A conference in Jerusalem - L'Italia in Israele - the reaearch of Leo Levi into Italian Jewish musical tradition..and more

L’Italia in Israele (Italy in Israel) – The Contribution of Italian Jews to the Establishment and Development of the State of Israel - was a two-day conference in Jerusalem, June 27th and 28th 2012, at Mishkenot Sha’ananim, an international cultural and conference centre established by the Jerusalem Foundation nestling in the Yemin Moshe quarter. The venue offers spectacular views of the Tower of David, the Jerusalem Old City walls and the Judean Desert. Among the various subjects discussed, the conference placed emphasis on the story of a specific Jewish community from Puglia (also known as Apulia), a mountainous region in the “boot heel” of the peninsula of Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea. During the Fascist era, a group of several dozen Catholic peasants in San Nincandro collectively converted to Judaism and immigrated en masse to the newly created State of Israel.

Instrumental in the conference was Professor Silvia Godelli, regional minister for the Mediterranean, Culture and Tourism in the Puglia region. Ambassador of Italy in Israel – Luigi Mattiolo – was also in attendance. In his notes in the conference brochure, Eliahu C. Benzimra, chairman of the Association of Italian Jews, talks of the local Italian community as being prominent in its unique artistic- and professional contribution to culture, society, science, technology and agriculture, despite the modesty of its numbers. He adds that, through preservation of the tradition of worship at the Conegliano Veneto Synagogue in Jerusalem, members of the Italian community have held onto their deep connection with a Jewish cultural heritage that goes back two thousand years. The Conegliano Veneto Synagogue and the U.Nahon Museum of Italian Jewish Art provide an important meeting centre for the Jerusalem Italian community and the Israeli community in general. Living in a new reality, Italian immigrants to Israel have continued to undertake promoting the values that have made Italy a symbol of culture.

In the hall adjacent to the auditorium, a photographic exhibition titled “Italy-Israel: Sixty Years of Relations”, presented by the Italian Embassy, perpetuating the presence of Italian Jews in some of the most important events of Israel’s history, greeted guests to the conference. The exhibition was first shown at the Knesset in honor of the visit to Israel of Giorgio Napolitano, President of the Italian Republic in 2008.

In “Hand in Hand with Italian Culture”, chaired by Dr. Carmela Callea, director of the Italian Cultural Institute (Tel Aviv), various areas of involvement of the Italian community were addressed. First to speak was art historian Dr. Andreina Contessa, chief curator of the U. Nahon Museum of Italian Jewish Art. Professor Sandra Debenedetti Stow of Bar Ilan University then spoke about Jewish scholars, also about linguistics and the translation of sacred- and secular Italian texts at Israeli universities. Dr. Flavia Cevidalli Lwow, of the Israel Museum, spoke about artists and art dealers, the presence of Italians in the plastic arts and in all important fields in Israeli culture – in architecture, cinema, painting, Judaic art, archeology, etc. - and mentioned contributions made by Italian Jews to the Israel Museum, such as the Vera and Arturo Schwartz Collection of Dada and Surrealist Art. Finally, we heard ethnomusicologist Dr. Massimo Acanafora Torrefranca, of The Herzliya Interdisciplinary Centre, in a talk summing up the work of Leo Levi. Musicologist Leo Levi (1912-1982) was the first scholar to research Italian Jewish oral traditions. He did not limit himself to any one approach, nor did he censor or filter the 1100 recordings he made in the 1950s in 20 centres of Italian Jewish life, focusing on 27 different Jewish musical traditions throughout Italy. Levi recorded old and new music, analyzing harmonic structure, intervals, sociological aspects and the way verbal texts were used and interpreted. Levi’s research resulted in the first and only aural documentation of the cross-cultural spectrum of Italian Jewish music, that of the synagogue, of private homes, liturgy, life-cycle traditions and its use of Hebrew and Judeo-Italian languages; much of this orally transmitted heritage was being lost over the first half of the 20th century. Levi settled in Palestine in 1936, returning to Italy, where he connected with other important ethnomusicologists interested in “music of the people”. His recordings are preserved in the archives of Ethnomusicology Archives of the Santa Cecilia National Academy (Rome) and the National Sound Archives of Jerusalem in the Jewish Music Research Centre of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Leo Levi died in Jerusalem.

Tying in with focus on southern Italy, an evening event on June 27th provided conference-goers with a unique musical experience, presented by the Pizzica Musical Ensemble “Kalàscima”, a folk band from Salento in southern Italy: Riccardo Laganà-percussion and vocals, Luca Buccarella-accordion and vocals, Massimiliano de Marco-guitar, Irish bouzouki and vocals and Valentina Cariulo-dance, violin, vocals. The pizzica, a popular Italian folk dance that originated in the Salento region and spread through Puglia and eastern Basilicata, is danced by a couple (not necessarily of opposite sexes); belonging to the tarantella type of dance that is part of village- and family celebrations, it is also a therapeutic dance, its energy and speed traditionally used to heal a person bitten by a tarantula spider. There has been a recent revival of interest in pizzica music and dance as part of the neo-“tarantism” movement. (Tarantism, widespread in southern Italy from the 15th to 17th centuries, has actually been defined as a nervous disorder marked by uncontrollable body movements. It is popularly thought to have been caused by the bite of the tarantula). But back to the conference performance in Jerusalem. The cloth we saw held and incorporated to the dance by Valentina Cariulo is a symbol of both distance and communication. The style of singing used by the ensemble was no bel canto technique, rather a technique used for singing folk music, the sound being forthright and produced largely in the throat. Most of the songs performed were highly strophic, energetic and exuberant, with a pleasing mix of earthy singing and instrumental timbres; and there was much improvisation. Centered around on the subject of love, its carefree joy and its complications, the songs were sung in regional dialect. The audience, largely made up of Italian-born Israelis, wasted no time in becoming a part of the good humour – people clapped to the catchy rhythms and a few, unable to stay seated, got up and danced.

The conference concluded with the screening of “Lookout to San Nicandro. Eti’s Journey”, a film produced by Vincenzo Condorelli in 2009. Film director and producer Vincenzo Condorelli lives and works in London.
The film traces the history of the above-mentioned small rural community in San Nicandro Garganico pronouncing itself to believe in the Jewish faith, despite having no previous connections with Judaism. Under the leadership of Donato Manduzio, an almost illiterate farm laborer, many members of the community converted to Judaism, the only case of its kind in modern times. The documentary features descendants of the community living on both sides of the Mediterranean – in the Galilee, to where some of the families immigrated following World War II, and in the Gargano region of the Province of Puglia. Eti, a student of Cinema at the Tel Hai College, is working on her final course project – a film dedicated to her grandparents living in Safed, who, as children, came to Israel with the San Nicandro group. Thus begins granddaughter Eti’s physical-, psychological- and historical journey - the search for her roots.

Liszt's oratorio "Christus" performed at the 2012 Israel Festival

The Israeli premiere of Franz Liszt’s oratorio “Christus” took place June 5th in the Henry Crown Auditorium of the Jerusalem Theatre. With the Transylvania State Philharmonic Choir of Cluj-Napoca (supported by the Romanian Cultural Institute, Tel Aviv), the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra IBA and soloists under the baton of Meir Minsky, it was one of the more prominent events of the 2012 Israel Festival.

Considered by most a composer of piano music, Franz Liszt (1811-1886) possessed genius that extended well beyond the piano: his oeuvre of 1000 works covered most genres. Prior to his composing “Christus”, he composed “The Legend of St. Elisabeth” around 1854. “Christus”, however, has remained his most important sacred work. Despite his roller-coaster personal life, Franz Liszt was a deeply religious man, joining the Franciscan order in 1865, taking the name Abbé Liszt. He composed “Christus” between 1859 and 1863 to a libretto drawn from the Bible, Catholic liturgy and various medieval hymns. Except for brief passages in “Das Wunder” (The Wonder) and “Tristis est anima mea” (Sad is My Soul), where the soloist portrays the figure of Christ, the soloists do not represent individuals. There are also no recitatives. Not performed frequently enough, the work displays the composer’s fine orchestral- and choral writing and constitutes a major Romantic sacred work. A massive three-part celebration of the life and works of Christ, the oratorio, calling for large forces, is as distinctive in its orchestral movements as it is as a choral work. Even by 19th century standards, the forces required for “Christus” are exceptional: double winds with cor anglais, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones and tuba, timpani, bass drum, cymbals, tubular bells, harp and harmonium.

“Christus” comprises symphonic-type movements (until “Christus”, no oratorio had contained whole instrumental movements), large choral/orchestral movements, a cappella movements and more intimate, prayerful sections accompanied by organ. The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra gave a splendid performance, its wind sections excelling collectively and in solos, the Transylvania State Philharmonia Choir of Cluj-Napoca as compelling in its precise, dramatic expression as in the sensitive singing of meditative sections – such as the “Pater Noster”. The four splendid vocal soloists, all opera singers performing widely in Europe, proved well suited to the musical demands of the work and its orchestral dimensions. For the first half of the performance, soloists soprano Talia Or (Israel), tenor George Oniani (Georgia) and bass-baritone Roman Trekel (Germany) sang from the balcony, moving down to the stage and joined by mezzo-soprano Iris Vermillion (Israel) after intermission.

Not your mainstream oratorio, and not familiar to many of the festival-goers attending the Jerusalem concert, the listener needed to allow the work to transport him into the pace of its musical language and rhetoric; once achieved, the rewards were then numerous. There being no “story”, the sequence of aural images invited the listener to create his own “tableaux” of the story.

There were many high moments in the Israel Festival performance…too many to mention here. Roman Trekel’s performance, for example, of the chromatic (at times atonal) “Tristis est anima mea” was convincing and soul-searching. The final chorus, the fugal “Resurrexit” also had the audience sitting at the edge of its seats, with the Cluj singers and orchestra ringing out triumphant. But the performance was no less effective in movements of pared-down textures, these punctuating the work’s grandness to reveal Liszt’s more personal message of the divinity of love. Writing “Christus” in Rome, Liszt, having “solved the greater part of the Symphony problem”, was now involved in solving the “Oratorio problem…to which I must sacrifice everything else”. The composer, aware of the shifts of the cultural climate of his time, wrote “When and where [Christus] will ever be heard is of no importance to me.” The critics did indeed reject the work, Liszt’s aesthetic and his vision of the future. Perhaps “Christus” can now claim the place in concert repertoire denied it for much too long. The Jerusalem performance would certainly justify that.

The Transylvania State Philharmonic Choir of Cluj-Napoka at the 2012 Israel Festival

As one of the events of the 2012 Israel Festival, the Transylvania State Philharmonic Choir of Cluj-Napoca, supported by the Romanian Cultural Institute Tel Aviv, performed a concert of a cappella music June 2nd at the Mary Nathaniel Golden Hall of Friendship of the Jerusalem International YMCA. The Cluj Philharmonic Choir, founded in 1972, no newcomer to Israeli concert halls, has been directed by Maestro Cornel Groza since 1986.

The choir, numbering some 50 singers, performed a variety of short works, ranging from Baroque repertoire to contemporary music. Of the secular pieces, we heard Henry Purcell’s (1659-1695) “In These Delightful Pleasant Groves” from “The Libertine”, not as light-of-foot and crisp as might suit the English madrigal style. Moving comfortably into the realm of sacred music, the choir captured the smooth, dramatic expression of Christoph Willibald Gluck’s (1714-1787) “De Profundis” (Psalm 129), then performing the passionate “Rejoice, O Virgin” from Sergei Rachmaninoff’s “Vespers” opus 37 (1915), the latter sung in church Slavonic, its wide dynamic-, harmonic- and vocal range (low bass notes, in particular) creating the uplifting grandeur of homophonic Russian Orthodox singing. Hungarian composer Lajos Bárdos (1899-1986) was a pupil of Zoltán Kodály; influenced by Kodály, Bárdos was instrumental in the development of choral singing in Hungary, the singing of folk songs and publishing of Hungarian choral music. In Bárdos’ setting of “Libera me” (Deliver me) from his Requiem (1935), the Cluj Choir gave close attention to the work’s layering, contrasts and accents, its dissonances and glissandos to depict fear of the Day of Judgment:
‘…I am made to tremble and I fear
Till the judgment be upon us and the coming wrath:
When the heavens and earth shall be shaken…’
The mood changes, becoming more soothing, the music more harmonious in the final words:
‘…let light perpetual shine upon them.’
In Felix Mendelssohn’s eight-part (single choir) German setting of Psalm 43 “Richte mich Gott” (Judge Me O God), one of Mendelssohn’s group of three unaccompanied Psalm settings, the stern words sung by the men are contrasted with gentle harmonies sung by the women, then moving into the more optimistic realm of F major, preparing the listener for the final chorale. The Cluj singers drew on their palette of lush, Romantic timbres, giving their singing a warm, glowing color. No less convincing was Groza’s reading of American composer Randall Thompson’s “Ye Shall Have a Song” from “The Peaceable Kingdom” of 1935 (inspired by the early American preacher and painter Edward Hicks), its imitation and word-painting, its smoothness and haunting, chordal elements and melodic lines weaving scintillating and subtle reverence throughout.


Works of Romanian composers were of particular interest, most of which were unfamiliar to local audiences. From the Cluj-Napoca region, Sigismund Toduţă (1908-1991) refers to Gregorian- and Byzantine musical elements in his music. The melismatic “Archaisme” (Archaisms) (1942), to a text by Mihai Celarianu narrating the artist’s dialogue with God, bristles with perfect intervals, gentle clusters, insistent ostinatos, jagged utterances and the clear outlining of key words. One of Romania’s most prominent modern composers, Vasile Herman (1929-2010), was a member of faculty of the Cluj Conservatory. We heard numbers 1 and 3 of his “Verses of Longing” (1971), the fabric of which comprises a mix of definite- and indefinite pitches, “falling” clusters, effects – instrumental, speech and otherwise – declamation and imitation. The Cluj Choir’s performance of the work was articulate and well crafted. Another composer important for his synthesis of concert music with folk-traditional music and village ritual is Tudor Jarda (1922-2007), whose “Bride’s Song and Dance” displayed an interesting use of choral textures, the choir using word sounds as a textural, percussive device. Also excellently performed – a colorful canvas of Romanian songs – was Dariu Pop’s (1887-1965) "Choral Suite from Tara Oaşului" (a northern region of Romania), presenting a number of songs and dance rhythms in regional modes, using folk lyrics, whimsical instrumental effects and some touching, nostalgic solos. Gheorghe Dango’s (1905-1959) music focuses largely on that of the Prahova County. “Sârba pe loc”, representing the Eastern European Sârba dance, was peppered with the agility of fast-flowing syllables. György Orbán (b.1947) is a Hungarian of Romanian origin. Picturing the devil’s temptations, “Daemon Irrepit Callidus”, to a text by an anonymous 17th century poet, the composer makes unique use of syllables and other textural devices to create a feisty chromatic, sometimes jazzy soundscape:
‘The devil sneaks expertly amid praise, song and dance…
Poor, passionate, undisciplined, frustrated devil.’

The program included sensitively performed arrangements of two Afro-American spirituals - Jester Hairston’s (1901-2000) “Elijah Rock” and William L. Dawson’s (1899-1980) “Soon Ah Will Be Done”. The choir also sang two Hebrew songs: Adrian Pop’s skilful and harmonically fragrant arrangements of Joseph Jacobson’s “And Judea shall be inhabited forever” (Joel 4:20) and Naomi Shemer’s “Jerusalem of Gold”.

Following the concert, I had the opportunity of exchanging a few words with Maestro Cornel Groza, many of whose concerts over the last 26 years of his direction of the Transylvania State Philharmonic Choir of Cluj-Napoka have been performed in Israel. Maestro Groza appreciates Israeli concert audiences and stresses the choir’s great pleasure to be singing in Israel. He also spoke of the difficulties of putting together a program for an audience of such a different culture; for this reason, he chooses to “mixes cultures” , as in the above-discussed concert, which included works by German-, American-, English-, Israeli- and Romanian composers. In Groza’s words “We try to cover different areas and kinds of music”. Another aim of the choir is to present some of the jewels of Romanian choral repertoire (and not necessarily the better-known works) placing emphasis on the rich tradition of Romanian folklore. All the singers in the choir are professional, most of them long-standing members. Rehearsals run for three to four hours Monday to Friday. Many of the members also work as music teachers. There is much to learn from the excellence and professionalism of the Cluj Choir. Their singing, blended, confident and fresh, inspired and delighted Israel Festival audiences.

The Kuhn Choir of Prague sings Czech music in the 2012 Israel Festival

Antonin Dvorak

Following its participation in “The Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezin” the previous evening, the Kühn Choir of Prague (director: Marek Vorliček) performed a concert of Czech music June 1st 2012 in the Henry Crown Auditorium of the Jerusalem Theatre. With the support of the Czech government and the Prague Municipality, the Kühn Choir is one of the groups participating in the “Days of Prague” events of the 2012 Israel Festival. The choir was established in 1958 by Pavel Kühn (1938-2003) and is known for its a cappella performances of Romantic music, oratorio- and cantata repertoire; the choir also collaborates with the Prague Symphony Orchestra. Other of the choir’s projects have been with the Nederlands Dans Theater, in opera, film score recordings and many CD recordings. The Kühn Choir places importance on the singing of contemporary works, several of which have been written for the ensemble.

Before entering the Henry Crown Auditorium, festival-goers paused to enjoy a photographic exhibition of Prague Panorama (photographers Ondej Polak, Jan Vrabec) in the balcony lobby of the theatre complex sponsored by the Prague Municipality. The photos gave viewers a sense the atmosphere of Prague, showing the city and its architectural landmarks from a number of vantage points, as well as its alleyways and bridges, its towers and roofs.

The concert opened with six of Antonin Dvořák’s (1841-1904) Moravian Duets. Based on Czech folk poetry, the songs we heard were those transcribed by Leos Janacek (a Moravian) from the original two voices with piano to four-voiced mixed choir and piano. In a series of musical pieces evoking characteristic folk dances, richly-colored nature scenes, rustic life, love and disappointed love, Vorliček’s singers presented the audience with pictures of rustic life and folk; they performed them singing with precision, a warm, well-coordinated sound and the kind of dynamic variety which shapes the smallest of gestures.
‘If the scythe were sharpened
Keen will be the edge of yonder scythe blade
When arrives the harvest time;
Swiftly shall I cut the crimson clover,
Throwing out a scent divine.

Ye finest, finest blooms I shall not spare thee;
And my dearest lassie, malice shall I bear thee;
What art thou to me now,
Since another hast thou wed!’
Pianist Lenka Navratilova’s delicate, tasteful playing of the accompaniments was an integral, involved part of the fabric of the songs.

For Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959) clarity, simplicity and directness make up his directness of expression. The almost “primitive” harmonic structures and fluid, transparent counterpoint he chooses do not culminate in a poverty of expression, of feeling or intellect. For his a cappella “Four Songs of Mary” for mixed chorus H.235 (1934) the composer chose parallel voices and homophony of the Middle Ages, basing the four Marian songs on Czech poetry. The Kühn Choir’s superbly balanced singing of these gave expression to their modality and their range of moods, their mystical moments giving rise to exuberance.

The concert ended with the performance of Czech composer Zdenĕk Lukáš’ (1928-2007) “Requiem” opus 252, now one of the focal a cappella works of modern Czech sacred repertoire. Writing much vocal music, the composer was strongly influenced by folk music and avant-garde techniques. The perfect vehicle for Maestro Vorliček and his singers’ musicianship, we heard the work performed with an astonishing variety of vocal timbres, from the uncompromising, vehemently intense cries of the Dies Irae to the velvety, caressing reading of the Lacrymosa, to the compassion of the Hostias. Phrases were finely chiseled and articulate. The excellence of the Kühn Choir’s balance, control and rich choral sound has been the source of much pleasure in the 2012 Israel Festival and “Days of Prague”. The two concerts performed by the Kühn Choir of Prague have left Israeli audiences with a lasting impression of fine Czech choral tradition.

The Defiant Requiem:Verdi at Terezin in the 2012 Israel Festival

“The Defiant Requiem – Verdi at Terezin” performed at the International Convention Center Jerusalem May 31st 2012, was a pivotal event of the 2012 Israel Festival and of “Days of Prague”, the latter project bringing several events from Czechoslovakia to this year’s Israel Festival. The evening’s multi-media event was created by distinguished American conductor Murry Sidlin, who also conducted the Jerusalem performance; under Sidlin’s baton were the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the Kühn Choir of Prague (director: Marek Vorliček), soprano Ira Bertman, mezzo-soprano Bracha Kol, tenor Yotam Cohen and bass-baritone Assaf Levitin. Actress Yona Elian and actor Sasson Gabai read from the writings of Terezin prisoners. In its present form, “The Defiant Requiem” has had several performances in the USA and one at the site of the Theresienstadt Camp itself. The project had its beginnings one day when Sidlin, at the time on the faculty of the School of Music at the University of Minnesota, passing by a bookstore in Minneapolis, saw a copy of “Music at Terezin” on an outside bookshelf. Perusing its pages, he began to read about Rafael Schächter.

“The Defiant Requiem – Verdi at Terezin” is a tribute to young choral conductor, opera coach and pianist Rafael Schächter, himself a prisoner there, who, in 1943 and 1944, organized and produced 16 performances of Giuseppe Verdi’s “Requiem” at Terezin, a camp populated by many artists and intellectuals. With only one piano-vocal score at hand, he trained all the singers, rehearsing the hungry, overworked inmates in a dank basement in the evenings. After singers were deported to extermination camps, Schächter tirelessly trained new singers until he, himself, was sent to Auschwitz on October 16th 1944, perishing there at age 39.

Prior to the Jerusalem performance, two large screens, standing either side of the stage, showed the entrance to the Theresienstadt Ghetto/Camp, displaying the slogan used by the Nazis “Arbeit macht frei” (Labor Brings Freedom). Surtitles provided translation of spoken texts into English or Hebrew. Interspersed between movements of the music, we saw and heard survivors who had taken part as singers in Terezin talking about the role the Requiem had played in their lives and their survival there. Rafael Schächter took his role as musical director seriously, lecturing, planning and making high demands on his singers (at times, the choir comprised up to 150 singers), his training infusing in them dedication, courage and bravery. He made a point of explaining the composer’s intentions as well as his own interpretation. Sidlin spoke of Schächter as a man with a “magnetic personality”, with a sunny personality; however, when working with his singers on Verdi’s “Requiem”, he was as a “crazed man on a mission”. During rehearsals, nobody was allowed to talk, let alone whisper. The rehearsals gave prisoners time to forget their immediate predicament and the fear of tomorrow; the daily training provided them with respite and the opportunity to be emotionally fortified. One woman talked of the work at rehearsals as being so powerful that they (the inmates) “became the music”, the rehearsals making it possible to survive “as a human being”. She said that Rafael Schächter was the person to first use the term “defiance” in connection with music. It seems the Nazis did not grasp that the performance of this work – at once sacred, operatic, political and demanding - was an act of defiance; for the captors, musical activity served to showcase the “positive cultural life” of the ghetto to the outside world, to camouflage the hunger, rampant disease, lack of medical attention, bone-chilling winter cold and non-stop terror in the camp. We saw a little of a Nazi propaganda film, in which every frame was, in Sidlin’s words, a” sadistic lie”. The only truth was in the depiction of the arts and lectures, this collective, creative life force of the prisoners being exploited to reinforce Nazi lies.

Murry Sidlin spoke of there being a “remarkable, incongruous cacophony” of sounds emanating from many improvised performance centers in Terezin; these provided an artistic outlet for those who refused to allow their captors to dehumanize them. Through music, these prisoners found compassion, a mission, a capacity to inspire hope, courage and dignity. There had been much discussion in the camp as to whether Verdi’s “Requiem” was the right work for Jews to be performing; some prisoners suggested performing more Jewish works. One of the survivors on film, however, spoke of Rafael Schächter's reading of the Requiem as “our battle of good against evil” as “music against violence” as “declaring survival”, another as “absolute joy”. In this way, with members of the Nazi command sitting in the front row at performances, the inmates would sing what they could not say to the Nazis and not to the visiting inspectors of the compliant International Red Cross. In fact, many of the performers sang right up to their final moments, each singing of his personal tragedy, turning the depths of despair into the most elevated of musical experiences. The performers were inspired by the Latin text of the Requiem, travelling, in their minds, from the legless ghetto piano to the full orchestra, imagining the performance to be taking place in Prague, the city a mere hour away.

The Jerusalem event was charged with meaning and energy. Verdi’s “Requiem” demands very large solo voices. Soprano Ira Bertman’s powerful, rich, creamy voice and articulacy had an advantage here, as did tenor Yotam Cohen’s compelling and distinctive voice. Assaf Levitin’s expressiveness made for some moving moments; Bracha Kol’s voice is interesting, its registers, however, differing very much in color and texture. The quartet’s a cappella sections sometimes lacked clean intonation. The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra gave a fine performance, doing justice to Verdi’s score, the brass section providing some outstanding moments. The Kühn Choir of Prague’s performance was uplifting and impressive in its accuracy and fine musicianship.

Several effects added to Sidlin’s depiction of the situation in Terezin – train whistles, pictures of Jews lining up at railway stations, a moment from the Chaconne of Bach’s Solo Violin Partita no.2, another moment of a Schubert Lied…and then there was the piano. With the stage dimly lit, some movements of the Requiem would begin with the piano alone accompanying singers; these moments “in Terezin” would seamlessly merge back into the orchestral scoring, with the stage lighting up again. The performance was powerful and uncompromising in spirit – in its joy, compassion and devotion. The message in Murry Sidlin’s initiative, his energetic direction, and his own well-spoken texts was clear to all.

Murry Sidlin is convinced that the Verdi Requiem had never been more inspiring, more humanly important, more personally moving or more completely understood by performers anywhere than by those at Terezin. He suspects that Rafael Schächter and his chorus were less focused on the exact meaning of such movements as the “Agnus Dei” (Lamb of God) as the Mass intended, but were singing in memory of all who had suffered and perished at the hands of “unauthorized beasts”. For Schächter, his hundreds of singers and their vast prisoner audiences, this music was affirmation of their determination to go on under unthinkable conditions. Murry Sidlin concluded that it is now for us to recall- and treasure the lessons of Terezin. Following the end of the performance, lights were dimmed in the hall and the audience stood in silence to honor the memory of Rafael Schächter – his initiative and dedication. Maestro Murry Sidlin's project is more than admirable. For all of us present, Verdi’s “Requiem” has taken on extra meaning.

Accentus Austria in the 2012 Israel Festival

Musical director Thomas Wimmer

A visiting group to the 2012 Israel Festival, “Accentus Austria”, under the auspices of the Austrian Cultural Forum Tel Aviv, performed a concert titled “Aria Viennesa. A Melting Pot of Cultures” May 27th in the Henry Crown Hall of the Jerusalem Theatre. Established in 1998 in Vienna by lutenist and violone-player Thomas Wimmer, it comprises a total of 13 members, the number of players taking part in any one concert depending on each individual program. Directed by Wimmer, “Accentus Austria” has made a deep study of early Spanish music and its influence throughout Europe, this research covering the oral tradition of Sephardic Romances, from art- and popular music from around 1500 to sacred- and secular music of the 16th- and 17th centuries. Another area of the ensemble’s repertoire is music of the 16th- and 17th centuries in the Austrian Empire. The latter was the focus of the concert we heard at the Jerusalem concert. Born in Austria in 1961, Thomas Wimmer studied the viola da gamba in Vienna; due to his interest in music of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, he has also been involved in playing such instruments as the Renaissance viol, the vihuela d’arco, medieval fiddle and the rebec.

The evening’s program included music of Vienna and east of Vienna, addressing the eastern Habsburg Empire of the 17th century, with its Italian-style music on one hand, and, on the other, Austrian, Hungarian, Bohemian and Polish music that was played in the streets, with the Turkish influence from the time the Ottoman Empire conducted war against the Habsburgs and their Hungarian territories in the mid-16th century. The latter influence was apparent in the first group of pieces – traditional Hungarian-Turkish music of the 17th century. Accompanied by lute, koboz (a medieval lute associated with the singing of epic songs), flute, with violins and viola held as the fiddle - on the shoulder - and percussion, we heard singer Tamás Kiss in traditional narrative songs, his powerful, bright tenor voice and theatrical approach leaving the listener enchanted:
'When you hear the sound of the koboz,
Your brightness will vanish,
Your delight will change intp grief,
And tears will moisten your beautiful eyes...'
This music was clearly non-European in concept, mode and in the unison doubling of melodies; flautist Michael Posch, ornamenting the same melodies with much invention and agility, promised an evening of masterful flute- and recorder playing!

The ensemble took us back into the Habsburg court to hear two dance suites by Austrian violinist and prolific composer Johann Heinrich Schmelzer (1623-1680). The leading Austrian composer of instrumental music before Biber, we heard two of Schmelzer’s suites, some written for allegorical pageants in which members of the royal family took part. “Accentus Austria” gave expression to the music’s elegance, invention and easy charm, with percussionist Wolfgang Reithofer adding color and, here and there, rustic charm. But were we hearing a typically European Baroque-style suite? Certainly not. In addition to the usual dances, the movements included programmatically-titled pieces and decidedly folk-flavored pieces. And why were we to detect these traits in the music of Johann Joseph Fux (1660-1741), Austrian organist, court- and church composer and theorist, whose book “Gradus ad Parnassum” (Vienna 1725) has been instrumental in our counterpoint studies at music academies? Fux was born into a peasant family, but it seems that the major influence of folk- and non-European music on him would have come from Vienna’s occupation by the Turks in 1683; this would also have meant familiarity with Turkish percussion instruments. Fux’ music represents early engagement with Turkish music. “Accentus Austria” performed two suites by Fux - Partita K329 and the Symphonia ex C. The latter, referred to by Wimmer as “Turkish music of war and countryside”, began with a military drum beat, the following sections alternating between European Baroque musical language and modal country dances with their unison melodies. Played effectively by the consort, these works had the audience sitting at the edge of its seats, rethinking its concept of Austrian Baroque chamber music!

No less interesting was Canzona terza by Bartolomé Selma y Salaverde, performed by Michael Posch on soprano recorder, with harpsichord and violone continuo. Salaverde, born in Spain some time between 1580 and 1690, was an Augustine monk. A virtuoso bassoonist it seems, and well familiar with the northern Italian styles of the day (his name appeared in Venice), Salaverde’s music is known solely from one manuscript “Primo libro Canzoni, Fantasie et Correnti da suonar a 1, 2, 3, 4 voci con Basso Continuo” (1638) housed in the University of Wroklaw, Poland (Breslau in Habsburg times) - connecting culturally with the Austrian content of the concert. The collection comprises several short instrumental pieces; it includes tempo markings although there is little written there to specify instrumentation. In Posch’s hands, Canzona terza, with its variety of figuration, many moods and contrasting sections, was a celebration of fine musicianship, agility and technical fluency.

Following a traditional 17th century Hungarian song “Budát, ó Hunnia” sung by Tamás Kiss, accompanying himself on a large hurdy-gurdy, the concert ended with pieces from Codex Caioni (Kájoni) and Codex Vietorisz (c.1680), both manuscripts including arrangements of songs, dances, suites, etc., with scoring for instrumental ensembles. The Codex Caioni, showing the great diversity of influences existing in Transylvania, was named after the Franciscan organist Johannes Caioni, who spent 30 years transcribing 17th century Hungarian, Rumanian and gypsy songs and dances, Italian-, German and French compositions and his own works. An organ-builder and restorer, publisher and printer, theologian, philosopher and practitioner of herbal medicine, Caioni was the first Transylvanian musician to win European reputation. The whimsical song “Lepus intra sata quiescit”, the hurdy-gurdy reminding us of its folk origins, tells of a hare under threat from everyone – king, priests, monks, peasants and soldiers; it may possibly represent the “artist” under public attack. Humor and joie-de-vivre characterized the dances ending the program; they were varied in instrumental color and combination, their style spanning from a dignified Saraband to jovial, earthy melodies.

The concert threw light on some interesting aspects of European music. “Accentus Austria” is a high quality ensemble, boasting several fine players; violinists Ulli Engel and Monika Toth and their viola counterpart Ivan Becka were excellent in their double roles. As to the evocative historical songs and nostalgic ballads sung and accompanied by Tamás Kiss, they created much interest:
'Oh what a pearl of beauty is the castle of Esztergom,
Lined by waves!
Like the prettiness of my beloved.
But far am I and full of grief,
As from the heart of my true love
I am separated...'

Vokalquintett Berlin at the May 2012 Abu Gosh Festival

On their way to attend a concert in one of Jerusalem’s most magical venues, festival-goers to the May 2012 Abu Gosh Festival enter the tranquil, succulent garden of the historic Abu Gosh Crusader Benedictine Church. They wander around, enjoying the pine trees, flowers and archeological artifacts, chatting to friends or sipping a hearty cup of tea or coffee with a piece of baklava (pastry filled with honey, walnuts and pistachios) served by one of the local residents.

The event was “Splendid Italy”, May 26th 2012, a concert performed by the Vokalquintett Berlin, an ensemble established some three years ago with singers from Germany, Austria and Israel – sopranos Nathalie Siebert and guest singer Katja Kuntze (standing in for Christine Bohnenkamp), alto Jonny Kreuter, tenor Martin Netter and bass Amnon Seelig. Performing two concerts at this Abu Gosh Festival, under the auspices of the Israel Goethe-Institut, (they gave a concert of English music 25.5.2012), Vokalquintett Berlin sings repertoire of cappella music from the Renaissance to the 21st century, but focusing much on the music of Monteverdi, Gesualdo, Schein and Schütz.

In his opening comments, Amnon Seelig spoke of secular Italian music as all being on one subject - love. And, on the subject of love and its complications, what could be more suitable than opening with Claudio Monteverdi’s (1567-1643) “O primavera” (Third Book of Madrigals, 1592)?
‘O Spring, youth of the year,
Beautiful mother of flowers,
Of fresh herbs and new loves;
You are, alas, returned,
But without the dear days of my hope.
You are as you were before, so charming and beautiful,
But I am not as I was in past times,
So dear in the eyes of others.’
Guarini’s message in three madrigals from Monteverdi’s Fifth Book of Madrigals (1605) - “Ch’io t’ami”(If, cruel girl), “Deh, bella e cara” (Ah, beloved, fair), “Ma tu, piu, che mai dura” (But, harder of heart) - sung by the ensemble is no more encouraging. The VB singers showed a good understanding of Monteverdi’s expressive- and dramatic style and of the revolutionary declamatory style used in this Fifth Book of Madrigals. They made energetic use of consonants, choosing a steady pace, thus steering clear of over-sentimentality, but addressing dissonances, painting them into the mellifluous phrasing of Monteverdi’s distinctive palette. Nathalie Siebert held the first soprano line throughout with outstanding competence and expressiveness, her rich, creamy voice pleasing. From the Fourth Book of Madrigals (1602), based on a monadic song by Giulio Caccini, we heard “Sfogava con le stelle”, telling of a lovesick man venting his grief to the stars; the ensemble gave expression to the longing, the despair and anger of the abandoned lover.

Resulting from a four-year stay in Venice to study with Giovanni Gabrieli, German composer Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672) published his opus 1 - “Libro primo de Madrigali” (there was never a second book of madrigals) - a collection of eighteen 5-part madrigals (and one 8-part for double choir). These bold works combine the influence of Gabrieli’s traditional stile antico approach (the old master also encouraged Schütz to explore new Italian works), the late 16th century chromatic madrigal style and Monteverdi’s text settings; they are rich in polyphony and boast exotic harmonies. Once again dealing with the agonies and ecstasies of love, “O primovera” (O Spring), “Io moro, ecco chio moro” (I am dying, I am dying here) and “Di marmo siete voi” (You are made of marble) to texts of Guarini and Marino, were evoked in all their richness of imagery and harmonic daring, VB’s pleasing brightness of tone anchored in Seelig’s rounded bass timbre. For those of us familiar with Schütz’ polychoral sacred music, it is a revelation to hear this same composer (understandably referred to as “musicus poeticus”) at home with the emotional devices of Italian madrigal style – falling intervals and dissonances to express grief, fast running figures and coloraturas expressing joy, etc, and to enjoy his fine grasp of the Italian language.

The subject of love was taken a drastic step further by Carlo Gesualdo, Prince of Venosa (1566-1613), who murdered his wife and her lover in 1590. In a style unmistakingly representing Gesualdo’s extroverted musical tastes, his emotional extremes and mental torment, Vokalquintett Berlin performed Gesualdo’s ‘Io tacerò, ma nel silenzio mio’ (I will keep quiet, yet in my silence) from the Fourth Book of Madrigals (1596) and ‘Mercè!’ grido piangendo from the Fifth Book of Madrigals (1611).
‘”Mercy!” I cry, weeping
But who hears me?
Alas, I faint.
I shall die, therefore, in silence.
Ah, for pity! At least,
Oh treasure of my heart,
Let me tell you
Before I die, “I die”’.
Never overstepping the bounds of good taste (or could good taste be stretched in this case?), the VB singers effectively presented the unpredictability and excesses of some of the most original and radical music of its time; the unique way Gesualdo wriggles out of dissonant impasses seems to reflect the strategies of his own personal life.

Although educated by monks in Modena, later also entering into the service of the church, Orazio Vecchi’s (1550-1605) reputation was much through his settings of secular poems. Following the distresses and anxieties of love depicted in the works of Monteverdi, Schütz and the Gesualdo, the audience was offered relief in Orazio Vecchi’s “Gioite tutti”
‘Rejoice all with sounds, songs and dances
Since fair spring has come
And valleys are blossoming
And the rose is in full bloom.
Lovers are jesting
And scattering flowers…’
VB’s treatment of it was delicate, its changing dance rhythms celebrating the season of love.
In the poignant “Il bianco e dolce cigno” (The white and sweet swan dies singing), with both its pathos and rapid parlando passages, the singers demonstrated Vecchi’s interest in intense word painting, their vocal timbre remaining uncluttered.

The concert ended with some arrangements for vocal quintet by Amnon Seelig. These included the 1952 song “That’s Amore” composed by Harry Warren (lyrics: Jack Brooks) together with Peggy Lee and Sonny Burke’s “Bella Notte” (the latter featured in Walt Disney’s movie “Lady and the Tramp”) in an arrangement suggesting the style of the Comedy Harmonists, Lennon and McCartney’s “I Will”, the Brindisi (a song encouraging the drinking of alcohol) - “Drinking Song” from Verdi’s “La Traviata” and Amnon Seelig’s refreshingly different setting of Naomi Shemer’s “Jerusalem of Gold”. Seelig’s arrangements are sophisticated, witty and understated and they bristle with interesting harmonic toning. (In one of the lighter numbers, alto Jonny Kreuter did a nice imitation of a muted trumpet). Experienced choral singer, Seelig has sung in many ensembles in both Israel and Germany. He writes arrangements for ensembles and is currently studying Jewish Cantorial Arts at the Abraham Geiger Kolleg in Berlin.

Following the concert, I had the pleasure of meeting and talking to Vokalquintett Berlin’s tenor Martin Netter, with Amnon Seelig joining us later. Netter told me that, till now, most of the ensemble’s concerts have been in Germany, with an outstanding concert at the Festival of Early Music in Innsbruck (Austria). These two Abu Gosh Festival concerts were the group’s first outside of Europe. All singers work in other ensembles and choirs and most teach. The VB has no leader; interpretation of works is achieved by way of discussion and experimentation; Amnon Seelig talked about each member bringing his or her expertise to the group. As the result of regular rehearsing, whether preparing for an imminent, concert or not, the VB is working at developing its own signature sound, this forming from the rich mix of its members’ musical tastes the various singing styles. When I mentioned the ensemble singing with a straight sound in the performance of early music, Netter stressed the importance of clear vowels and clear sounds in order to have a good blend of voices but mentioned the ensemble’s very economical use of vibrato for the building of phrases and enrichment of key notes.

The festival audience enjoyed its trip to “Splendid Italy”. Vokalquintett Berlin’s members show a profound understanding of the music they perform; their diction is articulate, as is their pronunciation. Their constant listening, their delicate and pleasing choral balance, blend and vocal color characterize the group’s performance, but do not rule out individual musical personality. Vokalquintett Berlin’s performance is fresh, polished and exciting.