Ben-Haim: Symphony No. 1; Fanfare To Israel, Symphonic Metamorphosis / Yinon, North German Radio Symphony

$18.99
Label
CPO
Release Date
October 25, 2011
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BEN-HAIM Symphony No. 1. Fanfare to Israel. Symphonic Metamorphoses on Bach’s Chorale “Wer nun den lieben Gott lasst walten” • Israel Yinon, cond; NDR RPO Hannover • CPO 777417 (57:37)


I don’t believe Israel honors any of its composers with the title “laureate,” as it does its poets, but Paul Ben-Haim (1897–1984) did win the Israel Prize for music in 1957. Born Paul Frankenburger in Munich, he emigrated in 1933 to what was then still the British Mandate of Palestine, escaping Germany before the worst of what was to happen there. Prior to that, he had served as assistant conductor to both Hans Knappertsbusch and Bruno Walter in the early 1920s. After moving to Palestine, he took the name Ben-Haim, which in Hebrew means “son of life,” and became an Israeli citizen in 1948 when the nation gained its independence.


Though basically cast in a late-Romantic style, Ben-Haim’s music—which some have compared to that of a slightly more modern Ernest Bloch—is colored by Middle Eastern influences of a generic nature and, more specifically, by ancient Jewish motifs and the contemporary songs and dances of Israel’s kibbutzim workers during the early years of the fledgling state.


These influences may be heard in Ben-Haim’s First Symphony, as, for example, in the second movement, which quotes a traditional Persian Jewish song, I Will Lift Up My Eyes unto the Hills, from Psalm 121. The symphony, in three movements, was completed in 1940. Its first movement is a powerful Allegro energico filled with what sounds like a good deal of anger—the composer admitted he was not unaffected by contemporary events unfolding in Germany and France—but also music of deep lament.


I tried to place it in reference to other works written around this time, but I had a hard time doing so. There are certain aspects of its orchestration and elements of its harmonic dissonance and rhythmic agitation that remind me a bit of some roughly contemporaneous works written by American composers, such as the Hungarian-born George Barati, or perhaps David Diamond. But in the end, Ben-Haim’s music is his own, and this is a profoundly moving score with an elegiac slow movement marked Molto calmo e cantabile, and a whirlwind tarantella finale reminiscent of the last movement of Mendelssohn’s “Italian” Symphony, except dark and evil. This spider is a venomous black widow, at least until the final chord when its poison is drained away by a major triad cadence.


Fanfare to Israel is an occasional piece written in 1950 for the Israel Defense Forces brass band. Its marchlike, festive atmosphere at a time of national confidence and upbeat mood led Ben-Haim to arrange the piece for full orchestra. Following the example of Ravel’s Bolero , the work is a constantly recurring melody that builds steadily in power.


The Symphonic Metamorphoses , written in 1968, is Ben-Haim’s tribute to Bach, whom he considered history’s greatest composer. The theme, “Wer nun den lieben Gott lasst walten,” is taken from its already ornamented version found in the Orgelbüchlein for Wilhelm Friedemann Bach. Ben-Haim subjects the chorale to three main metamorphic variations based on Baroque forms—passacaglia, capriccio, and ricercare. Interspersed among them are two recitatives, while the entire work is bookended by the chorale statement at the beginning and a coda at the end. The work is continuous—i.e., one section flows into the next without necessarily calling attention to itself—but what Ben-Haim creates, in effect, is a Baroque suite, albeit one that is derived entirely from the opening chorale, while giving the impression of being through-composed.


Being of considerably later date than either the symphony or the fanfare, the Symphonic Metamorphoses is somewhat more modernistic in its musical vocabulary and, I would have to say, not as immediately accessible as the earlier works. But after listening to it three times, it definitely began to gel, and I became aware of passages as arresting and moving as any in the symphony.


It’s doubtful that these works are new to disc, but currently I find none others listed. As always, cpo can be counted on to come through with superb recordings of little-known repertoire, and the company has done so again with really well-performed readings of these scores by the North German Radio Philharmonic Orchestra of Hannover, led by Israel Yinon. Very strongly recommended.


FANFARE: Jerry Dubins


Product Description:

  • Release Date: October 25, 2011


  • UPC: 761203741724


  • Catalog Number: 777417-2


  • Label: CPO


  • Number of Discs: 1


  • Composer: Paul, Ben-Haim


  • Performer: Ndr Radiophilharmonie Hannover, Yinon