Halftones (Halbtener) (2016)

1. Dark Green
2. The last page
3. My child
4. Halbetner (Halftones)
5. Epilogue

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What does "half a ton" mean? It is not a complete tone, it can always go up or down, always enigmatic, always unresolved.
Thus, when I read the poems that touch the heart, are so poetic, direct, full of sadness and longing, by the Yiddish poet Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman, I immediately chose the poem "Halbetner" (halftones) as one of the poems in my new work and as the theme of the work.
Beyle was also a composer who composed her own songs in the style of the Yiddish songs we are familiar with. She knew very well what the term "half a ton" meant and when she decided to use it she knew exactly what it meant.
The semitones are the subject of my work and these semitones are woven in one way and another in each of the four songs that make up the piece. When I consciously and explicitly choose to use a diatonic scale (consisting of whole tones and semitones, the familiar and ear-friendly scale) there is a statement with a clear intention behind it. This happens, for example, in the second song, "The Last Page" and in a very noticeable way towards the end of the song "Halbtener". Precisely there, at a certain moment, the English flute and horn play a simple melody in the scale of C major.
There is also a chromatic increase (of semitones) in the selection of song scales. The first song is in A scale, the second in B flat, the third in B flat and the fourth in D flat.
Certain lines in the songs left a particularly deep impression on me which I tried to highlight with the help of the music. For example, in the first poem, the longing for the smell of the pine tree. In the second poem, the poet becomes the mother of her mother's memories. The third heartbreaking poem in which the poet confesses to her son or daughter that she did not intend to inherit such an inheritance and I interpret this as not having intended such a world when she gave birth to him.
Each song ends and does not end. The ending is always in question, going one way or the other. There is no solution, there is a doubt, a question, a longing that cannot be satisfied.
The orchestration of the piece is frugal, few brass instruments, few percussion instruments and strings. To this I added an accordion that opens and closes the piece. In its sound, it gives a reminder of the folk sound, although the music it plays is not the Yiddish music we are familiar with.
I met Beyle a short acquaintance, one meeting at her home in the Bronx, New York, a meeting that I will never forget. David Milch, my cousin, a man with a great soul, said to me: Come meet a great poetess who writes in Yiddish. Why don't you write a piece in the Yiddish language? There are works for voice and orchestra in all possible languages. Why not have a work in Yiddish?
I thought to myself: actually, an interesting idea. I, who all my life have shied away from this language and the Yiddish songs known as an anti-thesis to the Polish- and Yiddish-speaking home, actually reach this language in another way, through my music.
And so we arrived together at Beyle, a 92-year-old woman full of vitality with smart and observant and sceptical eyes. We talked to her; we told her about our idea but she was not excited. yes? really? Do you want to take my poems? Itzik, what do you say about that? She turned to her son, Itzik Gottesman, an international expert on the Yiddish language. Itzik nodded his head and then she said: Well, if that's what you want, I agree. We went out together to her garden which she was proud of. It was cool outside but she didn't hesitate. A brave woman with character. An impressive woman, modest, with sharp discernment.
I read her poems in English translation and immediately realized that it was right for me. Not sentimental, precise, moving and touching.
When I arrived in Israel, I turned to the one and only woman in the music world in Israel who I knew would lift such a glove, Orit Fogel, CEO of Ra'anana Symphonette. Orit did not disappoint me. She immediately contacted Omer Wellber, the music director, who also immediately said: Yes, and I myself will conduct the piece.
A short time later I learned that Beyle's health had deteriorated and there was a fear for her life. Orit and I wrote her a letter about the future work and the deadline for its execution and sent it by fax. Itzik Gottesman, Beyle's son, read her the letter which made her very happy. A few hours later she lost consciousness and a few days later she died.
In memory of...

Ella Milch-Sharif