Wiegala for SSA choir, vocal soloist, and orchestra

"Day and Night," the image I used for the cover of the score, was made by the thirteen-year-old Eva Lora Sternová (1929-1942), one of the children imprisoned in the Terezín concentration camp (transport AF no. 254 on March 3, 1942). Before her deportation she lived in Brno. After spending seven weeks in Terezín, Eva was sent to Izbica (transport Aq, no. 647 on April 27, 1942), and murdered there.

Ilse Weber (neé Herlinger) (1903-1944) was born in Witkowitz, in what became the Czech Republic, wrote children’s books, and worked as a producer for the Czech Radio in Prague. She was sent to Terezín on February 8, 1942 (Transport W, no 995), where she worked as a night nurse for children. Weber was sent from Terezín to Zamość on April 28, 1942 (Transport Ar, no 16) and spent two years, there. She was sent to Auschwitz on April 10, 1944 (Transport En, no. 1064), where she was murdered.

Ilse Weber wrote many poems and songs while in Terezín, Zamość, and Auschwitz, the best-known being “Wiegala.” Aviva Bar-On, one of the surviving children Weber looked after while in Terezín, remembered the song from her time there.

Ilse Weber and Eva Sternová were in Terezín at exactly the same time, and because Weber was in charge of the children, it is possible that the image of the moon as a lantern in Eva’s drawing might have even been inspired by the second stanza of the song (or Eva’s image might have inspired Ilse’s lyric). It is difficult not to see it as a picture of the moon as a lantern looking down on the world.

This setting for vocal soloist (any voice type), and chamber orchestra (flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, and strings, with a passage for solo violin) was commissioned by the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony for a concert commemorating Kristallnacht, given yesterday, November 9, 2025, at Temple Adat Shalom in Los Angeles, with Noreen Green conducting.

The text of the song is in the public domain, I made the translation, and the cover image by Eva Lora Sternová, comes from the collections of the ©Jewish Museum in Prague. This image is used by permission for inclusion here and in the IMSLP. You can go here to find it in the IMSLP, and can also find the score and parts here.