The WORLD PREMIERE RECORDING of Stefan Wolpe’s orchestral suite from the ballet The Man from Midian reveals a superbly crafted concert work by one of the 20th century’s most fascinating composers. Also featured on this CD are excerpts from the concert suite from the ballet Moïse by Darius Milhaud. Both ballets are based on the life of Moses and were born out of two unique commissions during the 1940s. The historical development of both works is chronicled in an extensive essay by Neil W. Levin. Recorded here for the first time are excerpts from the opera-ballet The Vision of Ariel by Lazare Saminsky, a leading figure in the groundbreaking Society for Jewish Folk Music in St. Petersburg before he immigrated to the United States, where he exerted a profound influence on music of American Reform worship. Three soulful Hassidic dances by Chicago-born Leon Stein open the CD celebration of Jewish dance in America.

“The Milhaud score contains typical harmonic inventiveness amid eastern tinges and majestic flourishes. Wolpe's setting is alternately spare and dense, bristling with energy and atmosphere, deftly scored (including saxophones). The disc's other two works are immediately appealing: Leon Stein's Three Hassidic Dances are fully of swirling and poetic orchestral activity; excerpts from Lazare Saminsky's operaballet The Vision of Ariel exude radiance, pride and dramatic intensity, with help from a tenor soloist, chorus and orchestra. There's no shortage of spiritual or artistic commitment, and the copious programme-notes are excellent." — Donald Rosenberg, Gramophone (Dec. 2006)

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