: Sima Yashonksy-Feitelson
Language: Yiddish
Duration: 15 min.
Premiere: 11/19/08, Monmouth University, Pollak Theatre, Raya Gonen, soprano
Commissioned by: Raya Gonen
Published by: Self-published, Angelfire Press
Contact Andrea Clearfield for score and parts:
See preview score pages: FARLORN ALEMEN excerpt (PDF)
PROGRAM NOTES
This song cycle, commissioned by Israeli soprano, Raya Gonen is set to texts by Sima Yashonksy-Feitelson, an inmate of the Kovno getho. The song cycle consists of three sings: “Farlorn Alemen” (Losing everyone), “Du bist Avek” (You are gone), “Mein Land” (My homeland), a poem that Ms. Feitelson wrote after having been liberated and immigrated to Israel.
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 labot 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.
TEXT
FARLORN ALEMEN
poems by Sima Yashonksy-Feitelson (translated from the Yiddish by Raya Gonen)
I Farlorn Alemen (Losing everybody)
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 empty forever?
II. Du Bist Avec (You are gone)
You are gone, I have sent you myself.
It is enough for me to know: you love me only.
But often my heart is heavy.
And then, my love, I think only of you.
Who knows if we ever will see each other again?
Will we ever be happy together?
Will the suffering ever end?
Will there be an end to the pain?
Thus separate the roads:
You are fighting and I am ready for that.
But know one thing only: I’ll love you forever.
And only death will separate us.
So let us, beloved, fight for our freedom.
And let us hope: It will still be good.
Let us know only one word: vengeance!
For our innocent spilled blood!
III. Mine Land (My Land)
You are beautiful, my land, my blooming secret.
You are restored by the sweat and blood of your children.
And beautiful is my nation in its land.
My proud and animated nation, from slavery made free.
We come to you from all angles of the world.
And like a mother you hold us close to your heart.
Your beauty and greenery is our consolation.
Your attention heals our pains.
We bring to you generations of suffering.
Courage and bravery from the suffocating “galut” (exile).
Even today our brothers still fight bravely.
Those who refuse to be oppressed.
The new generation mustn’t know all this.
Our children should now grow healthy, proud, free.
Because our generation’s is only the base.
But they will renew the old one.