BDA16759-E960-4317-96F6-3E41E9820AD2
| ID | BDA16759-E960-4317-96F6-3E41E9820AD2 |
|---|---|
| Titlecode | X811101 |
| Title Name | Vashti or "The Whole Megillah" for Mezzo-Soprano, Clarinet and Piano |
| Marketing Copy | On the holiday of Purim, Jews read the scroll (megillah) of Esther. This Purim shpiel for mezzo-soprano, clarinet and piano (with "groggers," which are noise makers of all sorts) can be performed as a concert work, or staged. |
| Instrumentation | Mezzo-Soprano, B-flat Clarinet and Piano (with Groggers). |
| Commission | Commissioned by the Gold Coast Chamber Music Festival |
| Dedication | To my daughter, Jamie |
| Program Notes | On the holiday of Purim, Jews read the scroll (megillah) of Esther. Although the story has a serious moral to it, Jewish tradition has come to associate Purim with drunken revelry. There are at least two reasons for this. The rabbis suspected that the story of Esther was a thinly disguised Persian fairy tale and were uncomfortable taking it entirely seriously. Also Purim falls about the same time as Mardi Gras--and it took on the spirit of carnival merry making. Even in synagogue the reading of the story is a source of mayhem. The congregation rattles "groggers" to drown out the name of the villain, Haman. It is also traditional to perform comic skits based loosely on the biblical story. In Vashti I have followed these traditions of re-telling the story with a certain amount of irreverence and some contemporary connections. It should be performed in the carnival spirit of Purim. In the score the clarinet is written at concert pitch. In the performance score for clarinet it is tranposed. |
| Title Brand | 2 |
| Year Composed | 1996/2004 |
| Copyright Number | (not set) |
| Copyright Year | (not set) |
| Duration | 35 |
| Ensemble Size | 2 |
| Date Created | 2008-10-31 20:33:22.000000 |
| Date Updated | 2025-09-30 20:33:22 |
| Inhouse Note | (not set) |
| Bsc Code | (not set) |
| Text Author | (not set) |
| Premier Performance Memo | Premiere 12 January 1997, Delray Beach Florida with D’Anna Fortunato, Paul Green and William Wolfram. |
| Recording Credits | (not set) |
| Review | Review: “Subtitled ‘a Purim Shpiel’ the work is a retelling of the biblical story behind the Jewish holiday. Ahasuerus, the dim-witted king of Persia, falls under the counsel of the evil Haman, who nearly convinces him to destroy the Jewish people. But Schiff, who also fashioned the witty libretto, throws in a few delightful twists. For starters, he makes the king’s first wife, Vashti, a leading figure, turning the tale into a feminist drama of sorts. Then he puts all the characters into the voice of a single singer/narrator, accompanied by an ‘orchestra’ of clarinet and piano. And finally, he flavors the highly theatrical score with lots of charming popular elements, including jazzy syncopations, klezmer-like melodies and a Bernsteinesque Broadway hustle-bustle. The result is a charmer of a work, one that resonates both as true opera—there are definable areas and stretches of recitative—and a truly unusual concert piece. Schiff’s clever craftsmanship is evident throughout: witness the brilliant clarinet cadenza at the end. But this is that rare contemporary score that hides its cleverness to reveal a real musicality. Charles Passy, The Palm Beach Post, 13 January 1997. |
| Awards | (not set) |
| Title Category | 12 |
| Title Movements | (not set) |
| Title Grade | (not set) |
| Set Series ID | (not set) |
| Title Instrument Category Text | Medium Voice |
| Title Sub Category Text | (not set) |
| Title Sub Category | 17 |
| Title Instrument Header | 73 |
| Title Grade Text | (not set) |
| Clean Url | vashti-or-the-whole-megillah-for-mezzo-soprano-clarinet-and-piano-x811101 |