Musical piece written by the composers
Klaus Hartmann,
Hans Werner Henze,
Paul Dessau,
Boris Blacher and
Rudolf Wagner-Regeny. The text was written
by the East German
Jens Gerlach.
In 1959, Christmas Eve, members of the
Deutsche Reichspartei sprayed
anti-
semitic slogans on a newly opened
synagogue in
Cologne. The incident was deliberately
played down by the
Adenauer administration. As a gesture of
solidarity, the earlier
mentioned composers joined forces to create 'Jewish Chronicle'.
The work begins with a reference to the
synagogue and ends with repeated call for
vigilance. The work is set to be played for an orchestra without string instruments.
- Prologue. This piece was composed by Boris Blacher and is written in a 'neutral'
style: alto and baritone soloists dispassionately recount the evidence of a resurgence
of neo-fascism, while a speaker ironically interjects two Nazislogans.
- Second movement. Written by Wagner-Regeny, this part is written in simple
chordal style, with distant brass chorales in 12-note writing punctuating. At the end
two speakers join forces to issue a warning that silence is equal to quilt.
- Ghetto, by Hartmann, recalls the story of the uprising in the Warshaw ghetto.
The musical instruments, clarinet and oboe, weave with the baritone's narration. Heartbreaking
quotes from three inmates are preceded by a violent outburst of a marimba or piano
- Fourth movement. A joint collaboration of Henze and Dessau. Henze's part, a calm chorale,
tells about the violent events in the ghetto after the uprising. Dessau describes the massacre
of the ghetto's inhibitants.
- Finale. By Dessau, returns basically to the text in the beginning. This time the narrator
speaks in a precisely notated rhythm that progressively accelerates. In the closing a chorus
ends by uttering warnings.