DAVID LANG
I LIE
FOR A SMALL GROUP OF WOMEN’S VOICES
FROM AN OLD YIDDISH SONG BY JOSEPH ROLNICK
SCORE
Leyg ikh mir in bet arayn I lie down in bed alone
Un lesh mir oys dos fayer and snuff out my candle
Kumen vet er haynt tsu mir
Today he will come to me
Der vos iz mire tayer who is my treasure
Banen loyfn tsvey a tog
Eyne kumt in ovnt
The trains run twice a day
One comes at night
Kh'her dos klingen - glin glin glon I hear them clanging – glin, glin , glon Yo, er iz shoyn noent
Shtundn hot di nakht gor fil
Yes, now he is near
The night is full of hours
Eyns der tsveyter triber each one sadder than the next
Eyne iz a fraye nor
Ven es kumt mayn liber
Only one is happy
When my beloved comes
Ikh her men geyt, men klapt in tir, I hear someone coming, someone raps on the door
Men ruft mikh on baym nomen
Ikh loyf arop a borvese
Yo! er iz gekumen!
Someone calls me by name
I run out barefoot
Yes! He is come!
(tanslation by Kristina Boerger)
note s on pronunciation:
single vowels - a as i n far, e as i n end, i as in is, o as in other, u as in full
dipthongs - ay as in why, ey as in they, oy as in boy
kh is ha rd and vocalized in the back of the throat
I lie was commissione d by Kitka, in part with funds from the National Endowment for the Arts.
duration is almost five minutes
I lie is dedicated to Lisa Mo ore and Martin Bresnick, offered in humility as a modest and very late wedding gift.
rhythmically
music by David Lang text in Yiddish by Joseph Rolnick