“Their music is southern, suffused with brilliant light, like the air of the Mediterranean lands, translucent, striving for clarity—”
This description of the “Mediterranean style” in music comes from the eminent critic Max Brod, and it applies to varying degrees to the three sacred services featured here by Israeli composers Paul Ben-Haim, Marc Lavry, and Yehezkel Braun. The popularity of their music owes much to the novelty of exotic sounds, idioms, and reflections of the land of Israel and of the wider Jewish orient, all finely crafted in the beloved forms of the Western classical tradition. This is spiritual music that easily transports the heart and senses to the Holy Land. All three services were commissioned and premiered in the United States.

"Paul Ben-Haim's Kabbalat Shabbat blends grave and hearty narratives with folksy writing of tender appeal. The chants and cantorial lines in Marc Lavry's Sabbath Eve Sacred Service possess a romantic warmth and fervour that verge on the Mahlerian. In ways both rhythmic and harmonic, Yehezkel Braun's Hallel Service is the most adventurous of the three, with tricky metrical changes and contrasting atmospheres that vividly depict the passions in the texts...superb choral singing... There's no shortage of spiritual or artistic commitment, and the copious programme-notes are excellent." — Donald Rosenberg, Gramophone (Dec. 2006)

“The music [of Ellstein’s The Golem]...portrays complex character and conflict within character. I’d love to hear the whole thing... The scoring [of Strassburg’s Chelm] is spare, clean, and bright as new paint...All the ensembles are tight and dramatic...” — Steve Schwartz, ClassicalCDReview.com (June 2005)

“…a dramatic, complex and dissonant work...The orchestration is brilliant, and without actually seeing the score, I can observe that singers and instrumentalists alike gave a superior account of this dramatic score... The vocal lines along with the vivid orchestration faithfully reflect the drama as well as the spirit of the text... It is a work of substance and stature... The University of Michigan orchestra was superbly led by its conductor, Kenneth Kiesler... The arrangement [of Robert Strasbourg’s Chelm]…is nothing less than brilliant... The style of the music in Chelm is clever as well as being melodic...The soloists…sang beautifully.” — Morton Gold, Jewish Post and Opinion (Indianapolis, Indiana)

“Strassburg ably manipulates simple, catchy folk tunes to reveal depths of character. The golem’s advances on the Rabbi’s daughter and subsequent confrontation with the Rabbi provide the most lushly operatic and musically inventive music on this recording, hinting at what could be a thrilling theatrical experience in toto. Both symphony orchestras perform with sweep and enthusiasm... Special mention must go to the chamber players of Chelm, who, in an orchestration reconstructed expressly for this recording, capture the silliness of the famously puddingheaded town residents in their jaunty rendering.” — Joanne Sydney Lessner, Opera News

“The excerpts presented here give us a pretty good feeling for the operatic ambitions of these three composers. Ellstein’s music is of a modern idiom, though at moments it turns Romantic in vein. The vocal parts are declamatory and fluid in style, following the text more by inflection than by anything resembling conventional melody or formal aria. Soloists are all singers of fine voice and well trained. Strassburg’s music is as delightful as the libretto. There is a sincere, if naïve, innocence to the score that is a bit reminiscent of Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors—very touching. Karen Longwell, as Leah, and Matthew Chelis, as David, are both charming, as are Richard Lalli and Carla Wood, as Berel and Khava (the goat). Tamkin’s score seems appropriate to the subject—lots of lush orchestral writing, punctuated by periodic blood-curdling shrieks, hysterical outbursts, and heightened declamatory singing, somewhat reminiscent of Strauss’s Elektra... I really enjoyed this disc, and if the opportunity presented itself, I’d gladly go to see any of these operas staged and complete. As excerpts, they whetted my appetite to hear more, so I’m pleased to note that this is labeled ‘Jewish Operas, Volume 1.’ Recommended.” — Jerry Dubins, Fanfare (Nov/Dec 2004)

Click here to view all available releases in the Milken Archive Series at ArkivMusic.

This new CD, released on Naxos American Classics, features world premiere recordings of three works by the neo-Romantic, Russian-American Jewish composer Jacob Weinberg (1879-1956), including his sweeping, virtuosic second piano concerto, with its echoes of Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, performed here by Mexican-born pianist Jorge Federico Osorio. This composition, which fell into oblivion after its 1947 premiere, was rediscovered and prepared for performance by the Milken Archive. After considerable research and detective work, a manuscript copy of the score was located in the AMLI Music Library in Haifa, Israel, and an engraved full orchestral score and complete set of orchestral parts was made. Based on timeless Jewish musical motifs from the High Holy Day liturgy, as well as stirring folk melodies of Zionist pioneers, both this piano concerto and the string quartet that follows it illustrate the composer's masterful blending of western musical idioms and Jewish musical sources, both secular and religious. Also heard are excerpts from Weinberg's sabbath service, Shabbat Ba'aretz (Sabbath in the Holy Land), in which he musically bridges the gap between the ancient, sacred foundations of the Jewish people and the vitality of a modern Jewish state.

In addition to Mr. Osorio, participating artists on this disc include the Barcelona Symphony/National Orchestra of Catalonia, Karl Anton Rickenbacher, conductor; the Bingham String Quartet; baritone Patrick Mason; and the BBC Singers, conducted by Kenneth Kiesler.

“...a flamboyant late-romantic piano concerto... The first movement ends in Technicolor brilliance while the second includes a fanciful and delicate little dance... The performance is completely committed... Weinberg’s String Quartet has a middle movement of considerable inwardness and two outer movements that are not merely ripely romantic but bursting with ardent intensity. The last movement has an abruptly declamatory tone which reminded me of Shostakovich... Mason infuses every word with conviction [in Shabbat Ba’aretz]... The choral singing is unbridled... This collection...succeeds for Weinberg through the romantic ardour of his concerto and quartet.” — Rob Barnett, MusicWeb.uk.net (November 2005)

“We now have before us two major works and excerpts from a third—all premiere recordings — that go a long way towards developing a fleshed out portrait from what had been a skeletal sketch... [Piano Concerto No. 2] ...a highly attractive and entertaining work... [String Quartet, Op. 55] ...a deeply serious, tightly integrated, and rapturously beautiful example of string quartet writing... All of the artists involved in this release are top-drawer. Jorge Federico Osorio makes a strong case for the Piano Concerto... The Bingham Quartet plays superbly in the Quartet, and the BBC Singers, here joined by baritone Patrick Mason, as always, are outstanding. The Naxos recording is fully dimensional, and the notes by Dr. Neil Levin are, if it’s possible, even more informative than usual... Strongly recommended.” — Jerry Dubins, Fanfare

“...enjoyable stuff... Another worthwhile addition to Naxos’ valuable Milken Archive of American Jewish Music series.” — John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune

Click here to view all available releases in the Milken Archive Series at ArkivMusic.

Includes work(s) by M. Castelnuovo-Tedesco. Soloist: Barbara Harbach.

Includes work(s) by David Diamond. Ensembles: Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Rochester Singers. Conductors: Gerard Schwarz, Samuel Adler.

Jazz icon, pianist and composer Dave Brubeck wrote this cantata in an attempt to heal the rift between the Jewish people and American blacks that emerged after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968. Based on biblical and Hebrew liturgical texts, together with quotations from Dr. King’s speeches, Negro spirituals and the Jewish sage Hillel, with lyrics by Brubeck’s wife Iola, it was intended to underscore and resurrect the spiritual parallels between Jews and blacks. The work draws on their shared history of enslavement and dispersion, their ongoing quest for social justice, and similarities in their forms of musical expression.

Click here to view all available releases in the Milken Archive Series at ArkivMusic.

A major monument to a sacred Jewish and musical legacy, this unique recording of a complete Rosh Hashana musaf service according to eastern European practice in its American phase comprises the entire liturgy of this integral synagogue event of the High Holy Days. Featuring world-renowned Hazzan Alberto Mizrahi and a 45-voice choir in settings by Moses J. Silverman, Joshua Lind, Max Helfman, Moshe Ganchoff, Isaac Kaminsky and many others, together with familiar congregational melodies as well as traditional cantorial improvisations and recitations, this replicated service has been recorded to the highest standards of liturgical and musical authenticity. A comprehensive booklet with a detailed explanatory essay, program notes, commentary and biographical information is included, along with a new translation of the entire Rosh Hashana musaf liturgy.