Annelies - Mvmt V: Life in Hiding 

Composed By James Whitbourn
Performed by Choral Arts Ensemble of Portland on October 15, 2023 at Patricia Reser Center for the Arts; David De Lyser, Artistic Director.
Featuring:
Aline Bahamondez, soprano
David Hattner, clarinet
Haeun Jung, violin
Hannah Hillebrand, cello
Jennifer Creek Hughes, piano
Annelies draws its inspiration and most of its text from the world-famous diary of Anne Frank (1929-1945). The first choral interpretation of Anne’s writings, it differs from other familiar versions in several ways. The diary’s first published editions gave pseudonyms to the Annexe’s other residents and edited out passages that might have troubled 1950s sensibilities; later editions are more forthright. All the published versions naturally follow the chronology of events as they unfold. The play and movie versions present her story chronologically as well, focusing on Anne’s relationships with the other seven residents. They offer a portrait of the artist as a young girl, with their peril as Jews simply background. By contrast, Annelies scrambles the chronology, foreshadowing the terrible moment of arrest, recovering memories from Anne’s earliest days, and combining passages into a stream of consciousness. Where other versions foreground the other people in her life, Annelies portrays Anne alone with her thoughts, in hiding but bravely coming to terms with the dangers that surround her. Alone, except for the chorus that follows and echoes her thoughts.