David Lang

if i am silent (2019) 8'

SATB

Paul Hillier/Theatre of Voices, co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall and Nederlands Kamerkoor

program note

In 2005 I wrote a piece based on a few lines from the Book of Ecclesiastes. It is called ‘again (after ecclesiastes)’ and both the writing of it and the thinking about it were very powerful experiences for me. One of the most powerful was there cognition that this Old Testament book has a liturgical function, that it is read publicly in many Jewish congregations in conjunction with the fall harvest holiday Sukkot. Somehow it seemed very poignant to me that Judaism might link together such a dark and philosophical text with a joyous religious festival celebrating abundance. I asked my rabbi about it and he encouraged me to look at the other Old Testament writings that have been incorporated into the Jewish liturgical year. So I did.

The Hebrew Bible is divided into three parts -The Five Books of Moses, The Prophets, and The Writings -and of course all of these texts play a role in Jewish worship. Over the centuries, however, five books in particular from The Writings became associated with particular holidays, and it is possible to chart the course of a year following them: Ecclesiastes, Esther, the Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations. It seems to me that the point of connecting each book to its holiday is that these books are very human, very personal. Much of religion is mysterious and unknowable, but these books are all about people and their emotional lives – life and death, courage, love, companionship, regret. Incredibly, some of these books don’t mention God or religion or spirituality at all; rather, they underline what is human in us, and what is universal. One way to think of these five writings together is as a catalog of human emotions, repeating endlessly, year after year.

I thought that if I took some of the language that seemed most universal in each of these writings and set it to music I might be able to make my own emotional catalog, and that I would be able to use the music to get to the humanity that is at the core of these very human texts.

‘the writings’ begins and ends with the movement ‘again (after ecclesiastes).’ The score instructs the performers to sing it differently, the second time it is sung. The cycle, like the year, may repeat, but never exactly.

The premiere of the entire set of pieces – ‘the writings’ – and of the movement ‘if I am silent,’ taken from the Book of Esther, and co-commissioned by the Carnegie Hall Corporation and the Nederlands Kamerkoor was on March 20, 2019 at Zankel Hall in New York City. The other movements have all been premiered and performed before, over the course of the last 14 years. ‘again (after ecclesiastes)’ was written for the Cerddorion Vocal Ensemble and premiered in 2005. ‘for love is strong’ was written for Paul Hiller and Ars Nova Copenhagen and premiered in 2008. ‘where you go’ was written for the 75th anniversary of the Tanglewood Music Center and premiered in 2015. ‘solitary’ was written for Cappella Amsterdam and premiered in 2016.

‘if I am silent’ – is taken from the Book of Esther, which is traditionally read on the Jewish holiday of Purim.

Libretto order music score preview

first performance:

Paul Hillier/Theatre of Voices with Yale Voxtet; March 20, 2019; Zankel Hall, New York

This work is part of the writings:

·· again (after ecclesiastes)
·· if I am silent
·· for love is strong
·· where you go
·· solitary

instruments: Voice