Eli Eli

You get: pdfs of piano/vocal score and vocal score, mp3s of the full recording, piano-only recording, and four rehearsal mp3s. “Eli, Eli” is in the Amidons book collection: “Fifty-five Anthems for the Small Church Choir“.  Sophie Michaux sings the solo on the recording, with Ron Kelley on saxophone. The score includes the saxophone solo composed by Ron.  In lieu of the saxophone solo you can have the choir, just women or everyone, hum the melody over the same piano accompaniment.  Or you can just skip this section and go straight to the a cappella verse in English.  Of course the whole song would work fine a cappella.

Hanna Szenes was a poet and Special Operations Executive (SOE) paratrooper. She was one of 37 Jewish parachutists of Mandate Palestine parachuted by the British Army into Yugoslavia during the Second World War to assist in the rescue of Hungarian Jews about to be deported to the German death camp at Auschwitz. Szenes was arrested at the Hungarian border, then imprisoned and tortured, but refused to reveal details of her mission. She was eventually tried and executed by firing squad. She is regarded as a national hero in Israel, where her poetry is widely known. Israeli composer David Zehavi set Hanna Szenes’ poem to music in 1945. Here is more on the story behind “Eli, Eli”.

By the People, For the People Chorus

Jewish Youth Orchestra

Lyrics

Eli, Eli, shelo y’gamer le’olam
Hachol ve’hayam,
Rish rush shel hamayim
Berak hasha mayim
Tifilat haadam

Hachol ve’hayam
Rish rush shel hamayin
Berak hasha mayim
Tifilat haadam.

O Lord, my God,
I pray that these things never end;
The sand and the sea,
The rush of the waters,
The crash of the heavens,
The prayer of the earth.

The sand and the sea,
The rush of the waters,
The crash of the heavens,
The prayer of the earth.