Adon Olam

SKU: OT.26114

ISBN 9789655051049. 8.27 x 11.69 inches.

Ariel Lazarus
Guitarra Liturgia
Two pieces based on music from the Spanish and Portuguese tradition.
Contents:
Jerusalem de Sefarad - Suite for Guitar
Contrapunto Sefardi
The composer writes:
For many years I wanted to compose a piece for guitar which would inspire interested students to expand their repertoire in the direction of Jewish music. The most natural thing for me was to write a suite based on themes from the synagogue in which I grew up – the Spanish and Portuguese synagogue of Gibraltar. My beloved grandfather served all his life as hazzan (cantor) of this synagogue, and I always felt as a composer and educator that I had a special obligation to continue his tradition and pass it on to a new generation. In this composition, I let the guitar echo the piyyutim (semi-liturgical poems) that were part of my childhood: Adon Olam, Sh'charchoret, Achot K'tana, Yigdal, Borei ad Ana, all of which are sung in the Spanish and Portuguese tradition from Gibraltar to London, and from New York to Jerusalem. I let myself dream the piyyutim, take them apart and reconstruct them as a short suite for guitar, the results of which you are invited to hear here. As a conceptual idea for the suite, I choose to suggest about the cultural continuation between the Diaspora and the land of Israel by way of referencing the well-known melody of Naomi Shemer, which is also popular among the hazzanim.
Dr. Ariel Lazarus is a unique voice among Israeli composer-performers today. Brought up in a family with Jewish musical roots both in Gibraltar and Westphalia, he began composing and playing the guitar in his teens, and has been committed to developing his own compositional language ever since, always maintaining an open dialogue with his traditions.
Lazarus received his BMus and MMus degrees from Oklahoma City University in classical guitar performance and composition where he studied with American composer Dr. Edward Knight. He earned his PhD from Bar Ilan University, studying composition with Prof. Betty Olivero and Prof. Gideon Lewensohn and conducting research under the supervision of Prof. Edwin Seroussi from the Hebrew University. His symphonic works have been premiered by the Raanana Symphonette Orchestra, and his chamber works have been performed by various ensembles in the United States, Central Europe, Portugal, Gibraltar, Scandinavia and Israel. Lazarus performs regularly as Art Ambassador on behalf of the Israeli Ministry of Diaspora affairs Amiel BaKehila program.
His solo album A Hebrew Capriccio was released by the German boutique label SmoothFactor and was awarded critical acclaim, among others, in Haaretz, and Neue Westfalishe.
Dr. Lazarus is the musical director and co-founder of the Israeli Ladino Orchestra. His work with the orchestra has been recognized by the official Carta de España. He teaches at the Academic College for Education Givat Washington, and the Rimon School of Music. Lazarus’s work has been awarded by the Israeli Pais Art council and ACUM.

SKU: GI.G-8070

UPC: 785147807001. Arabic, English, Greek, Hebrew, Latin. Text Source: Allah uh Akbar, Kyrie eleison, Adon olam (Jewish hymn), Lux aeterna, Yuriduna anyuttufiu (Qur'an—Sura 9:32), Agnus Dei, Isaiah 2:4. Scripture: Isaiah 2:4.

A serious choral work for eight mixed voices, organ, brass quintet, and timpani on texts in Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, and English. The vocal score is 19 pages 219 measures in length. Composition began on 9/11/01, and the work was published for the tenth anniversary of the events of that day. It's a work that calls for peace through unity and pluralism. The title refers to a fence along the Israeli-Lebanon border on which the flags of both countries fly over a plaque containing Isaiah 2:4 inscribed in Hebrew, Arabic, and English. .

SKU: GI.G-8070INST

Arabic, English, Greek, Hebrew, Latin. Text Source: Allah uh Akbar, Kyrie eleison, Adon olam (Jewish hymn), Lux aeterna, Yuriduna anyuttufiu (Qur'an—Sura 9:32), Agnus Dei, Isaiah 2:4. Scripture: Isaiah 2:4.