Skala

"My composition “Skała” (which means rock) is based on a field recording from the Skała Choleric Jewish Cemetery in Pabianice, Poland. One might think what sounds could there be in a cemetery? Silence? Wind? Birds? When I first heard this field recording what I heard were the sounds of history. A very deep complicated history. Skała dates back to the 13th century, and the first Jews appeared settled there at the end of the 18th century.  "After the German army entered the town in September 1939, the Jewish community was immediately targeted with persecutions. And by the spring of 1941, an open ghetto of 3,000 Jews was established in Skała. In August 1942, some of them were deported to the Słomniki Ghetto, and then to the Bełżec extermination camp. The rest were murdered in the town or in local Jewish cemetery. It is with this historic background that I composed “Skała”.  "I was interested in the dual possibility of such a tragic history lying under the ground, while up above the peaceful sounds of silence, wind, and birds were in the air. This is my attempt to create a piece of music that would embody both realities. Electronic sounds relating to both worlds have been layered and woven together around the original field recording, to create a new way of thinking about this sacred place. “The traces were still there. But time would slowly blur them and nothing would be left.” – Edgar Hilsenrath Cemetery in Pabiance, Poland reimagined by Jeff Dungfelder.

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