1. |
Kaddish For Joe
02:46
|
|
||
|
This Kaddish is for my beloved son, Joe. Traditionally, Kaddish is not recited alone. It is recited with a minyan of ten Jews.
|
||||
2. |
Dearest Joe
05:00
|
|
||
|
1987 - 2021
Grief is what you think and feel on the inside after someone you love dies. Mourning is the outward expression of those thoughts and feelings. I offer this music as an expression of my mourning.
|
||||
3. |
Yizkor
05:55
|
|||
|
"Yizkor" in Hebrew, means "Remember" and is a memorial prayer for the dead. We implore God to remember the souls of our relatives and friends who have died.
When we recite Yizkor, we renew and strengthen the connection between us and our dead loved ones and we pledge to give charity in their honor. We can have a dynamic and changing relationship through our memory of them. In this way, the memories of our loved ones are kept alive.
“May God remember forever my dear ones…and may my life always bring honor to their memory.”
|
||||
4. |
A Dirge
03:08
|
|||
|
A DIRGE is a somber song, a lament expressing mourning and grief. Grief is the response to loss and crying is part of grieving. This loss is a lifelong process: "one does not get 'over' the death but must assimilate and live with it."
I grieve the death of my son, Joseph. He died 14 months ago at age 33 from a drug overdose. Feelings of guilt, whether legitimate or not, are pervasive.
|
||||
5. |
Fond Memories
02:37
|
|
||
|
"May the rule of peace be established speedily in our time." - from the Kaddish
|
||||
6. |
Hopes and Dreams
02:46
|
|
||
|
The loss of hopes and dreams. Unresolved grief. Hope is not lost forever.
|
||||
7. |
Welcome Home, "JOE"
02:38
|
|
||
|
"There must always be a struggle between a father and son, while one aims at power and the other at independence."
- Samuel Johnson -1799
Fatherhood has taught me about unconditional love, reinforced the importance of giving back and taught me how to be a better person. My acceptance of my son as a man seems to be as difficult as my son’s acceptance that I am just a man. I need to be a mentor and my son needs to be thought of as an equal. All these things make it difficult for fathers and sons to really get past their role expectations and really get to know each other and accept each other as they really are.
Joe, it was wonderful to just be with you these past few days. I believe in you.
|
||||
8. |
East Meets West
02:30
|
|||
|
"May the One who brings peace to the universe bring peace to us and to all people." - from the Kaddish
|
||||
9. |
||||
|
Ruach in Hebrew means wind, breath and spirit. Ruach signifies consciousness and the creative vitality that is unique to human creation.
|
||||
10. |
Tears of Uncertainty
02:45
|
|||
|
Death is so final. So permanent. Grief and mourning.
The meaning and purpose of life?
|
||||
11. |
Fare Thee Well
02:30
|
|||
|
Farewell for now. I love you every day. And now, I will miss you every day. You left us too soon, my son, and I’ll miss you forever.
|
||||
12. |
Who Shall Live?
02:47
|
|||
|
from the "Unetanah Tokef" (said on the High Holy Days)
Who shall live and who shall die?
Who shall perish by water and who by fire?
Who by famine and who by thirst?
Who by earthquake and who by plague?
Who shall live and who shall die?
Who shall be at peace and who shall be pursued?
Who shall be at rest and who shall be tormented?
Who shall be exalted and who shall be brought low?
Who shall become rich and who shall become poor?
Who shall live and who shall die?
|
||||
13. |
Missing My Son
03:10
|
|||
|
Children should outlive their parents. I lost my 33 year old son, Joseph, ten months ago to a Fentanyl overdose.
There will never come a day, hour, minute or second that I will stop loving or thinking about him. There is no “moving on,” or “getting over it.” There is no fix and no solution to my heartache. There is no end to the ways I will grieve and for how long I will grieve.
Although I will grieve the death of my son forever, it does not mean my life is lacking happiness and joy. My life is more rich now. I live from a deeper place. I love deeper still. I do experience an intense sense of guilt for not having done "something more" to prevent his drug overdose. The social stigma of a drug overdose makes it worse.
|
||||
Steve Shapiro Oakland, California
Steve Shapiro has composed music for hundreds of radio and TV commercials, documentary films, infomercials and other TV programs. He was the music director at Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, which produced hundreds of award-winning educational films and recordings. He has a BA in Music from Brown University and an MA in Music from the Manhattan School of Music. ... more
If you like Steve Shapiro, you may also like:
orchestral suite no.1 new lanark [ALBUM]
by A Sea Warren
This debut classical piece from UK musician A Sea Warren captures the grandeur of the natural world in melodies that recall Aaron Copland.
go to album
Expansive orchestral music that has all the weight and heft of post-rock.
go to album
Scripted Orkestra (Conducted By Jules Buckley)
by Henrik Schwarz & Metropole Orkest
Celebrated electronic producer Henrik Schwarz teams with Metropole Orkest for music that blends dance rhythms with symphonic grandeur.
go to album
Always & Only the Lonely -- music from The Dorothy K
by Brian Lawlor and Zac Pennington
Soaring operatic pop written for the theater by Zac Pennington of Parenthetical Girls and composer Brian Lawlor.
go to album
featured on Bandcamp Radio Aug 30, 2016
go to album
featured on Bandcamp Radio Dec 3, 2013
go to album
Conversations in Ritual
by Balladeste
This new album from the contemporary classical duo was completely improvised.
go to album
