The three works on this album by composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer were commissioned and premiered by Music of Remembrance in 2012 and 2013.
Album & Artwork
Music of Remembrance, a Seattle-based chamber music organization, was founded in 1998 to remember the Holocaust through music, commissioning over twenty new Holocaust-inspired works.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer tell stories of the Holocaust with emotional honesty and deep compassion, conveying a wisdom that helps appreciate those touched by the event.
Historical Context
Homosexuality was considered a crime in Germany since the late 1800s, and Paragraph 175, the pre-Nazi legislation outlawing it, remained in effect for years after the war.
Compositional Technique
For the work "Farewell, Auschwitz," librettist Gene Scheer created free poetic translations of Krystyna Żywulska's lyrics, which composer Jake Heggie set in various ways, sometimes imitating music of the period or using classical tunes.
Cultural Impact
The persecution of homosexuals during the Holocaust, with some of the last untold stories, has recently begun to emerge from historical neglect thanks to the 2000 documentary film Paragraph 175.
Composer Biography
Jake Heggie, the composer, has made his home in San Francisco since 1993 and is drawn to topics reflecting his passion for human rights and social justice.
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