The music on this CD is a joyous celebration of Zionist dreams and hopes, as well as of daily life in Israel. From the mystical nostalgia of Old Jerusalem to the rambunctious energy of Yom b’kibbutz (A Day on a Kibbutz), this delightful program takes listeners on an unforgettable musical voyage to the land of Israel.

“Max Helfman’s ‘Israel Suite’ features some sophisticated choral writing... Julius Chajes’ ‘Hebrew Suite’ is evocative... The real surprise on the CD is Herbert Fromm’s delicate ‘Yemenite Suite.’ As usual with the Milken sets, the performances are excellent...” — George Robinson, The Jewish Week (6/16/06)

“Four stars. This is one of the most appealing of the continuing series... [Weill’s Hatikva is]...moving... [Fromm’s Pioneers features] some lovely flute solos... The concluding work on the disc is an eleven-minute romp from Sholom Secunda, a composer remembered primarily for his association with the American Yiddish musical theater. The piece...is designed to depict programmatically life on a typical kibbutz. Well, this seems to be a really swinging kibbutz, what with shades of Harold Arlen, Gershwin and Bernstein in the rollicking and jazzy score!” — John Sunier, Audiophile Audition

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