10> The Anton Armstrong Choral Series a series of multi-cultural choral music ‘Anton Armstrong, Editor St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota Dyes KY ANI MA'AMIN Our song, Ani Ma’amin, is an ancient Hebrew affirmation of faith. ‘The text, which is centuries old, can be interpreted as follows: I believe in God, in a greater truth, and in things greater than this world in spite of all that has happened. I believe that the Messiah will come, and he will find me waiting. No matter how long he tarries, no matter how 8 & Sngercmbal long he delays his coming, I will continue to believe. No matter what the future holds, Ibelieve. in, pa ‘The song has had a rich history in the heart of Israel. It gained its greatest significance, however, during the Holocaust. Thousands of Jews entered the gas chamber singing this very song, proclaiming allegiance to God until their last breath. Eyewitness accounts tell us that the music would decrescendo to silence only as the gas choked the singers. "No matter how long he tarries, he will find me waiting.” Today we sing Ani Ma‘amin out of respect for the faith for which so many million of children died. Today we sing Ani Ma‘amin, knowing that if we join hhands and hearts and voices and sing the songs of those who suffer, we will learn that, while we may be different, we are all truly beautiful. ‘And if we, the children of the world, value all other children as beautiful people, we can prevent such atrocities from happening again in our lifetimes. This is why we sing. This is what WE believe. arranged by Paul Caldwell & Sean Ivory for Unison Chorus, Piano, Narrator & Optional Violin ee Seer earthsongs ron eet 220 nw 29th street Co corvallis, or 97330 usa rae Be eg 1- 541 / 758-5760Ani Ma'amin Soaliotl ci cieg Pe orate eS eee = SSPE a vi. = (PP molto espresbo.e rubato eS Avni maa-min, a= ni maemin;a~nima - a-min. Be-e-munoh she ley - moh, iy she-yis-mah-mey - ah, (© 2005 by Paul Caldwell & Seam Ivory ated & nd les coonbe - kohl yom she-yo-vo,_nae Acai maamin, a7 ai meemin;a - ni_ma - a caelal piy —she-yisemah-mey - ah, im— kel zeh a-ni ma-a-min. => x be - koh yom she-yo - vo.Among the most profoundly important pieces from humanity's songbook, Ani Ma‘amin isa song that gets far too lite play outside ofthe Jewish world. The tunes from Eastern Europe. It may bea few hundred years old; its exact origin is unknown. The song ‘gained its greatest significance, however, during the Holocaust. Hundreds of thousands of Jews sang this song inthe gas chambers ‘operated by the Nazis. Eyewitness accounts tell us that the music would decrescendo to silence asthe gas choked the singers. literal translation of the text is: “Tbelieve with complete faith that the Messiah will come. Even though he may tarry, even with all that, believe, Even with all that, I will wait for him, every day, for him to come. Tbelieve.” ‘The text is based on a medieval formulation of the 13 basic tenets of the Jewish creed. Jewish tradition holds that the world will, become a better place despite all setbacks. One tradition says that, atthe end of days, eschatological utopia will follow a horrible and destructive and evil war. Another view holds that humankind will gradually evolve to an ultimate state of perfection. The first philosophy assumes divine intervention; the second places the burden on humans to repair the world. For our arrangement, we have used the Ashkenazie pronunciation from Eastern Europe because this is what was sung. in death camps. Below, we have also included the Sephardic pronunciation, which is sung more often in modern Israel ‘The violin obligato is optional. Ifitis omitted, the piece should begin at measure 12. Do not perform the violin introduction on the piano, The interlude (mm. 36-54) accompanies the narration (compulsory) which is printed on the front cover. These measures (6-54) are repeated in order to cover the time required for the narration. The violin plays the second time through, accompanying the narration as well. The conductor may choose to delay the entrance of the violin at measure 36 until the narration is complete. In this case, measures 36-54 will need to be played THREE times, having the violin enter the third time. We encourage conductors to pait Ani Ma‘amin with contrasting Jewish works, highlighting the beauty and variety of a musical culture that was nearly obliterated by the Nazis. Suggested pieces are: ‘As Ik Vel Zogen Lekho Dodi ~ folk. Transcontinental 982080. SA. Zol Shoyn Kumen Di Ge'uleh - Cook, arr. Jacobson. Transcontinental 993109. SA. ol Zain Sholom ~ are. Jacobson. World Music Press 244. SA. ‘Ale Brider ~ Eastern European. World Music Press 31. SA. ‘This arrangement was completed as a gift to the New Orleans Children’s Chorus, Cheryl Dupont, Artistic Director, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It was premiered in Chicago by the Jubilate Children’s Choir, Paul Caldwell, Artistic Director, on October 28, 20085, accompanied by Sean Ivory, piano, and Alex Koffman, violin. ‘We are immeasurably indebted to Joshua Jacobson of the Zamir Chorale in Boston, who gave generously of his time and knowledge to be sure that our Hebrew text and our historical understanding of the source material were as accurate and informed as possible. Pronunciation guide (Ashkenazic) A-ni ma-a-min ah-nee mah-ah-meen Be-e-mu-noh sheley-moh beh-eh-moo-naw sho-lay-maw Be-vi-as ha-mo-shi-akh ba-vee-ahs hah-maw-shee-ach Ve-af al piy she-yis-mah-mey-ah vvo-ahf abl pee sheh-yis-mah-meh-ah (aspirate final h) Im kol zeh a-ni ma-a-min im kawl zeh ah-nee mah-ah-meen Jim kol zeh a-kha-keh lo im kawl zeh ah-cha-keh lo (closed 0, no diphthong) Be-khol yom she-yo-vo ba-chawl yom sheh-yaw-vo (o's closed, no diphthong) Modern Israeli (Sephardic) Acni ma-a-min ah-nee mah-ah-meen Bee-mu-nah she-ley-mah beh-eh-moo-nah sho-lay-mah Be-vi-at ha-ma-shi-akh ba-vee-aht hah-mah-shee-ach Ve-af al piy she-yit-mah-mey-ah vorahf al pee sheh-yit-mah-meh-ah (aspirate final h) Im kol zeh a-ni ma-a-min im kawl zeh ah-nee mah-ah-meen Jim kol zeh a-kha-keh lo im kawl zeh ah-cha-keh lo (closed 0, no diphthong) Be-khol yom she-ya-vo bahawl yom sheh-yah-vo (o's closed, no diphthong) Note that in both the Ashkenazic and Sephardic pronunciations, the Hebrew schwa [9] isan ultra-short vowel and has some “eh” flavor. “Ch” is pronounced gutturally, as in German [x].