What is Israel@70?
Israel@70 is a musical event to be held in Israel on May 14th
2018. The event will bring together Christians and Jews in celebration of the
return of the Jewish people to the Promised Land and the establishment of a
Jewish homeland on 14th May 1948. The highlight of Israel@70 will be
a gala performance of the Oratorio “Hear O! Israel.” Singers and musicians from
across the world will come together for this project.
Hear O! Israel Oratorio
An oratorio is a large scale concert composition written for
orchestra, ensembles, choir and soloists. Hear O! Israel is a full scale
oratorio written by Cormac O’Duffy using both classic and modern styles. The
piece incorporates classical, contemporary and jazz styles. The oratorio tells
the Biblical and historical story of the Jewish Diaspora; the Jewish return to
Israel as well as the anticipation of the advent of the Messiah. The creator of
this piece has used Biblical texts as well as modern lyrics. The choral work conjures
up images of the historical exile and return of the Jews to Israel. Hear O! Israel has previously been performed
in England, Israel and New Zealand. A performance in Westminster Central Hall
was recorded in 1995.
The oratorio will be the center piece of the Israel@70
celebrations and will be performed on the precise date when 70 years ago the Declaration
of the State of Israel took place – 14th May 1948. For this special
project singers will come from across the world to form a choir. The international
choir will be accompanied by an Israeli orchestra. The performance will have a
breathtaking setting at the Mount Scopus Amphitheatre of the Hebrew University
in Jerusalem. The amphitheater overlooks the hill of the Judean Desert.
Memorial
As part of the Israel@70 project there will be an unveiling
of a special memorial to commemorate the growing understanding and cooperation
between Jews and Christians across the globe. The memorial will bear the words
spoken by Pope Saint John XXIII to
American Rabbis during their visit to the Vatican in 1962 – “I am
Joseph, you brother.”