Stephanie Sadownik- mezzo-soprano
Olga Kim-piano

"To Nachuma" was commissioned by the Arizona Women's Collaborative  for their "Voices for the Voiceless" Concert held in March 2019.
Author Kalani Pickhart wrote poetry based on a letter written by mezzo-soprano Stephanie Sadownik in response to unearthed letters from her Great Grandmother, Nachuma Lewkowitz who was killed in The Holocaust. Composer Erica Glenn set the poetry, here are her wonderful program notes:
“To Nachuma” began with Stephanie Sadownik’s family history journey in Poland[ the summer of 2018] at a time when Kalani Pickhart and I also happened to be in Eastern Europe.  Back at ASU, Stephanie showed us a stack of letters penned by her great-grandmother during the most turbulent years of the 20th century, and the three of us began tracing common threads (ranging from the poetic to the quotidian).  We asked Stephanie if she would be willing to write a letter back to her great-grandmother.  If given the opportunity, what would she tell this woman who fought to preserve her family and their shared sense of identity across wars and oceans?  If given a voice that would reach the past, what would she say? 

The resulting letter was deeply personal, conveying the sense of something irrevocably lost but somehow also regained. From this, Kalani crafted a free-verse poem, which I set to music. The key centers “C” and “D” relate roughly to the past while “F” and “G” represent the present. “E” is the chasm between the two, which becomes the song’s final resting place. My motivic units are inspired by klezmer tunes of the era, the Israeli National Anthem, and a traditional setting of the “mayim” text. Water (“mayim”) as a symbol of cleansing and renewal pervades both the text and music, as does the concept of “dayenu.” Instead of lamenting the suffering and separation that plagues their history, observant Jews at Passover express gratitude for God's miracles during the very worst of times. Just one blessing would have been enough, they say.  Dayenu.  

We each embark on a lifelong journey to discover our own identity, to connect with those in our present, and to understand those who laid the foundations in our past. We do so haltingly, awkwardly, imperfectly. But, ultimately, it is enough. Gratitude fills the empty spaces, smooths the rough edges, and heals the broken places.  It is enough.  Dayenu.

To Nachuma (from your Great-Granddaughter, Shifra)

Stephanie Sadownik

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