Paulus, S.: To Be Certain of the Dawn [Oratorio]

Featuring

Osmo Vänskä
Barry Abelson
Elizabeth Futral
Christina Baldwin
John Tessier
Philip Cokorinos

Minnesota Orchestra
Minnesota Chorale
Basilica Cathedral Choir
Minnesota Boychoir
Cathedral Choristers
Stephen Paulus

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Compositional Technique

The oratorio opens with three blasts from the shofar, an ancient Jewish instrument, interspersed with violent hammer strokes from the orchestra.

Composition History

The idea for this oratorio came from Fr. Michael O'Connell, then rector of the Basilica, who believed Christians should acknowledge and teach about the Holocaust.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Composer Stephen Paulus chose the Biblical verse 'You should love your neighbour as yourself' as a main theme, noting its ironic appearance in Hebrew and German on a stone from a demolished Berlin temple.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Librettist Michael Dennis Browne states that the oratorio commemorates the almost one and a half million Jewish children murdered during the Shoah, aiming to convey a message of hope.

Composition History

Stephen Paulus's oratorio, "To Be Certain of the Dawn," was commissioned by the Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis as a gift to Temple Israel synagogue.

Notable Performances

The European premiere of "To Be Certain of the Dawn" took place in Düsseldorf, Germany, and at the site of a former concentration camp in Natzweiler-Struthof, France, with survivors attending.

Composer Biography

Stephen Paulus, the composer, has written over 350 works, including approximately 150 choral works and ten operas, and has received commissions from major orchestras and opera companies.