Preview: Three Goat Blues
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SKU: A0.898931
Composed by Gilad Cohen. Contemporary,Jewish. Score and parts. 87 pages. Gilad Cohen #3042585. Published by Gilad Cohen (A0.898931)."Chad Gadya" ("one little goat" in Aramaic) is a popular prayer from the Jewish holiday of Passover. While the holiday celebrates the biblical journey of the Israelites from slavery to freedom, "Chad Gadya" tells the story of one little goat that, right at the beginning of the prayer, is eaten by a cat. This tragic event begins a horrific fable about the power of nature, in which each being is killed by one larger than itself. Following the 20th-century French composer Darius Milhaud, who wove Provençal Jewish prayers into his music, I chose to use an old Provençal tune of "Chad Gadya" as a musical source for my piece. I decided, however, that the poor animal deserves a second chance. Instead of one goat, my piece portrays three (or possibly three aspects of the same goat). The first one is an oppressed, captive goat who sings the blues through the low-ranged cello. The viola represents a second goat that finds its way out of captivity and frolics here and there, but unfortunately its memories of oppression do not allow it to find peace. Only the third goat, featured by the violin, reaches true salvation. In a free adaptation of the original Provençal melody, the goat celebrates its freedom by dancing among the hills using awkward meters (since I can’t really imagine a goat dancing in 4/4 time). The piece was commissioned by Apollo Chamber Players for their 20x2020 project, underwritten by a grant from the Houston Arts Alliance, and was written for their "Oppression to Expression" season program "Rhapsody Nouveau," connecting works influenced by Provençal Jewish and African-American traditions. 2017 Chamber Music Contest Entry
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