By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson
MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — These are dark days for Israel despite the general sense of necessity regarding the battle against Hamas, Hezbollah and the various other proxies armed and financed by Iran. We hear constantly of the loss of precious lives as a result of the fighting in Gaza and Lebanon, and almost daily funerals of soldiers.
Every day parts of Israel are subjected to barrages of rockets and weaponized drones aimed at killing and maiming the civilian population, forcing residents in those areas to take refuge in bomb shelters and safe rooms. For over a year hundreds of thousands of Israelis have been forced to live in cramped conditions far from home. Worst of all, one hundred and one hostages seized by Hamas on 7th October 2023 are still held in Gaza, whether alive or dead, in conditions of unimaginable horror.
And yet, life in other parts of Israel, including the Jerusalem region where I live, continues more or less as normal, though always under the shadow of events elsewhere in the country. We look out of the window and see the sun shining in the blue sky, the trees and flowers continuing to delight us, and the mountains in the distance instilling us with a sense of continuity.
Music has always played an important part in my life, starting in my childhood in London, when my parents gave me records of ‘Teddy Bears’ Picnic’ and ‘Sparky’s Magic Piano’ as birthday presents, played me records of Mahler’s first symphony and ‘Peter and the Wolf,’ and even took me at an early age to the annual performance of Handel’s ‘Messiah.’ The impact of those performances has remained imprinted in my mind, and I have tried to pass on my love of music, first to my children and now to my grandchildren.
For several years the traditional performance of Handel’s monumental oratorio ‘Messiah’ in the Church of Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant in the nearby Arab village of Abu Ghosh has been in abeyance due to the extensive renovation work on the church conducted under the auspices of the Vatican. Suddenly this year, in the midst of the war and tragedy that has befallen us, there was a beam of light. The Israel Barrocada Ensemble, which plays on period instruments and has been giving concerts in Tel Aviv, announced that it was returning to Abu Ghosh, and would start with a performance of Handel’s ‘Messiah.’ The sublime music, using texts taken from Isaiah, Psalms and other books of the Bible, has always inspired me and uplifted my spirit.
Our joy and excitement knew no bounds, and without delay we were online from France to order tickets for that event, inviting our two eldest granddaughters to join us. They have been to performances of the oratorio in the past and were happy to join us once again. By the time we managed to get on to the site for ordering tickets the church was almost full, but four seats were still left in the front row, which we seized eagerly.
The day of the performance dawned with beautiful autumn weather, enabling us to enjoy the pastoral surroundings of the church and the panoramic view of the Judean Hills together with other members of the audience before the concert began. The thrill of being back in the renovated church with its wonderful acoustics was shared by all those who attended the concert, and the performance, with outstanding soloists and the orchestra conducted by the Estonian musician and staunch friend of Israel, Andres Mustonen, gave us almost two hours of unmitigated enjoyment, inspiration and bliss.
In these troubled times we can hardly believe how fortunate we are to be able to enjoy excellent music so close to home, and to share that enjoyment with the next generation. In these dark days we are eternally grateful to George Frederick Handel, to the Israel Barrocada Ensemble, to the excellent Shahar Choir and to Andres Mustonen for bringing us the gift of music and balm for our soul.
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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson is an author and freelance writer based in the Jerusalem suburb of Mevasseret Zion, Israel.