Veyn nisht for SATB a cappella is a 6-minute setting based on the melancholic lullaby Kleyner yosem (Little Orphan) by the legendary Polish-Jewish songwriter Mordechaj Gebirtig (18771942). In his interpretation of the Yiddish song, Bernd Franke uses a broad tonal language including aleatoric and scenic elements.

The piece begins with a haunting whisper, which gradually grows into a touching four- to eight-part choral sound. Only at the end does the original melody return, integrated into a f...