Prayer (Kaddish)

In this, as in some of his other works, Raskatov strives to attain to a kind of timelessness. The music of 'Kaddish' (Prayer), which owes a great deal to its Hebrew origins, has certain archaic traits. The use of progressive string techniques enables the composer to create a wide expressive spectrum ranging from the declamation at the beginning to a number of surprising effects. The vocal parts are also rather volatile.