On February 19th, the Schulich Singers will be performing James Whitbourn's 75-minute work Annelies. It is the first major choral setting of Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl. Divided into 14 movements, each movement's libretto is taken directly from the diary itself - recounting the horrific, tragic events experienced by Anne Frank and her family during the Holocaust. This moving piece presents a musical portrayal of both the horrors of war and the steadfast, unbreakable human spirit. We spoke to Shulamit Sarid (DMus, cello performance), who will be performing cello alongside the choir, about her family's connection with World War II and the Holocaust.
Tell us about your family connection to the Holocaust.
In May 1942, my grandfather Alexander Sarid-Schwarzblatt (pictured above playing his violin), was sent with his family to the Ghetto in Rafałówka (Rafalivka), a small village in Poland (today Ukraine) that was the home of 600 Jews. Alexander’s mother, Bluma, has foreseen the fate of the Jewish population of Rafalivka, hiding her oldest son under the stairs of the Judenrat building. On August 29th, 1942, my grandfather watched from his hiding place the Nazis and their Ukrainian collaborators marching the Jews into the woods, forcing them to dig large pits and shooting them to death. My grandfather was among only 30 people from Rafalivka to survive the Holocaust. He lost his mother, two sisters, and one brother. His little sister, Shulamit, was only five years old when she was murdered.
Alexander knew he had to flee the Ghetto. It was a Sunday when he arrived with three other Jews at the house of Oshurkos, a family of Baptists. The family welcomed the three inside, offered them food, and put them to sleep in the granary. The following morning, the Oshurkos invited the Jews to join them for a family meal. After hearing what each of them had been through, the father advised one of them to return to his family still living in Rafalivka. He suggested to another to try living under a false identity, and the third, Alexander, who had lost his entire family, he invited to stay under his roof. My grandfather survived the war as a partisan. While fighting in the woods and the marches of Poland, he always carried his violin with him.
How has this connection influenced your identity as a person and as a musician?
My surname – Sarid – means a survivor in Hebrew; my grandfather changed it years after arriving in Israel. Coming from a family of Klezmers, he wished all his four children to take a string instrument. My mother, Bluma, fell in love with the cello, and is now a cello professor at the Israel Conservatory of Music. She was also my first cello teacher. You could say that my identity as a musician, my very name, is thus intertwined with my family story of the Holocaust.
I remember my grandfather with a pen in his hand, writing his memoirs. He would title each chapter in his book as “a true story,” for fear we would not believe him. In times when Anti-Semitism, racism, and hatred rise again, it is more crucial than ever that we continue to perform music inspired by the Holocaust, lest we forget.
The Diary of A Young Girl captures the courage, hope, and steadfast human spirit held in the face of tragedy. How do you find that the music captures these themes?
Through his use of harmony, orchestration, and musical form, James Whitbourn managed to depict the horrifying events of Anne Frank’s life, while at the same time, like Frank’s diary, offering comfort to his listeners.
Are there any moments within Annelies that are particularly gripping for you?
Particularly mesmerizing are the moments when the wonderful soprano Sarah Dufresne sings by herself. When I listen to her, I remember Anne Frank’s famous quote: “Look at how a single candle can both defy and define the darkness.”
Have you had any other performance experiences that commemorated the events of the Holocaust?
During my military service in the Israel Defense Forces’ Outstanding Musician Unit, I traveled to Poland through a delegation called “Witnesses in Uniform.” We performed at the ruins of the Warsaw Ghetto, Kraków, Schindler’s factory, and on the Holocaust Memorial Day, we played in Auschwitz.
What are you most looking forward to about this performance?
I look forward to sharing the stage with my colleagues and reminding everyone in the audience that “this is a true story.”
This performance will be held on February 19 and 20 in Pollack Hall at 7:30pm.
