Five Hebrew Love Songs
(Eric Whitacre / Hila Plittman)
Five poems. Two artists in love.
One extraordinary piece of music.
When composer Eric Whitacre and poet/soprano Hila Plitmann were students at Juilliard, they exchanged short Hebrew love poems — small glimpses of affection, memory, and light. Whitacre later set those poems to music as a gift, and the result became Five Hebrew Love Songs.
Eric Whitacre is an internationally acclaimed composer, conductor, and speaker whose music has been performed throughout the world. His choral works, including Lux Aurumque, Sleep, and Five Hebrew Love Songs, are celebrated for their shimmering sonorities and emotional immediacy. He has received numerous awards, including a Grammy for Best Choral Performance, and is known for his groundbreaking “Virtual Choir” digital projects, which unite singers across continents. He currently serves as a composer-in-residence and guest conductor with ensembles worldwide.
Born in Jerusalem, singer and poet Hila Plitmann is an award-winning soprano and writer who has premiered dozens of new works by leading composers. Renowned for her sparkling tone, dramatic intensity, and linguistic fluency, she has appeared with major orchestras around the world and is featured on numerous recordings. Her original Hebrew poems became the basis for Eric Whitacre’s Five Hebrew Love Songs, written when the two were young artists in New York.
I. Temuneá (Image, Form, Picture)
תְּמוּנָה חֲקוּקָה בְּלִבִּי,
מִתְנוֹעַעַת בֵּין אוֹר וְחֹשֶׁךְ:
שֶׁקֶט מִסּוּג מְסַכֶּךְ עַל גּוּפֵךְ,
וּשְׂעָרֵךְ נוֹפֵל עַל פָּנַיִךְ כָּךְ אוּלַי.
(וּשְׂעָרֵךְ שׁוֹטֵף עַל פָּנַיִךְ.)
A picture is engraved in my heart,
Moving between light and darkness:
A sort of silence envelops your body,
And your hair falls upon your face just so.
(And your hair tumbles over your face.)
II. Kalá Kallá (Light or Gentle Bride)
כַּלָּה קַלָּה
הִיא כֻּלָּהּ שֶׁלִּי,
וּבְקַלּוּת
תְּנַשֵּׁק אוֹתִי!
Light bride
She is all mine,
And lightly
She will kiss me!
III. Larov (Mostly)
“לָרוֹב,” אָמַר הַגָּג לַשָּׁמַיִם,
“הַמֶּרְחָק בֵּינֵינוּ הוּא אֵין סוֹפִי;
אֲבָל לִפְנֵי זְמַן מָה עָלוּ לְכָאן שְׁנַיִם,
וְנִשְׁאַר רַק סֶנְטִימֶטֶר אֶחָד בֵּינֵינוּ.”
“Mostly,” said the roof to the sky,
“the distance between you and me is endlessness;
But a while ago two came up here,
And only one centimeter was left between us.”
IV. Éyze Shéleg! (What Snow!)
אֵיזֶה שֶׁלֶג!
כְּחֲלוֹמוֹת קְטַנִּים
נוֹפְלִים מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם.
What snow!
Like little dreams
Falling from the sky.
V. Rakút (Tenderness)
הוּא הָיָה מָלֵא רַכּוּת;
הִיא הָיְתָה קָשָׁה מְאֹד.
וְכָל כַּמָּה שֶׁנִּסְּתָה לְהִשָּׁאֵר כָּךְ,
פָּשׁוּט, וּבְלִי סִבָּה טוֹבָה,
הוּא לָקַח אוֹתָהּ אֵלָיו,
וְהוֹרִיד אוֹתָהּ
בַּמָּקוֹם הָרַךְ בְּיוֹתֵר,
בְּיוֹתֵר רַךְ.
He was full of tenderness;
She was very hard.
And as much as she tried to stay thus,
Simply, and with no good reason,
He took her into himself,
And set her down
In the softest, softest place.
The program is performed without intermission and is subject to change without notice