Shana tova!
This week on “The Lost Chord,” we welcome the year 5785 with an hour of music for the Jewish High Holy Days.
Herman Berlinski (1910-2001) was a prolific composer, who made his mark largely in the field of liturgical music. His “Shofar Service” (1964) is scored for baritone, shofar, two trumpets, organ, and chorus. The shofar, traditionally fashioned out of a ram’s horn, is sounded, as applies here, during the Rosh Hashana or New Year service. The text is compiled from the Union Prayer Book.
David Stock (1939-2015), a longtime resident of Pittsburgh, served on the faculty of Duquesne University. He was founder of the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, and acted as composer in residence for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the Seattle Symphony. “Yizkor” (1999), Stock’s elegy for string orchestra, takes its name from the communal memorial service and prayer that honors the deceased. The custom is notably observed on Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement.
Finally, we’ll turn to “The Chagall Windows” (1974), luminous, strange, and beautiful impressions of stained glass tableaux from the synagogue of the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, by the English pianist and composer John McCabe (1938-2015). The windows depict the twelve sons of the patriarch Jacob and the Twelve Tribes of Israel. McCabe addresses the windows in interlinked sections, so as to give the work a more symphonic, perhaps less episodic, feel.
The world premiere recording was made for EMI in 1974. We’ll hear a live performance from the next year, captured in a more natural acoustic, with the London Philharmonic conducted by Bernard Haitink.
Best wishes for a sweet, happy, and healthy new year. It’s a fresh start, from tekeeyah to atonement, on “Shofar, So Good” – music for the High Holy Days – on “The Lost Chord,” now in syndication on KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon!
Clip and save the start times for all three of my recorded shows:
PICTURE PERFECT, the movie music show – Friday at 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT
SWEETNESS AND LIGHT, the light music program – ALL NEW! – Saturday at 11:00 AM EDT/8:00 AM PDT
THE LOST CHORD, unusual and neglected rep – Saturday at 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT
Stream them, wherever you are, at the link!
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