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Gerald Cohen
Gerald Cohen Music
Miryam Han’via (Miriam the Prophet)
A joyous, dancing celebration of the prophet Miriam, central to the Passover story.
SATB Chorus, Hand Drum, and Piano
This lively piece, a joyous dancing procession, celebrates the prophet Miriam, sister of Moses. The simple melodies of the piece are combined in intricate and exciting ways as the music progresses, always led by the beat of the piano and hand drum (such as dumbek or tof). The text of Miryam Han’via (“Miriam the Prophet”) was written by Leila Gal Berner as one of the early efforts to include Miriam in contemporary Jewish liturgy as a central female Biblical leader.
Composer’s Notes
The text of Miryam Han’via (“Miriam the Prophet”) was written by Leila Gal Berner in 1987 to celebrate the role of Miriam in the Passover story. The poem was written to be used in both the Passover Seder as as part of Havdalah, the ceremony at the conclusion of each week’s Shabbat. Later, I was asked to write several melodies for The Open Door, a new Passover Haggadah, and decided to write a new melody for “Miryam Han’via.”
When I was commissioned by the Zamir Choral Foundation to choose one of my melodies for a new choral arrangement for a Community Sing of the 2019 North American Jewish Choral Festival, I was delighted to write this arrangement of “Miryam Han’via,” adding a new niggun (wordless) melody—heard at the very beginning, and then throughout the piece—as a way to expand on the original melody.
The piece was commissioned for HaZamir: the International Jewish Teen Choir by Hynda Feit, in memory of her mother, Muriel R. Schwartz, through the Mandell Rosen Fund for New Music, a program of the Zamir Choral Foundation. Miryam Han’via received its concert premiere by HaZamir in March 2022 at Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center.
-Gerald Cohen
Text
Miriam ha-n’vi’a oz v’zimra b’yada.
Miriam tirkod itanu l’hagdil zimrat olam.
Miriam tirkod itanu l’taken et ha-olam.
Bimheira v’yameinu hi t’vi’einu el mei ha-y’shua.
-Rabbi Leila Gal Berner
TRANSLATION:
Miriam the prophet, strength and song in her hand.
Miriam, dance with us in order to increase the song of the world.
Miriam, dance with us in order to repair the world.
Soon she will bring us to the waters of redemption.
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