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.”.
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.
