Down Home – The Cantata
The cantata is an original musical score by composer Alejandro Rutty, professor of music at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. It features historic audio recordings from Jewish Heritage North Carolina’s archives. Commissioned by Eric Meyers, with the sponsorship of the Bernice and Morton Lerner Endowment in Judaic Studies at Duke University, the cantata brings to life authentic voices of Jewish North Carolinians as recorded by Jewish Heritage North Carolina for its Down Home Project. The voices tell poignant stories of immigration, settlement in a strange new land, escaping Nazi Germany, and discovering Jewish roots as well as prayerful melodies taken from the Jewish liturgy.
The World Premiere was performed in 2011 at the Goodson Chapel in the Divinity School at Duke University by the Triangle Jewish Chorale, directed by Lorena Guillén, accompanied by soloists and an orchestra. It has since been performed in Asheville, Charlotte, Wilmington, and Buenos Aires, Argentina.
If you are interested in more information regarding the Cantata, or in bringing this wonderful performance to your community, please contact us at 919-660-3504.