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Gerald Cohen
Gerald Cohen Music
From Such Sparks
Celebrating our human potential through a tapestry of “sparks” that illuminate the world.
SATB Chorus and Piano
This moving piece, written in memory of a beloved choral conductor, celebrates how every person can be a spark of light—the light of all who strive, in all our different ways, to make the world a better and more beautiful place. Three verses from Book of Proverbs, honoring a woman of a wise and generous spirit, each receive their own melody; they are then complemented by a mystical text by Abraham Isaac Kook, where we hear vividly the “torches of light” from divine sparks. The three original melodies are intertwined in a stirring climax, which is then followed by a gentle conclusion—her light, our lights, can indeed “illuminate the entire world with their glory.”
Download includes a pronunciation guide.
Composer’s Notes
From such sparks was commissioned by the Seattle Jewish Chorale in memory of Mary Pat Graham, who was the Music Director of the Chorale from 2009 to 2014, and who passed away in January 2023. The Chorale suggested several passages from a variety of sources as possible texts for the piece, from which I chose excerpts from chapter 31 of the biblical Book of Proverbs (a section known as “A woman of valor”), and from Orot Hakodesh by Abraham Isaac Kook. Together these texts communicate how the love and friendship of Mary Pat were felt by all who knew her, and that her life created “sparks…{which] illuminate the entire world”. The Seattle Jewish Chorale performed the premiere of From such sparks in June 2024, conducted by Jacob Finkle. It will be released on a recording by Kantorei, conducted by Adam Reinwald, in 2025.
-Gerald Cohen
Text
She offers her palm to the needy, her hands she extends to the poor.
She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
Her light radiates undimmed through the night.
Uminitsotsot ka-eile avukot or yitkab’tsu, v’ya-iru et kol ha-olam michvodam.
From such sparks, torches of light gather and illuminate the entire world with their glory.
-Proverbs, Chapter 31 and Abraham Isaac Kook: Orot Hakodesh
The translations were compiled by the composer with the aid of several different translations, with special credit to Yaacov Dovid Shulman for his translation of the Kook (permission from translator), and to Zalman Schachter-Shalomi for his translation of the line “Her light radiates undimmed through the night” (Creative Commons).
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