Yitzhak Yedid CONTEMPORARY MUSIC COMPOSER
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YITZHAK YEDID
The Valley of the Dry Bones (2026-
An Oratorio based on the Book of Ezekiel
in Seven Movements
This work was made possible through the generosity of the Sidney Myer Foundation
Yitzhak Yedid
The Valley of the Dry Bones (2026- )
for Symphony Orchestra, Chorus, Soloists and Narrator
In Seven Movements
Libretto by Stan Grant
I: Lament — Our Bones Have Dried
Existential despair; spiritual death
(Ezekiel 37:1–11)
II: The Prophet — And Ye Shall Live
Promise, spirit, resurrection
(Ezekiel 37:1–14)
III: The Two Sticks Become One
National and moral unification
(Ezekiel 37:15–17)
IV: The Bloody City
Judgment, violence, moral collapse
(Ezekiel 22:1–4, 22:23–31)
V: The Festive Revolt
Grotesque celebration; moral inversion; collective violence as spectacle
VI: Ha’ketz, It Is the End
Final judgment and irreversible conclusion
(Ezekiel 7:2–3; 9:9)
VII: V’natati Shalom Ba’Aretz
And I will give peace in the land
About Melbourne Symphony Orchestra performance
The Valley of the Dry Bones is both strikingly new and deeply familiar. It speaks to something ancient, echoing across traditions, cultures and rituals, as though awakening a memory carried through generations.
Richly coloured and rooted in sacred liturgical traditions, this oratorio unites Eastern and Western musical worlds, harnessing the expressive power of the full MSO, Chorus and The Consort of Melbourne singers to tell a timeless story.
At its core lies a simple but urgent question: how do we choose to live together? The work holds up a mirror, asking not who is right, but what kind of people we wish to become.
Librettist Stan Grant writes:
“Son of man, can these bones live?” As God spoke to Ezekiel in the valley of death, so we ask ourselves today: Is there still life in our world? In The Valley of the Dry Bones, we ask how we can put aside our hate.
We are poisoned by a history that makes enemies of us all. But there is another way. We can put down our weapons. We can release the hold of history. We can still our souls. This oratorio is a journey to reawaken our spirits to the gift of life.”
Featuring
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Eugene Ughetti conductor
Stan Grant narrator
MSO Chorus
The Consort of Melbourne
Warren Trevelyan-Jones chorus director
Kate Ben-Tovim creative producer
