Edition Schott

The formal structure of this organ chorale with solo clarinet follows a Jewish death prayer. The solo clarinet represents the chant of the traditional prayer leader while the organ plays the response of the congregation of the synagogue. The piece ends with a cadenza of the solo clarinet to which an optional organ improvisation can be added. Barbara Heller dedicated this chorale to the memory of Elke Mascha Blankenburg (1943-2013).
Talking about her before the first performance, the composer said : 'She was open-hearted with a really tender soul, very trusting. Her creativity knew no limits ; she was also an almost fanatical campaigner for music by women. In the music you will hear now I have attempted to convey some aspects of her personality : charming, loving, obstinate, committed, volatile, tragic, crazy, untamed, tender and anguished.
' The various sections of this chorale may be performed in a correspondingly contrasting manner : searching, hesitant, visionary, focused, volatile, accusatory, hopeful, etc. , with use of rubato and powerful contrasts in dynamic and tone quality. Instrumentation : clarinet in Bb and organ