»Hineni« (Here I am / I am ready) – the answer given in the Bible by both Abraham and Moses when called by God – is a synonym for the deeply felt readiness to recognize an obligation and the willingness to fulfill its demands, whatever the consequences. In this context, the synagogue in Görlitz, which remained almost completely undamaged in the so-called Reichspogromnacht of 1938, will be the site of a very special concert. Arrangements made especially for this program of traditional Israeli songs – which tell of the hope for freedom, the quest for dignity, and the longing for love – will be juxtaposed with early Baroque European chorales with Hebrew prayer texts, most notably by Salomone Rossi.

The clash of ideals and political reality, which could also be described as the tension between religious and political activity, is one of the Leitmotifs of this year’s Lausitz Festival. Both elements of the concert program share a common object of longing – a place that has for centuries oscillated between the sacred and the secular, between ideal and reality: Jerusalem.

Contributors: Alma Sadé (Soprano), Thomas Moked (Guitar, Oud), Haggai Cohen-Milo (Bass), Susanne Barner (Flute), James Scannell (clarinette), János Wollenweber (Oboe, English horn), Alberto Valladolid (bassoon), Merav Goldman (Horn), Amarcord (Vocal ensemble)

In cooperation with the Kulturforum Görlitzer Synagoge