Symphony No. 3

Symphony No. 3 "Kaddish" is a programmatic choral symphony by Leonard Bernstein, published in 1963. It is a dramatic work written for a large orchestra, a full choir, a boys' choir, a soprano soloist and a narrator. "Kaddish" refers to the Jewish prayer that is chanted at every synagogue service for the dead but never mentions "death." The symphony is dedicated to the memory of John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated on November 22, 1963, just weeks before the first performance of the symphony. Leonard Bernstein wrote the text of the narration himself, but struggled with his own motivation for the aggressiveness of the text. In 2003, after talks with Bernstein shortly before his death, Holocaust survivor Samuel Pisar added a new narration about his personal experiences and how his family suffered and were murdered in the Holocaust, and his subsequent struggle with his belief. The Bernstein estate allowed this version to be used only with Samuel Pisar as recitator before his 2015 death. Instrumentation The revised version is scored for: speaker soprano solo mixed choir (SATB) boys' choir orchestra: 4 flutes (3rd doubling alto flute, 4th doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, cor anglais, alto saxophone, 2 clarinets in B-flat and A, bass clarinet in B-flat, E-flat clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon 4 horns, trumpet in D, 3 trumpets in C , 3 trombones, tuba 5 timpani, 4 percussionists playing: vibraphone, xylophone, glockenspiel, 3 side drums (snare drum, field drum, tenor drum), bass drum, Israeli hand drum, 2 suspended cymbals, 1 pair crash cymbals, finger cymbals, antique cymbals (E, G, B, C), tamtam, 3 bongos, 3 temple blocks, wood block, sandpaper blocks, rasp, whip, ratchet, triangle, maracas, claves, tambourine, chimes harp, piano, celesta strings consisting of first and second violins, violas, cellos, and double basses. Structure