A good portion of my catalog deals with Holocaust-themed poetry, and several of the works listed below were commissioned by Music of Remembrance in Seattle. For a subject as important and horrific as the Holocaust, I find that music is the perfect vehicle for telling the stories of those who experienced it — the music both amplifies the emotions but also helps to cushion the effect of the horror. It’s so important to share these stories, both to increase empathy and to honor those who are no longer with us.
I Never Saw Another Butterfly (1996)
Poems by children killed in the Holocaust. Written for Lauren Wagner and Gary Louie.
(scored for soprano and alto saxophone; or soprano/clarinet or soprano/bassoon)
Link to a recent performance with Maureen McKay and Gary Louie:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wnqI47A1g8
There are multiple recordings of this song cycle. Please see my recordings page for more information.
Holocaust 1944 (1996, rev. 1998)
Poems by Ficowski, Vogel, Rosewicz, Gershon and Ranasinghe (about 28 minutes long). Composed for Sanford Sylvan and Gary Karr.
(scored for baritone and double bass; or baritone and cello)
(This was first recorded with William Sharp and Gary Karr, and re-recorded by Dashon Burton and Logan Coale.)
Link to excerpts from the latter recording:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hqq2UYNVv6c
Daughters (1998)
Poems by Gershon and Ranasinghe (about 18 minutes long). Commissioned by Kirsten Taylor.
(scored for mezzo-soprano and piano trio)
Link to movement 3 of this cycle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXbC1BiZIdc
Fathers (2002, rev. 2003, 2010)
Poems by Vogel and Ranasinghe (scored for baritone (or mezzo-soprano) with piano trio)
Click here to purchase the CD.
Come to Me in Dreams (2004)
This one act opera was created by David Bamberger, who strung together 15 of my songs to create a narrative about a Holocaust survivor. Cleveland Opera premiered the work in June of 2004.
The Seed of Dream (2004)
Poems by Abraham Sutzkever. Commissioned by Music of Remembrance.
(scored for baritone (or mezzo) with cello and piano)
Link to a performance with Catherine Cook as the soloist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW7_T8Y8lro
Click here to purchase the CD.
Todesfuge (2010, rev. 2019)
Poem by Paul Celan. Available in German and in English.
(scored for baritone and cello)
Recorded by Randall Scarlata and Thomas Kraines on Lori’s Living in the Body CD. Available for purchase here.
Vedem (2010, rev. 2019)
Libretto by David Mason and poems by Petr Ginz, Hanus Hachenburg, Zdenek Ornest and Josef Taussig. Approximately 50 minutes long. Commissioned by Music of Remembrance.
(scored for boychoir (or children’s choir)/mezzo-soprano/tenor/clarinet/violin/cello and piano)
Click here to purchase the CD.
Indianapolis Opera staged Vedem in a double bill with Hans Krasa’s Brundibar in March 2022 in a production directed by Matt Cooksey and conducted by Alfred Savia.
Vedem Songs (2010, rev. 2019)
Poems by Petr Ginz, Hanus Hachenburg, Zdenek Ornest and Josef Taussig. About 18 minutes. Commissioned by Music of Remembrance.
(multiple arrangements: either mezzo-soprano and tenor with clarinet and piano; OR mezzo/clarinet/piano OR tenor/clarinet/piano
In 2019, I created a new version with violin accompaniment instead of clarinet.
The songs are found within the Vedem oratorio.
Vedem: Choral Excerpts (2010, rev. 2019)
Libretto by David Mason. Commissioned by Music of Remembrance.
(scored for boychoir or children’s choir and piano)
In Sleep The World Is Yours (2013)
Poems by Selma Meerbaum-Eisinger. Commissioned by Music of Remembrance.
(scored for soprano, oboe and piano)
Link to the premiere performance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkK0VBSYE8A
Click here to purchase the CD.
The Secret Exit (2017)
Poems by Nelly Sachs. Commissioned by The University of Alabama at Birmingham for soprano Kristine Hurst-Wajszczuk and clarinetist Denise Gainey.
(scored for soprano and clarinet, with alternate version for soprano and alto saxophone)
Recording to be released in Spring 2020.
The Ocean of Eternity (2017)
Poems by Anne Ranasinghe. Commissioned by Michael Couper, ChoEun Lee and Yungee Rhie.
(scored for soprano, soprano saxophone and piano)
This cycle is the centerpiece of Lori’s latest CD The Ocean of Eternity, slated for an April 26, 2022 release.
Link to the premiere (starts at 54:56) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Y2A4lBIllk&t=3296s
Vedem to Brundibar and Back (2020)
Written for Indianapolis Opera’s March 2020 production of Vedem with Brundibar.
(scored for flute, clarinet, trumpet, piano, violins 1 & 2, viola, cello and bass)
Wertheim Park (2022)
When Mina Miller asked me to compose a piece for MOR’s 25th anniversary season, I decided to explore the impact of the Holocaust on the next generation. Poet Susan de Sola (who died unexpectedly in October 2021) lost many of her relatives in the Shoah, and her poem Wertheim Park is a dramatic depiction of the annual Holocaust memorial march and its emotional impact on her. From March through May 2022, I composed the soprano and piano version, and from May through July 2022, I orchestrated the work for soprano, clarinet, violin, double bass and piano, subsequently reworking the piano/vocal version to include some of the new material introduced in the orchestration.
As with all my vocal works, the text was paramount in determining my approach to the composition, and my goal was to illuminate and magnify de Sola’s words. The work also includes two musical themes from my Holocaust-themed oratorio Vedem, also commissioned by Music of Remembrance. The Vedem themes, associated with David Mason’s words, “Oh, hear my story now” and “I am nothing without memory”, further underline the importance that memory must play when we speak about the Holocaust.
Here is a link to the video, released on 2023 Holocaust International Remembrance Day — with soprano Alisa Jorheim, clarinetist Laura DeLuca, violinist Mikhail Shmidt, double bassist Jonathan Green and pianist Mina Miller.
Leo van Dorp, Honorary Consul of the Netherlands in Seattle, provides context with commentary at the start.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh5NGxFsQO0
Into Eternity (2022)
David Starkey, the General Director of Indianapolis Opera, introduced me to Holocaust survivor Frank Grunwald in March 2022, during the Opera’s double bill of Hans Krasa’s Brundibar and my Holocaust-themed oratorio Vedem. What a privilege to meet Frank, hear his story and learn about his mother’s extraordinary letter, which is the basis for this song.
In December 1943, Dr. Kurt Grunwald, his wife Vilma and their two sons, John and Miša (later Frank), were transported from Terezin to Auschwitz. They were able to live together for several months in a family camp. But in July 1944, the Nazis ended the family camp arrangement. Kurt was sentenced to work. Both John (16) and Miša (11), as well as hundreds of other children, were selected to be killed in the gas chamber when a prisoner (a German, in charge and representing the Jewish Family Camp) suddenly appeared and saved Miša’s life by quickly placing him into an older group of boys who were eventually used as slave laborers. However, John, who had a limp, was selected for death, and his mother Vilma opted to accompany him. She penned this letter on July 11, 1944, waiting for the trucks to take them to the crematorium.
Kurt and Miša survived the Holocaust and both emigrated to the United States. Kurt never shared the letter with Frank, who found it after his father’s death.
It is Frank’s translation that I have set to music, and I am profoundly grateful to him for allowing me to do so. It is amazing to me that Vilma could write such beautiful and comforting words at such a moment.
VILMA GRUNWALD’S LETTER dated July 11, 1944
translated by Frank Grunwald
You, my only one, dearest, in isolation we are waiting for darkness. We considered the possibility of hiding but decided not to do it since we felt it would be hopeless. The famous trucks are already here and we are waiting for it to begin. I am completely calm. You — my only and dearest one, do not blame yourself for what happened, it was our destiny. We did what we could. Stay healthy and remember my words that time will heal — if not completely — then — at least partially. Take care of the little golden boy and don’t spoil him too much with your love. Both of you — stay healthy, my dear ones. I will be thinking of you and Misa. Have a fabulous life, we must board the trucks.
Into eternity, Vilma
Indianapolis Opera is planning a Spring 2023 premiere of the work.