Schoenfield, Paul
Title |
Time |
Play |
| Concerto for Viola and Orchestra | 19:15 | ▼ |
| I. Gan Tzippi | 07:47 | |
| II. Soliloquy | 05:43 | |
| III. King David Dancing Before the Ark | 05:41 | |
| Four Motets | 11:28 | ▼ |
| I. Lento flessible, molto legato | 03:06 | |
| II. Andante, sempre legatissimo e espressivo | 02:16 | |
| III. Larghissimo ma flessibile | 02:15 | |
| IV. Tranquillo | 03:44 | |
| The Merchant and the Pauper | 27:00 | ▼ |
| Act II, Scene 1 | 12:02 | |
| Act II, Scene 4 (excerpt) | 03:06 | |
| Act II, Scene 5 | 11:41 |
Concerto for Viola & Orchestra - Four Motets - The Merchant & the Pauper
Celebrating the richness of traditional Jewish melodies, dances, and folklore, the music of Paul Schoenfield has at the same time been embraced by the world's leading orchestras, conductors, and soloists. These World Premiere Recordings include the Concerto for Viola and Orchestra, commissioned/debuted by Robert Vernon (principal violist of the Cleveland Orchestra); the hauntingly beautiful Four Motets; and scenes from the mystical opera The Merchant and the Pauper, in which a supremely beautiful maiden stranded on an island wilderness is reunited with her betrothed—an allegory of the Jewish people and God, as related in an old Hassidic tale.
Reviews and Recognitions:
"...entertaining and profound....richly sensuous.... I consider this one of the outstanding releases, not only in the Naxos series, but for the year—a major event, I think, in the reception of Schoenfield's music." —Steve Schwartz, ClassicalCDReview.com
"...bold rhythmic dance gestures....light but elegantly precise scoring....warmly romantic, purely tonal and carried off in this performance with considerable aplomb.... All the performances are committed." —Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb.uk.net
"Schoenfield has an individual voice and his intensely moving motets deserve recognition." —Lawrence A. Johnson, Gramophone