b'Program NotescontinuedErnest Blocharr. Yves HenryNigun Many years ago, the legendary violinist Ivry Gitlis, who passed away in December 2020, visited our Music School in Soweto and worked with our young musicians for several days. During his visit, Kabelo Monnathebe played Nigun to him, and later Ivry sent us the string orchestra version which, with some minor changes by Michael Pilkington, we are using in this concert. Mzwandile Twala is our second violinist to perform Nigun, and his interpretation is every bit as haunting and expressive as that of Kabelo. When I am teaching music which is infused with such compelling emotion, I sometimes observe to myself that certain deep feelings which my young students (many of whom have already endured challenging hardships in their young lives) may experience, but find difficult to articulate, are expressed most movingly through their heart-felt musical interpretations. Ivry Gitlis own interpretation of Nigun is considered by many to be definitive, and when searching for ideas as to what I should write about the work, I came across a passionate correspondence about different interpretations on the website www.violinist.com. As I feel completely unqualified to attempt any further comment, I quote instead from one of the 99 postings to be found there:Blochs dedication to his Jewish roots perhaps takes its most personal turn with the Nigun which he dedicated to the memory of his mother. As such, his nigun though influenced by the Chasidic tradition of nigunnim is at once both violinistic and cantorial, defiant and pleading, prayerful and assertive, mystical and extroverted and runs through every emotion I can think of from awestruck wonder to tearful despair. (Ronald Muchnik)~Rosemary Naldenprincetonsymphony.org/ 16'