New music and clips honor October 7 victims

The Jerusalem Orchestra East West has released When the Rain Ends, Spring Will Come, a four-part mini-album of original pieces by maestro Tom Cohen, as well as cover versions with new arrangements and video clips for each piece, filmed in the main reading halls of the new National Library of Israel (NLI) building in Jerusalem.

These pieces and videos commemorate the horrors of the October 7 massacre in Israel by Hamas and the ongoing war. 

Artists partake in commemoration of October 7 victims

The clips feature the guest vocalists Ninet Tayeb, Lior Elmaleh, Yigal Harosh, and Naama Tov, along with the Eshkol Regional Council Music Conservatory Children’s Choir.

NLI is dedicated to encouraging audiences in Israel and worldwide to engage with it through educational, cultural, and digital initiatives such as these clips. This location suited the Jerusalem Orchestra East West, a multicultural orchestra comprising musicians from three religions, from all over the country and all of Israel’s diverse groups.

When the Rain Ends, Spring Will Come consists of four sections and four themes, each of which is a story in itself and also tells a larger story about the horrors of October 7 and the tragedy of the war. To process these disturbing events, the orchestra members turned to music as a means of comforting each other.

Cohen said, “Our unique orchestra, with its diverse composition, was and is my lifeline during this terrible time. Its mosaic of voices, its ability to accept one another and exist together, the mutual aid that was extended to orchestra members, and to the war victims, the pure desire to harness our many talents for the common good, and the concern for our personal and professional future as a group and as individuals – all were translated, through an inspiring dialogue, into the project we present today.”

Album also dedicated to return of hostages 

The mini-album comprises four works: “Be’eri Lamentation (Destruction),” an original work written by Yigal Harosh to mourn those massacred in Kibbutz Be’eri and dedicated to the memory and souls of all victims of this horrific event; “Our Streets (Loneliness),” a cover version of Mashina’s song, performed by singer-liturgist Lior Elmaleh and his wife, singer-composer Naama Tov, with the Eshkol Regional Council Music Conservatory Children’s Choir, a work is dedicated to those displaced from their homes and wounded in body and soul; “Come Home (Longing),” performed by Ninet Tayeb, also accompanied by the Eshkol choir, which features a new interpretation of Berry Sakharof’s song, turning it into a prayer for the return of all those abducted and held hostage; and “Light in the Darkness (Hope),” a new, original instrumental piece composed and arranged by Cohen, which is meant to be a prayer for peace, safety, and better days for all of Israel’s people.

Cohen added: “I dedicate it, in my name and in the name of the entire orchestra, to commemorating the souls of the fallen, to the full recovery of those wounded in body, to the speedy return of all our hostages, and for a good future for all of us here. I sincerely hope that you will find moments of comfort in it.”

The visual aspect of the project was produced by the orchestra in collaboration with NLI. The music videos were co-directed by Maor Zaguri and Miri Lazar.