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Sim Shalom (Vocal Score): Choral Octavo

$6.95 USD
$6.95 USD
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Sim Shalom (Vocal Score): Choral Octavo

Sim Shalom (Vocal Score): Choral Octavo

for SATB and Organ

By Roxanna Panufnik

Level: Intermediate

Item: 98-EP73763
$6.95
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Description

"Having already had a wonderful collaboration with the Liberal Jewish Synagogue, I was very excited when their Director of Music, Cathy Heller Jones, approached me with a request to set this beautiful prayer for peace. Although the prayer is nearly 2,000 years old, its sentiments are needed now, more than ever.



I use the first two lines as a refrain, which has a strong Jewish modal feel about it. Starting low and in a minor harmony, it rises and becomes more major, with an entreaty for hope. Cathy and I share Polish roots, so she asked me to bring that into the musical mix. For the two ‘verses’, I have used a common Polish mode, in the right hand of the organ, which has a raised fourth and flattened seventh. 



The setting finishes with a passionate and optimistic C major chord, in ardent hope that our prayer is heard.



The piece is dedicated to the respective commissioners’ parents – to Rebecca Tennen and Seymour Roberts for Cathy Heller Jones, and to Geoff and Patricia Head for Sue Head.



I am hugely grateful to Cathy Heller Jones and Sue Head for this commission and to Senior Rabbi Alexandra Wright for very patiently recording the Hebrew text and supplying a word-for-word translation."



---Roxanna Panufnik, 30 April 2024

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Additional Details
Series: Edition Peters
Publisher: Edition Peters
ISBN13: 979-0-577-02452-3
SKU: 98-EP73763

More about this title

About the Composer: Roxanna Panufnik

Roxanna Panufnik is a British composer whose work spans orchestral, chamber, and vocal music, with a particular gift for setting texts that carry spiritual and social weight. Her commissions often emerge from deep collaborative relationships with performers and institutions, as evidenced by her extensive work with choirs and liturgical ensembles across the UK and beyond.

Why we love this

Panufnik has crafted a prayer for peace that feels both ancient and urgent, anchoring the piece in modal harmony and Polish folk idioms that ground the two-thousand-year-old text in something tangible and human. The arc from minor entreaty to major resolution gives singers a real dramatic journey to inhabit, while the refrain's strong Jewish modal character provides an instantly recognizable musical anchor. This is the kind of commission-driven work that reminds choirs why they exist.

What to expect

The piece holds a quiet reverence at its heart while building toward something hopeful and resolute. Modal inflections give it an earthy, rooted quality that feels neither purely modern nor purely traditional, with moments of genuine emotional lift as the harmony opens from minor to major.

Who it's for

Directors leading choirs that engage seriously with sacred repertoire and aren't afraid of modal harmony. This works equally well in synagogue settings, interfaith concert programs, and secular choral ensembles seeking meaningful contemporary sacred music.

How to get the most out of it

  • Pay close attention to the modal inflections, particularly the raised fourth and flattened seventh in the verses. These intervals need clear intonation and should feel intentional rather than accidental; they are the musical bridge between the prayer's ancient origins and Panufnik's contemporary voice.
  • Shape the opening refrain with care as it rises from low, minor harmony toward major. This isn't a sudden shift but a gradual opening, like a prayer gaining confidence.
  • The final C major chord should feel earned and passionate rather than simply bright. Let the weight of the text and the journey through the piece inform your release.

How to use it

Program this alongside other contemporary settings of traditional prayers or peace-themed repertoire to create a thematic concert unit. It also works as a powerful closing piece for an interfaith or social justice concert, where its journey from petition to hope resonates with an audience.

Skills your students will build

  • Reading and intonating modal harmony, specifically raised fourths and flattened sevenths
  • Harmonic movement from minor to major tonality and its expressive implications
  • Hebrew text pronunciation and its integration with English translation
  • Dynamic and textural contrast between refrain and verse sections

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