The Jewish Chronicle reports that British composer Benjamin Till has composed an hour-long requiem featuring inscriptions on Jewish gravestones (and other gravestones) from several cemeteries in London, including Highgate, West Ham, Hoop Lane and Kensal Green. The London Requiem has its premiere performance Saturday, September 29, at London’s Abney Park Cemetery.
Till, 38, said he was inspired to create the London Requiem after he was moved by an inscription on the gravestone of a Jewish doctor buried in Highgate cemetery.
“It said, ‘Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.’
“It was astonishing and told me something about her that I could take away with me. It set me off on this odyssey to find gravestones across London which also had that kind of impact and avoided all the usual clichés.”
The CD of the London Requiem features, among other soloists, playwright Sir Arnold Wesker, singing the inscription on his mother’s gravestone.
Click HERE to listen to excerpts