Located in the UK
Located in the USA
Located in Europe
- Robert Saxton
Prayer before Sleep (1997)
- Chester Music Ltd (World)
Commissioned by David Gryn as a memorial to Rabbi Hugo Gryn
Programme Note
Prayer before Sleep was commissioned by David Gryn in memory of his father, Rabbi Hugo Gryn. Scored for soprano voice, cello and piano, it is a small-scale cantata in four linked movements. The cello begins alone and, as its melodic line grows, the piano enters, following a similar path of increasing activity. As the cello reaches the highest note of the movement, the voice enters, singing a poem (in English) which I wrote, incidentally, about a week before David Gryn asked me to compose the piece; the text is concerned with the soul’s freedom and the ascent to eternal life. This movement leads into a dance for cello and piano; this, in its turn, gives way to the final part, the only time when all three performers are combined. The soprano sings, in Hebrew, part of a Talmudic text entitled 'Prayer before Sleep' which contains the significant line: 'Give light to my eyes lest I sink into the sleep of death, for it is You who illuminate the pupil of the eye'. The cello joins the voice and they share a long melodic line while the piano plays a progression of bell-like chords which lead to the closing D major cadence in a spirit of hope and light.
Robert Saxton
Robert Saxton