The world premiere performance of the peace cantata “Halelu” took place on May 19, 2007 in Belgrade, Serbia. The 40-minute composition for solo voices, chorus and orchestra is the collaborative effort of Israeli vocalist/composer David D’Or and myself.
The concert was produced and organized by the Embassy of Israel in Serbia with support of the Israeli-Serbian Business Fund to commemorate the 59th Independence Day of Israel.
Mr. D’Or, one of Israel’s most prominent artists, was joined by soprano Seiko Lee as vocal soloist. I conducted the combined forces of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra and the 120-voice choir of the Academic Cultural Artistic Society. The audience of 2,500 included the Ambassador of Israel to Serbia, H.E. Yaffa Ben-Ari, and Princess Jelisaveta of the Yugoslav Royal Family.
The concert was held at the Sava Arts Center in Belgrade and televised to six other Eastern European countries. Future performances are planned for Jerusalem, the United States, Japan, Cyprus, South America and Ukraine.
David D’Or and I first met in Israel in September 2004 at a concert promoting interfaith harmony at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem. It was held in conjunction with the Middle East Peace Initiative. David D’Or commented that this was one of the most uplifting concerts he had done in his distinguished career. “Based on the inspiration of that concert I felt compelled to contribute to the cause,” he explained, “and the best way for me to do that was to write music.”
After a subsequent meeting in New York early in 2005, we began a serious creative collaboration based on several musical themes that David D’Or had composed and sent me.
I was very taken by the richness of his melodic invention. It was a fantastic juxtaposing of several traditions. He was a musical Ambassador for Peace, bringing several traditions into harmony.
I remember feeling that some of it was very much like the music of Bach, perhaps the greatest of the church composers. It was deeply spiritual music and evoked the spirit of the most exalted musical expressions of that particular culture. Other themes were evocative of the modality of the Hebrew and Arabic traditions.
From March through August I arranged and orchestrated the music, and with the assistance of Seiko Lee, produced demos of the various movements, which were then sent to David D’Or for approval.
The music was recorded in Tel Aviv in 2006 with the Ra’anana Symphony Orchestra and the Philharmonia Chorus of Israel.
The music of “Halelu” is a fusion of diverse musical styles including Western tonality and Middle-Eastern modality and rhythms. It is sung in English, Hebrew, Arabic and Latin. The greetings of peace of Christianity, Judaism and Islam (peace, shalom, salaam aleikum) figure prominently in the lyrics of several movements. Psalm 113, “Praise the Lord” (sung in Hebrew by Mr. D’Or), is the basis of the fourth movement.
The ten-movement cantata expresses the composers’ desire to cultivate a culture of peace. On other occasions, the vocalists have used their music to bridge cultures. Mr. D’Or appeared with the Orchestra of the Beijing Opera in China as a cultural envoy between China and Israel, and Miss Lee has given three concerts in North Korea, a rarity for an artist from Japan, Korea’s historical enemy.
“My deepest desire is to build bridges through song,” Seiko Lee said. “I feel this is my mission. I hope the success of this concert will bring greater peace in this part of the world.”
At the heart of this musical endeavor is our fervent desire to promote understanding and reconciliation and encourage other artists to use their creative abilities to bridge cultures.
Le concert était produit et organisé par l’Ambassade de paix en Serbie avec le soutien du Club d’affaires serbo-israélien pour commémorer le 59e anniversaire de l’État d’Israël.
BERLIN, ALLEMAGNE: Environ 50 Ambassadeurs de paix se sont réunis à Berlin, les 28 et 29 avril 2007 pour jeter les bases d’un Conseil de paix national. Président de la FPU en Allemagne, M. Karl Meier a mis les participants au défi d’adopter la devise « Vivre pour les autres », comme ligne directrice des rapports interpersonnels mais aussi internationaux.
At an evening about Chinese culture organized on April 24, 2007 by UPF Austria we realized the growing interest of the Viennese people in Confucianism and Chinese culture.
El “Camino del Té” nos alienta a alcanzar los ideales más altos del carácter interno y se supone que es una guía en los asuntos humanos.
Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Peace Message 12 in Arabic.
En una de las enseñanzas máximas de Confucio tenemos el secreto de llegar a construir la paz en el mundo: “Si hay un corazón justo, hay belleza en el carácter; si hay belleza en el carácter, hay armonía en el hogar; si hay armonía en el hogar, hay orden en una nación; y si hay orden en las naciones, habrá paz en el mundo”.
The landmark Bering Strait Peace Initiative was introduced on May 17, 2006, in the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC. This panel discussion represented an important initial step in the process of making this vision a substantial reality.
CRONULLA, AUSTRALIE, Décembre 2005 : à Cronulla, banlieue de Sydney, des heurts opposent des résidents australiens à des jeunes originaires du Moyen-Orient. En cause : la tenue vestimentaire des femmes à la plage. Les jeunes musulmans se mettent à passer des appels téléphoniques aux jeunes Libanais et Arabes et les invitent à se rassembler et se battre contre les Australiens.
Ladies and gentlemen, as we begin the 21st century, we find ourselves at a truly historic turning point. We are at a point of decision. Can everlasting world peace take root, or are we doomed to repeat the 20th century’s dark and oppressive history of war and conflict?
The 6th World Summit was held on June 27-30, 2005 in Tokyo. The program for the summit can be found here.
The 5th World Summit was held February 12-15 2005 in Cheongpyeong, South Korea. A program for the summit can be found here.