Composed By: Yehezkel Braun

English Title: There Was a Man (also, “Akharey Motiy” — After I die)

Purchase sheet music at IMI

sample page

Hear it on this CD

Voicing: SSATBB

soloists: none

Language: Hebrew

Difficulty: challenging

Country: Israel

Instruments: clarinet

Lyrics: Chaim Nachman Bialik

Year Composed/Published: 1996

Timing: 10:00

Tempo: slow, then moderately fast

First Line: Akharey motiy sifdu kakha liy.

description: The lyrics were written in 1904 “in memory of N” by the great Hebrew poet, Chaim Nachman Bialik. The poem is a loving eulogy for a creative man who had died before his time. Braun’s setting evokes pathos, love, beauty, and nostalgia. He divides the 6-part chorus, often setting the lower three voices against the upper three voices. reminiscent of the textures of early Baroque madrigals and motets. The clarinet part alone could break your heart!