V'AL Y'DEI - Zichronot
by Michael Reid Winikoff
Choir (SATB or TTBB div.), Soli, organ
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THE LITURGY - Each of the three themed sections (Malchuyot – Sovereignty verses; Zichronot
– Remembrance verses; Shofrot – Horn or Revelation verses) of
the Rosh Hashanah Musaf service is comprised of ten apropos scriptural
verses: three from the Pentateuch, three from Psalms, three from
Prophets, and a concluding verse again from the Pentateuch. Each
of the Prophet passages is introduced with the citational clause
V’al y’dei avadecha han’vi-im, katuv leimor: (“By the hand of Your
servants, the Prophets, it is written:”).
The deep pathos of the Prophetic (Jeremiah and Ezekiel)
verses serves to convey one of the profound themes of Rosh Hashanah, the
undying love with which G-d remembers Israel’s loyalty and devotion, and
the parental compassion with which G-d will judge “Ephraim, My beloved
son … for even as I reproach him, I remember him in tenderness….”
See full translation below.
THE MUSIC - As in most all
of the musical settings, this one sets these Prophetic verses from the Remembrance section.
For all its atypical complexities (its chromaticism and polyphony), this
music is firmly rooted in
tradition, informed by the renditions of Todros Greenberg and Joshua
Lind, making use (as they did) of the customary nusach. The
soprano/alto duet (on "...lechteich acharai bamidbar"
at measure 47) is
typical, as is the coda section on "...rachem arachamenu" with
its vehement exchange between cantor and choir, and the concluding
cadenza flourish.
PERFORMANCE -
This lengthy work may be
abridged/excerpted.
See also
Havein Yakir Li - separately published excerpt.
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V’al y’dei avadecha han’vi-im |
By the hand of Your servants, the prophets, |