Rex Isenberg

Feathers in the Wind

SATB chorus, piano, double bass | 17’

Feathers in the Wind (in Yiddish, Federn in vint) is a spirited musical retelling of a timeless Jewish folktale about the consequences of gossip, or lashon hara in Hebrew.

Attributed to Hasidic mystic and scholar Israel ben Eliezer (commonly referred to as the Baal Shem Tov) (ca. 1700–1760), the parable tells of a man who circulates a false rumor about the town rabbi, causing the villagers to lose faith in their trusted leader. When the man goes to beg the rabbi’s forgiveness for slandering his name and damaging his reputation, the rabbi tells the man that he may return and ask for forgiveness only after he has released the feathers from a pillow and gathered them all up again. The impossible task serves as a powerful metaphor for the far-reaching and enduring effects of gossip and the inability to reverse the harm caused by speaking ill of others.

This colorful setting pairs the fable sung in Yiddish with a spoken narration of the story in English to be delivered by individual embers of the chorus. The final chorale setting of a medieval Hebrew meditation on Psalm 34 delivers the moral of the story. The music draws upon evocative themes and motifs from the Jewish musical tradition, with a contemporary aesthetic and sensibility.

Text
Adaptation of 17th-century Jewish folktale in Yiddish (libretto by the composer), Psalm 34

Language
English, Yiddish, Hebrew (biblical)

Commission
Choral Chameleon (Vince Peterson, Artistic Director)

Performances
Choral Chameleon

NOTUS IU Contemporary Vocal Ensemble