When
Where
Meira’s Rahel m’vaca (Rachel Weeps) will receive its first performance on Saturday evening, September 28, as part of a service and program that begins at 7:30 p.m., Beth Shalom Synagogue, 5827 N. Trenholm Rd., Columbia, SC.
Meira writes, “Rahel m’vaca (Rachel Weeps), an extended work for mezzo soprano, chorus, and piano, is my personal response to the ongoing conflict with Israel/Hamas/Gaza, and the enormous suffering there. For me, this music serves as a witness to the tragedies unfolding.”
“A text from Jeremiah 31:15 calls out: A voice is heard in Ramah, wailing, bitter weeping–Rachel weeps inconsolably for her children because they are no more.”
“The mezzo soloist represents Rachel, the Biblical matriarch who is said to weep for her children as they pass by her grave into exile. Here, she becomes the voice of bereft parents, siblings, friends in Israel and in Gaza, crying out for their missing, wounded, and deceased loved ones. As we watch and read, refusing to avert our gaze, we may serve as a compassionate witness. The chorus represents this witness, calling forth from one side to another, nishma, nishma—it is heard, you are heard, we hear you. We are with you.”
Soloist will be renowned mezzo soprano Rachel Calloway, with a select chamber chorus from the University of South Carolina, conducted by Dr. Alicia W. Walker, Director of Choral Studies at USC, with Dr. Almond Ponge, pianist.
This event is sponsored by Beth Shalom Synagogue, Tree of Life Congregation and made possible by the Sidney Krauss Charitable Trust Fund and the Columbia Jewish Federation.
Learn more about Rahel m’vaca (Rachel Weeps) here. The webpage also has the full text and translation, a short video of Meira playing the first few minutes (mostly piano reduction), a score, and a recording of a piano reduction she made of the piece last Summer.
For those in the Columbia, SC, area who would like to attend in person, please call Beth Shalom at 803-782-2500 to register by Friday morning, September 27. The event will be livestreamed, beginning around 7:45 p.m., and can be accessed here: https://www.bethshalomcolumbia.org/new-video-feed/.
If you’d like a full score of the piece, have any questions, or would like to arrange a performance, please contact Jeffrey James Arts Consulting at 516-586-3433 or [email protected].