Publisher: Onibatan Music
This is a single-movement work for cello and piano. Its title refers to the village of Zapykškis, near Kaunas, Lithuania. Zapyškis is both the site of an important and well-preserved 16th-century church, as well as being the location of the mass-murder of 178 Jewish people on 4 September, 1941. In addition, some of the composer’s 19th century ancestors are buried in the town’s Jewish cemetery. A visit by the composer to the town in December, 2022 led to the conception of this work, which includes the melody of “S’iz Gut”, a bitter and sarcastic song by Mordechai Gebirtig, the celebrated poet and songwriter from Krakow. In a compact, frankly literal manner, “Zapyškis” narrates the broad outlines of this once-thriving Jewish community in rural Lithuania.
7′
