Quill of the Soul: A Musical Tribute to Elie Wiesel
On Sunday November 1, the Center hosted Quill of the Soul: A Musical Tribute to Elie Wiesel at the Tsai Performance Center at 7pm. The multicultural performance was also the closing event of the year-long artist’s residency of Russian-Israeli composer Matti Kovler at Boston University, hosted by the Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies.
Inspired by Elie Wiesel’s “Melodies of My Childhood,” and the work of Israeli composer Andre Hajdu, Matti Kovler presented an evening that took the Hasidic Niggun (or “chant”) as its point of departure. Incorporating instrumental music, song, and media, this performance explored surprising parallels between Nigguns and other world incantations. The diversity of the program –and of the cast– mirrored the variety of faiths and ethnicities –from Hindu to Sufi to Buddhist– that share similar approaches to sacred song. Quill of the Soul featured a multi-national ensemble of 12 musicians, a student choir, video projections and narration.
Part of the Floating Tower series directed by Matti Kovler, Quill of the Soul was supported by the Boston University Jewish Cultural Endowment, the BU Arts Initiative and BU Center for the Humanities.