Choral SSAATTBB choir,
Piano (for rehearsal)
SKU: PR.312419090
Composed by Stacy Garrop.
16 pages. Duration 5
minutes. Theodore Presser
Company #312-41909.
Published by Theodore
Presser Company
(PR.312419090).
ISBN
9781491135778. UPC:
680160687848. English,
Hebrew.
In Stacy
Garrop’s inspired
hands, divisi mixed
chorus provides a rich
palette of texture and
color. Her setting
intermingles three
versions of the Hebrew
folk tune, taking
artistic advantage of
contrasts between solo
and tutti, homophony and
grand antiphony, divisi
men and divisi women, and
the gradual braiding and
unbraiding of Hebrew and
English texts. LO YISA
GOY is the explicitly
anti-war Scriptural text
better-known in its
English translation that
begins, “And they
shall beat their swords
into plowshares... nation
shall not lift up a sword
against
nation.â€.
When
Jonathan Miller asked me
to write two pieces for
Chicago a cappella, I
knew right away that I
wanted to choose two
songs from my own
past.The first piece,
Hava Nagila, is a
celebratory song full of
joy. I wanted the second
work to contrast the
first, and to this end, I
chose the somber text of
Lo Yisa Goy, a prayer for
peace. I remember singing
this song as a young
child in Hebrew school
and synagogue, always in
context (at least in my
congregation) of praying
for the state of Israel.
I think we’re at a
particular point in which
people in a lot of
different nations could
use such a prayer. For
this reason,
you’ll hear the
words in both Hebrew and
English.In my research of
previous versions of the
melody, I discovered
three variants for the
tune, all of which I have
incorporated into my
piece.
