Composed by: Cristiano Giuseppe Lidarti

Edited and arranged for SATB and piano by Joshua Jacobson

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Voicing: SATB

Language: Hebrew

Difficulty: slow

Country: Holland, Italy

Solos: none (optional soprano and mezzo duets)

Instruments: piano

Lyrics: Jacob Raphael Saraval

Year Composed: 1774

Timing: 2:47

Tempo: slow

First Line: bet Yisrael sifdu

description: This is a lamentation chorus from Ester. In 1774, Giuseppe Lidarti composed this oratorio in Hebrew based on the biblical story of Queen Esther, as recast in a libretto by the Venetian rabbi Jacob Raphael Saraval. It was probably commissioned by the Jews of Amsterdam, but was certainly performed in Italy as part of the tradition of presenting musical theater for the festival of Purim. This work had been lost until its rediscovery several years ago by Prof. Israel Adler.