Title |
Time |
Play |
T'kiatot | 25:38 | ▼ |
I. Malkhuyyot | 10:30 | |
II. Zikhronot | 08:02 | |
III. Shofarot | 07:01 | |
Psalm of the Distant Dove | 18:42 | ▼ |
Prelude: My Lover Called | 01:20 | |
Days of Cold Are Past | 02:22 | |
Prelude: The Dove Knows Her Mate | 02:29 | |
Distant Dove | 03:59 | |
Elegy | 01:36 | |
Prelude: Birds Struggle | 02:48 | |
Avi, Avi | 04:06 | |
Four Choral Etudes | 07:40 | ▼ |
Yihyu l'ratzon | 01:53 | |
Hodu ladonai | 01:56 | |
B'tzet yisrael | 01:58 | |
Ki lo na'e | 02:02 | |
A Garden Eastward | 16:09 | ▼ |
I. Fantasia | 04:58 | |
II. Scherzo | 04:09 | |
III. Free Variations | 06:30 |
Hugo Weisgall, one of the 20th century's most individualistic and creative composers, united an early affinity for the musical aesthetics of Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern with a lifelong commitment to and fascination with his Jewish heritage. His symphonic masterpiece, T'kiatot, is based on a central section of the traditional Rosh Hashana service in which the shofar (ram's horn) is sounded three times. The aweinspiring blasts of an actual shofar are set within a richly chromatic orchestral texture to brilliant effect. The song cycle Psalm of the Distant Dove, based on biblical and medieval Hebrew-Spanish poetry, celebrates the mystical, age-old relationship between God and His loving but suffering people Israel, represented by the image of a dove. Also inspired by the Golden Age of Spanish Jewry is A Garden Eastward, one of Weisgall's most rhapsodic vocal and orchestral conceptions, which the composer once called his "most beautiful work."
Reviews and Recognitions:
"[Weisgall's] mastery comes out in T'kiatot.... One feels both intellect and passion in the work. For me, it awakens near-atavistic memories." —Steve Schwartz, ClassicalCDReview.com
"The vocal pieces...are beautifully rendered by Ana María Martínez, Phyllis Bryn-Julson and the BBC singers. The chorale etudes, sung by the BBC group, are particularly lovely." —George Robinson, Jewish Week
"The orchestration [of T'kiatot: Rituals for Rosh Hashana] recalls Schoenberg...with its vivid, familiar colors laid on in thick Van Gogh brush-strokes." —Ian Quinn, American Record Guide
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