We Remember Them
A tender embrace of those we have loved and lost
Music: Elizabeth Alexander
Words: Rabbis Sylvan Kamens / Jack Riemer
A tender setting of “A Litany of Remembrance,” a beloved meditation on death and memory by Rabbis Sylvan Kamens and Jack Riemer. Unfolding with simplicity and grace, this imaginative, harmonically rich piece reflects the multifaceted experience of love and loss. Appropriate for All Souls Day, Memorial Day, or memorial services.
“We Remember Them is absolutely stunning — sincere and genuine while still quite elegant. The choir loves it!” Sara Cowan, Artistic Director, Twin Cities Jewish Chorale (Saint Louis Park, MN)
“Moving words put to even more moving music, We Remember Them is an exalting experience. It weaves language into harmonies that transcend this world. Words are folded into one another like different hues of clouds, all lined with the consolation of the refrain that emerges then hides only to appear on yet another plane. One is lifted from plane to plane and then, just when it is too heart-breakingly beautiful, the music goes soft and the final words are sung as if a just-remembered after-thought had occurred, and the harmonies become sparse, and we return to this world…I think the better. Many thanks to this marvelous composer and the journey she rendered so magnificently.” Mitch Greenberg, Librarian & Classical North Indian bansuri player
Details and Ordering Information
A Litany of Remembrance
In the rising of the sun and in its going down,
we remember them.
In the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter,
we remember them.
In the opening of buds and in the rebirth of spring,
we remember them.
In the blueness of the sky and in the warmth of summer,
we remember them.
In the rustling of leaves and in the beauty of autumn,
we remember them.
In the beginning of the year and when it ends,
we remember them.
When we are weary and in need of strength,
we remember them.
When we are lost and sick at heart,
we remember them.
When we have joys we yearn to share,
we remember them.
So long as we live, they too shall live, for they are now a part of us,
as we remember them.
Poem by Rabbi Sylvan Kamens and Rabbi Jack Riemer
© by the Central Conference of American Rabbis. From Gates of Prayer (Central Conference of American Rabbis). Used by permission of the publisher
Performers
Premiere: Walden Hill Vocal Ensemble / Joe Mish (Rochester, MN)
Arcadian Chorale / Marina Alexander (Rumson, Aberdeen and Manalapan, NJ)
Choir of First Unitarian Society of Wilmington / Scott Ward (Wilmington, DE)
Choir of First Unitarian Universalist of Columbus / Brandon Moss (Columbus, OH)
Choir of Unitarian Church of Los Alamos / Nylea Butler-Moore (Los Alamos, NM)
Choir of Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Saratoga Springs / Michael Harrison (Saratoga Springs, NY)
Choir of Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Boca Raton / Stephanie Nixdorf (Boca Raton, FL)
Choir of Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of LaCrosse / Becky Post (La Crosse, WI)
Choir of Woodinville Unitarian Universalist / Marian Johnson (Woodinville, WA)
Festival Choir of Madison / Bruce Gladstone (Madison, WI)
Phoenix Chorale / Dierdre McClure. Concert for Victims of Gun Violence (Portland, ME)
St. Edward’s University Chorale / Morris Stevens (Pflugerville, RX)
Twin Cities Jewish Chorale / Sara Cowan (Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN)
Walden Hill Vocal Ensemble / Joe Mish (St. Paul, MN)
