Matt Haimovitz: 'Neighbors'

A new EP from cellist Matt Haimovitz brings a community together to pay tribute to the people of Minneapolis and Saint Paul during their 2026 ICE occupation.

The three pieces on Neighbors are performed by colleagues and students from the University of Minnesota, bring themes of community, remembrance and the power of collective voice.

Composer Luna Pearl Woolf (who I interviewed in January 2021) reimagined Ernest Bloch’s Prayer for violin, cello and choir. Haimovitz says: “The violin line joins the cello in solidarity, the choir replaces the wordless piano, transforming the accompaniment into the harmonious incantation of a congregation.”

The resulting first track on this EP is renamed Neighbors: A Prayer, using words from librettist David Van Taylor, based on the words of Minneapolis activists.

Julius Klengel’s Hymnus (1920) is an evocative, wordless piece for twelve cellos, performed by Haimovitz and his students. 

I am Spirit follows, composed by former Minnesotan David C Dickau, bringing together violin, cello, soprano and choir. The individual’s spirit “awakens” with “the ferocity of your dignity” and seems to speak to the power of collectively overcoming darkness.

I interviewed Matt Haimovitz for Harmonious World in August 2022 about his wonderful cello works and it’s a pleasure to have heard Neighbors now.

‘Neighbors’ is available online from Pentatone Music