Yom Kippoer 1942: The Last Prayer (op. 7)
The memorial piece Yom Kippoer 1942: The Last Prayer will be premiered on October 19, 2024, in the historic Grote Kerk in the Dutch city of Meppel. This significant event will feature a narration by Job Cohen, a tenor performance by Erik Slik, and the participation of the choir Koorschool Viva La Musica, conducted by Ceciel van der Zee. The wind band, Symfonisch Blaasorkest Nedersaksen, will be led by the composer Zoran Rosendahl himself.
Yom Kippoer 1942: The Last Prayer is a musical memorial drama crafted for narrator, tenor, women’s choir, and symphonic wind band. The piece is dedicated to the late conductor Nico Sieffers, who passed away suddenly in February 2024 after a brief hospitalization. Sieffers was the driving force and inspiration behind this project, deeply involved with Jewish history and the events of World War II.
The composition commemorates the tragic night of October 2-3, 1942, when the Jewish population of Northern Netherlands was forcibly taken away while celebrating Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. This harrowing event, carried out by the Nazis, left a profound scar on the region but remains relatively unknown and uncommemorated to this day. Sieffers aimed to bring this dark chapter to light through music.
Rosendahl and Sieffers collaborated closely to bring this composition to life. Rosendahl conducted extensive research, traveling to Auschwitz and Israel to deepen his understanding of the historical context. The city of Meppel, in the province of Drenthe, holds a special place in the piece. This old trading city, where many Jews lived until 1942, is also where both Rosendahl and Sieffers resided.
The music of Yom Kippur 1942: The Last Prayer is richly infused with Jewish hymns sung in Hebrew, and features a Dutch translation of Paul Celan’s poignant poem “Todesfuge,” translated by university professor Ton Naaijkens. A special focus is given to the Book of Jonah, one of the most significant narratives traditionally read on Yom Kippur.
- Language: Dutch and Hebrew
- Ensemble: Narrator, lyric tenor, women’s choir, children’s choir and symphonic wind band
- Duration: 65′ (music only) / 75′ (including text)
- Photo: Nico Sieffers in action, photo by © Willomino
Program Note:
Yom Kippoer 1942: The Last Prayer is a musical memorial work that takes us back to the dramatic events of September 21, 1942, during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. This day, the holiest in the Jewish tradition, was still celebrated despite the horrors of World War II and the increasing persecution of Jews by the Nazis.
Although the Nazi occupation had already lasted two years, there seemed to be a glimmer of hope. The German occupiers had promised that, for the time being, no deportations of Jews to Germany would take place, and arrests would be minimal. This briefly gave many people the feeling that the threat was easing. But this false promise quickly became clear.
In the night of October 2 to 3, during the concluding holiday of Simchat Torah, part of the Jewish festival of Sukkot, a massive raid took place in northeastern Netherlands. Jewish families had gathered to celebrate this day together, but at that very moment, disaster struck.
Many Jewish men had already been sent to labor camps in Drenthe and Friesland in the period before October 2. In the night of October 2 to 3, they were hastily transferred to Camp Westerbork, while their wives and children were taken from their homes that same night and followed them. In total, 13,000 Jews were deported to Westerbork in one night, even though the camp had only space for 3,000 people. From Westerbork, their final journey began to extermination camps such as Auschwitz, Sobibor, and Bergen-Belsen, where most were mercilessly murdered. Few survived the horrors of that night.
On October 3, 1942, no less than 24 trains departed with approximately 19,000 prisoners bound for Auschwitz. Most were killed immediately upon arrival.
Yom Kippoer 1942: The Last Prayer commemorates this tragic period and takes us back to a time when people clung desperately to their faith amid unimaginable atrocities. Conductor Nico Sieffers wanted to use this work to bring back into the collective memory the devastating and horrific night of October 2 to 3, which has been forgotten by many. This moment marked the end of a thriving Jewish life in the northeastern Netherlands, a life that would never return.
Today, only a few places still remind us of the rich Jewish history that once existed in this region.