Edition No. 11
In this Edition
Arts and Culture
In celebration of Hanukkah, we present Jewish-American composer Leonard Bernstein’s Hebrew-language masterwork, the Chichester Psalms.
More Arts and Culture
The War Memorial is proud to present One For The Foxes in an exclusive virtual concert, available for free streaming now through January 1, 2021.
Our American Values
A recent article from The Atlantic examines three teams of scholars as they tackle rewriting The Constitution through a 2020 lens.
Chichester Psalms
Celebrating Hanukkah with Jewish-American composer Leonard Bernstein
Maîtrise de Radio France
Conducted by Sofi Jeannin
Yves Castagnet, organ • Iris Torossian, harp • Emmanuel Curt, percussion
In the midst of Hanukkah, which began last Thursday evening, we’ve chosen to celebrate the music of Jewish-American composer Leonard Bernstein through a performance of his Chichester Psalms, stirringly sung by Maîtrise de Radio France under the direction of Sofi Jeannin.
Leonard Bernstein spent most of his life and career in New York City, where he famously conducted the New York Philharmonic for several years. Bernstein’s Jewish heritage is most vibrantly reflected in two of his musical compositions: his Symphony No. 3, subtitled Kaddish, and the Chichester Psalms. Featured here, the Chichester Psalms is an extended choral composition in three movements with text from the Book of Psalms in the original Hebrew. The work was premiered at the Philharmonic Hall in New York City in 1965, followed by a performance at Chichester Cathedral, for which it was commissioned.
About Hanukkah
Hanukkah (alternatively Chanukah) is the Jewish Festival of Lights, celebrating the successful rededication of their Holy Temple in Jerusalem after the Maccabean Revolt of 167 BCE. The holiday lasts for eight days, represented by the eight-branched menorah (with a ninth candle in the middle) that is said to have burned for eight days after retaking the temple, despite having only enough sacred oil for one.
“Behold how good, and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.”
One For The Foxes: Take A Look Around
A War Memorial Exclusive Virtual Concert
Exclusive to The War Memorial, our virtual concert featuring One for the Foxes is still available to you, completely free of charge! This exciting performance can be streamed directly to your computer, mobile device, or smart TV; registration is required for access.
One for the Foxes is an exciting and dynamic transatlantic trio that presents a rousing blend of Irish and American folk music, having already won over audiences on both sides of the ocean. The group is made up of Dublin's Tadhg Ó Meachair (Goitse), Galway's Dave Curley (SLIDE) and Denver, Colorado's Joanna Hyde (The Hydes), and features a mix of Irish and American folk music and song — both traditional and newly-composed — presented in an energetic and engaging manner. Their performances strike a tasteful balance between the stories found in ballads across both sides of the Atlantic and the respective instrumental music traditions of these places.
What If We Wrote The Constitution Today?
Earlier this month, The Atlantic shared an article by National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen about an experiment that the Center conducted in which three teams of scholars — Conservative, Libertarian, and Progressive — were tasked with drafting a new Constitution for the United States in 2020 starting from scratch. The results were both surprising and reassuring.
Click or tap here for the article, with links to the three proposed constitutions contained within the article.
“The most striking similarity is that all three teams choose to reform the Constitution rather than replace it. And all three focus their reform efforts on structural and institutional protections for liberty and equality rather than creating a laundry list of new rights.”
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