Jewish Art Song: Exploring the Music of Ilse Weber (1903-1944)
“Jewish Art Song: Exploring the Music of Ilse Weber (1903-1944)” was presented in a lecture-recital setting by Allison Brault in October 2023. This lecture-recital was inspired by Brault’s goal of making Jewish art song more accessible for voice teachers and singers.
Ilse Weber was a Jewish poet and musician who was forced into the Theresienstadt ghetto in 1942. There, she was assigned to work as a night nurse for children. To comfort these children, she wrote poetry, set it to music, and sang for them. In 1944, her husband and son received orders to go to Auschwitz. She made the admirable decision to join them. Upon arrival, Ilse Weber and her son were murdered in the gas chambers.
Only eight of Weber’s songs have survived and are largely unknown and underperformed. Brault’s lecture-recital provided a detailed pedagogical analysis, linguistic and phonetic translations, and a performance of Weber’s songs (featuring Ann Deighton on piano and Professor Thomas Cody on guitar). Brault plans to professionally record the songs with Professor Cody, submit her research for further publication, and continue building her online database for Jewish Art Song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QuGGz_beLY