header logo

The Survivor: song by Anthony Ritchie and Primo Levi

music by Anthony Ritchie, for 8-part SSAATTBB choir unaccompanied, Opus 186

Poem by Primo Levi

Click this link to the Aquarius choir's recording of The Survivor on Spotify

The famous poem by Levi was written as a result of his experiences in Auschwitz in 1944-45. Levi escaped death, but was haunted by traumatic memories for the rest of his life. In The Survivor Levi dreams of his lost companions at Auschwitz, their faces in the dust and the mist. He tells them to leave his mind, and is haunted by feelings of guilt at being a survivor while others died. The song is unified by a recurring refrain Once more he sees his companions' faces.

The Survivor was requested by Marc Michael de Smet, the Musical Director of the choir Aquarius, from Belgium. It was written for performances in Belgium, and also for inclusion on a CD recording of choral works by Anthony Ritchie.

This composition was supported by The University of Otago.

Dedicated to Marc Michael de Smet

Buy the right to download a pdf online using one of these options:

Purchase the right to make/use copies for your choir:

Orders are saved in a secure Paypal shopping cart which is viewed on a separate browser tab. When you have finished shopping, simply Check Out for a Secure Guest check out using your credit card, or to use an existing Paypal account choose Paypal Check Out.
Orders are processed every 5 minutes. An email with a link to each file should arrive within 6 minutes of checking out. If it does not arrive we will likely notice during a New Zealand working day but please send an email to bellbirdpublications at gmail dot com if you have any problems with ordering.