About the creation

Many arrangements have been made in the course of time of the traditional Kaddish, in its Ashkenasi version, by numerous composers, some of whom were non-Jews like Maurice Ravel. One of those arrangements was that of the late cellist and composer Joachim Stutchevsky, who used to perform his own version for cello and piano.

The present composition by Tzvi Avni was composed in 1987 and premiered that year in Israel and in Europe by the Jerusalem Chamber Orchestra with cellist Shmuel Magen. The cello part is similar to the version notated by Joachim Stutchevsky but the orchestral part is absolutely new. Unlike many arrangements of the Kaddish, in which the accompaniment consists of a merely harmonic background, Avni's orchestral writing here is quite active and characterized by a colorful-polyphonic texture. However, the composer has tried to retain the stylistic nature of the Kaddish, which is one of the deepest and most sacred prayers in the Jewish tradition.