Valeria Girardi, soprano sings Minuit chretiens/ O holy night.

Valeria Girardi, soprano sings, "Minuit chretiens/O Holy Night"

The word "kaddish" means sanctification, and the prayer itself is a sanctification of God's name. The emotional element of Kaddish comes from the circumstances in which people say it, namely, at a funeral. The Jewish faith requires that sons say Kaddish for 11 months after the death of a parent. The prayer does not mention death or the loved one, but rather is a public expression of the acceptance of divine judgement and righteousness. Jews also believe that saying Kaddish increases the merit of the deceased by causing others to acknowledge the greatness of God, thereby counterbalancing any evil the person may have committed in his lifetime. Mourners recite Kaddish while they stand with a minyan, a group of at least 10 adults in the congregation.

Kaddish

Valeria Girardi, soprano sings Pie Jesu from Gabriel Faure's Requiem

Pie Jesu from Gabriel Faure's Requiem

"His Eye Is on the Sparrow" is a Gospel hymn. The song was written in 1905 by lyricist Civilla D. Martin and composer Charles H. Gabriel.



His Eye Is On The Sparrow

Recorded live at Saint Joseph's Church in Spring Valley, NY on St. Joseph's parish feast day.

In the opera LA FORZA DEL DESTINO, Sometime between Act I and Act II, Alvaro and Leonora are separated, each apparently believing the other to have died.  Unable to return home, Leonora decides to seek sanctuary at the monastery of Madonna degli Angeli.  After questioning her on the matter, the abbot Padre Guardiano agrees to shelter her in the monastery’s hermitage, instructing his brother monks never to reveal her presence.  In a magnificent set-piece that concludes Act II, La Vergine degli angeli, she is formally accepted into the monastery.  The monks pronounce a curse on anyone who betrays her, and then a blessing.

Valeria Girardi 1