Fluidly traversing meaning from one artistic medium to another, Lera Auerbach's Symphony No. 6, Vessels of Light, and her sculpture Silent Psalm, are intricately interwoven, merging the Judaic concept of Tikkun Olam (the repairing of the world) with Kintsugi, the Japanese technique also known as Kintsukuroi, (Golden Repair) that illuminates the scars of breakage instead of masking them, thus enhancing the beauty and uniqueness of the object. Like the symphony's interwoven melodic threads of the cello line that repair the broken stanzas of the Yiddish poems vocalized in the symphony, the sculpture represents the historic arch that binds the suffering and survival of the Jewish people scattered across the world yet remains mysteriously, multiculturally united.

Psalm 121 of David, the Song of Ascents, "I lift my eyes to the mountains – where does my help come from?" provides a vital element of the symphony's construct, remaining silent as a metaphor for the unspeakable, fragmented, and in shards. "After completing the Psalm, I shattered it; its fragmented musical material – without words – appears in the interludes, with the solo cello in a binding embrace that holds the different parts together, making them more robust and creating a sense of unity," explains Auerbach.

The inspiration behind these works comes from a commission by Yad Vashem – The World Holocaust Remembrance Center to commemorate the actions of Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara (1900-1986), who defied orders as the vice-consul of Japan in Kaunas, Lithuania, during World War II by issuing transit visas through Japanese territory to persecuted Jews fleeing Europe, saving thousands of lives. Yet, beyond this immediate context, Auerbach transcends the commemorative momentum through the transformative power of art, revealing the human condition as a moral quest for beauty and repair, the essence of humanity, even amidst destruction and violence.

The sculpture is a crafted bronze sheet of music, anchored by its stand, with Auerbach's original music score for the 121st Psalm and its text engraved in Hebrew. Broken into shards and repaired with Kintsugi, it exposes its cracks – a patinaed golden thread in the shape of a Magen David (Star of David) appears.

Auerbach would like to unveil Silent Psalm for the first time in synchrony with the Prague premiere of Vessels of Light and Yad Vashem's Righteous Among the Nations exhibit. The sculpture is an integral part of the artistic concept that inspired both interrelated works, showcasing the artist's exceptional talent to seamlessly shift meaning and medium between music, art, and poetry.

Text by: Ilona Oltuski