Composer

:

Lori Laitman

Genre

:

Vocal

Style

:

Vocal Music

Average_duration

:

15:48

"I Never Saw Another Butterfly" is a song cycle composed by Lori Laitman in 1996. The work is based on the poetry of children who were imprisoned in the Terezin concentration camp during the Holocaust. The premiere of the work was given by soprano Jennifer Check and pianist Andrew Rosenblum in 1997. The song cycle consists of 14 movements, each of which sets a different poem written by a child in Terezin. The poems cover a range of topics, from the beauty of nature to the horrors of war and imprisonment. The music is characterized by Laitman's sensitive and expressive setting of the texts, which often features lyrical vocal lines and evocative piano accompaniments. The first movement, "The Butterfly," sets a poem by Pavel Friedman, who wrote about the beauty of a butterfly he saw in the camp. The music is delicate and ethereal, with a soaring vocal line that captures the wonder and awe of the butterfly's flight. Other movements, such as "The Garden" and "The Old House," similarly evoke the natural world and the memories of home that the children held onto during their imprisonment. However, the cycle also includes darker and more haunting movements, such as "The Little Mouse," which describes the fate of a mouse caught by a cat, and "The Dream," which depicts a nightmare of death and destruction. Laitman's music in these movements is often dissonant and unsettling, reflecting the horror and despair of the children's experiences. Overall, "I Never Saw Another Butterfly" is a powerful and moving work that honors the memory of the children who suffered and died in Terezin. Laitman's music captures both the beauty and the tragedy of their lives, and serves as a poignant reminder of the importance of remembering and bearing witness to the atrocities of the Holocaust.

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