Composer's Note: Amulet is a setting of the poem of the same name by the distinguished American poet Barbara Goldberg and is used with her kind permission. The poem, included below, powerfully implores God to spare us from our weaknesses and to grant us more time on this earth. The opening line suggests a connection to the narrative of the escape of the Jews from Egypt that is commemorated in the festival of Passover. Yet, it also has a terrible contemporary resonance with the Covid-19 plague. And, it also refers to the ever-present vice of envy warned about in the last of the Ten Commandments: "Thou shalt not covet." Commissioned and premiered by the New York Treble Singers, Amulet was composed during a residency at the Virginia Center for Creative Arts with support from the Virginia Commission for the Arts Reviews: “Amulet (poem by Barbara Goldberg and music by Judith Shatin) was an a cappella selection with delicious tight harmonies and sung with care….” –Ken Hoover, CVNC, An Onlines Arts Journal in North Carolina “….The poem alludes to Passover and lays out a plea to escape from the evils of greed and envy. The WVC Chamber Choir sang this richly harmonized and abundantly meaningful piece of music with passion…’ –Ken Hoover, Choral Music Review, Online Arts Journal
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