{"product_id":"three-hebrew-songs","title":"Three Hebrew Songs","description":"\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEditor's Note:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eThree Hebrew Songs \u003c\/i\u003ewas written for the soprano Paulina Stark (1936–2025) over a period of four years, between 1986 and 1990. Stark joined the faculty of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in 1985. These three pieces are not a song cycle in the traditional sense; rather, they are linked by their use of the Hebrew language and by their association with the same singer–pianist partnership.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eAl Tifg’i Vi \u003c\/i\u003eand\u003ci\u003e Rad Halaila \u003c\/i\u003ewere the first songs written. Several years later, in 1990, Stern composed \u003ci\u003eNumi, Numi. \u003c\/i\u003eIn 1992,\u003ci\u003e Al Tifg’i Vi \u003c\/i\u003eand\u003ci\u003e Numi, Numi \u003c\/i\u003ewere published together by Transcontinental Music Publications under the title\u003ci\u003e Two Hebrew Songs. Rad Halaila \u003c\/i\u003ewas not included in that edition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eAl Tifg’i Vi \u003c\/i\u003eand\u003ci\u003e Rad Halaila \u003c\/i\u003ereceived their first documented New England performances on September 24, 1988, at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, with Paulina Stark as soloist and pianist Nadine Shank (1954–2020). That same year, the two artists recorded the album \u003cem\u003eAmerican-Jewish Art Songs\u003c\/em\u003e, which includes Stern’s \u003ci\u003eAl Tifg’i Vi \u003c\/i\u003eand\u003ci\u003e Rad Halaila. \u003c\/i\u003eThe recording was originally released on Spectrum Records (SR-328) in 1988 and later reissued on Centaur Records (CRC2108), released July 3, 1992. It was recorded at Pratt Auditorium, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eNumi, Numi \u003c\/i\u003ereceived its world premiere on March 17, 1991, at the 92nd Street Y in New York City, in a concert presented by the American Society for Jewish Music, again with Stark and Shank.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe three songs draw on texts from biblical scripture, modern Hebrew poetry, and twentieth-century Hebrew literature. In all three pieces, Stern’s music is entirely original.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eDuring the 1990s, the three songs began to be performed together in the order presented in this volume. The present edition marks the first time all three works have appeared together in a single publication, and the first time the score for \u003ci\u003eRad Halaila\u003c\/i\u003e has been published at all.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1. Al Tifg’i Vi\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e(text from the Book of Ruth 1:16)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe opening song sets Ruth’s declaration to her mother-in-law Naomi. In the Book of Ruth, Naomi, an Israelite living in Moab, prepares to return to Bethlehem after the deaths of her husband and sons. She urges her daughters-in-law to remain behind; one does, while Ruth responds with this statement of commitment and chooses to accompany her.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe musical material of this movement originates in Stern’s cantata \u003ci\u003eA Rushing of New Waters\u003c\/i\u003e (1986), written for women’s chorus, soprano solo, piano, narrator, and optional bells. There it appears as a series of recitative passages. \u003ci\u003eAl Tifg’i Vi \u003c\/i\u003eis a metricized version of that recitative material, reshaped into a full art song.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2. Rad Halaila\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e(text by Ya’akov Orland)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eYa’akov Orland (1914–2002) was a major figure in modern Hebrew poetry and song. His texts occupy a central place in twentieth-century Hebrew literary culture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eRad Halaila \u003c\/i\u003eis widely known through its familiar setting as a hora, a lively communal circle dance central to Israeli folk tradition, and is often regarded as the most famous Israeli dance song after \u003ci\u003eHava Nagila. \u003c\/i\u003eStern does not quote the familiar melody, but instead creates an entirely original setting.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eAround the same period that \u003ci\u003eRad Halaila was composed, \u003c\/i\u003eStern also wrote\u003ci\u003e My Daughter the Cypress, \u003c\/i\u003ea work for women’s chorus, solo viola, and piano. The opening harmonic gesture of\u003ci\u003e Rad Halaila \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eMy Daughter the Cypress\u003c\/i\u003e is identical. The editor does not know which of the two works was composed first. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eMy Daughter the Cypress \u003c\/i\u003ereceived its premiere in 1987. \u003ci\u003eRad Halaila \u003c\/i\u003ehas never before been published.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3. Numi, Numi\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003e(text by Yechiel Heilprin)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eYechiel Heilprin (ca. 1880–1942) was a Hebrew writer and educator.\u003ci\u003e Numi, Numi \u003c\/i\u003eis a short lullaby text that became widely known. Stern’s setting originated as a personal gift: the melody was composed for the newborn niece of Paulina Stark, Rebecca González-Kreisberg. In the poem, the words \u003ci\u003eyaldati \u003c\/i\u003eand\u003ci\u003e k’tanati \u003c\/i\u003eare used, both explicitly feminine —\u003ci\u003eyaldati \u003c\/i\u003emeaning “my little daughter” or “my baby girl,” and\u003ci\u003e k’tanati \u003c\/i\u003emeaning “my female child” or “my little one.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eStern embedded the child’s name, Rebecca, into the musical fabric of the piece, using its letters to generate the principal motive: R–E–B–E–C–C–A (Notes: E–B–B–E–C–C–A–A).\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Robert Stern","offers":[{"title":"Physical","offer_id":47529747611868,"sku":"ACA-STER-012","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital (PDF)","offer_id":47529747644636,"sku":"ACA-STER-012e","price":17.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0685\/8198\/2428\/files\/PagesfromStern_ThreeHebrewSongs-2026Golzmaneed_Page_1.jpg?v=1770137113","url":"https:\/\/composers.com\/products\/three-hebrew-songs","provider":"American Composers Alliance","version":"1.0","type":"link"}