A house concert of Jewish organ music performed and explained by Dr. Yuval Rabin at his Jerusalem home

Dr, Yuval Rabin (courtesy YR)

 

Not every day does one attend a pipe organ concert in a private home, but this was indeed the case on September 6th 2022, with people gathering at the Jerusalem home of Yuval Rabin to hear a concert of Jewish organ music performed on the 21-stop, German-built organ in his home. 

As one mostly associates organ music with church buildings and repertoire, this seemed an atypical program for an instrument mostly found in churches. Dr. Rabin opened the event with an outline of the history of the organ both in the synagogue and in Jewish music in general. Many of us are familiar with the choral music of Polish-German composer Louis Lewandowski (1821–1894), much of it for mixed chorus, solo, and organ, written during his tenure as musical director at the Neue Synagoge in Berlin - appealing, highly melodic music composed in the strict four-part harmony of church music, but with many of the pieces based on ancient cantorial modal melodies.  Rabin included a number of Lewandowski's appealing organ pieces from "Fünf Fest-Präludien" Op. 37 and "Synagogen-Melodien" Op. 47, all brimming with colour, noble, festive (and choral) gestures and threaded with quotes from familiar synagogue melodies.

Born in Lvov, virtuoso concert pianist and conductor Julius Chajes (1910-1965) fled to Palestine, then settling in the USA in 1937 and making an enduring contribution to the music of American Jewry - to American Synagogue repertoire, largely in the Reform milieu, but also in many Conservative synagogues, as well as to the secular Jewish concert repertoire of his adopted country. The musical language of his "Prayer" for organ, based on a traditional melody by J. Neumann, is a testament to Chajes' extensive work with cantors when he served as musical director for the Jewish community in Detroit.

The program included organ works of three German-born Israeli composers. Conductor and singer Karel Salmon (1897-1974), settled in Palestine in 1933, becoming musical director of the Palestine Broadcasting Service (later, Kol Israel), also teaching at the Academy of Music in Jerusalem. His "Six Miniatures for Organ" constitute a fine example of the "Mediterranean style" period of Israeli music, merging the composer's European heritage with Middle Eastern-, Mediterranean- and Jewish folklore material. Rabin gave an articulate, vivid and intelligent reading of the small vignettes, each inspired by a specific source of traditional Jewish melody, bringing out Salmon's detailed treatment of each.

Yuval Rabin spoke of Paul Ben Haim's "Prelude" (1966) as based on the gesture of a Seufzer (sigh). The artist's performance of the small, multi-sectional piece gave rich and engaging expression to its moods and richly coloured soundscape. Composer, conductor, pianist and teacher Paul Ben-Haim (1897-1984), his musical palette also a mix of European styles and local orientalism, remains one of the greatest and most prolific of the founding fathers of Israeli music. 

A fine sample of the compositional style of Haim Alexander (1915-2012) was heard in Rabin's playing of "Meditations on a Yemenite Song", a movement from "The West-East Bridge", a work (and, indeed, its title) indicative of the composer's aim to create a national style with Middle Eastern- and folk-like styles, yet still remaining close to his European background, at the same time, staying in line with contemporary developments of music. Rabin coloured the free variations and their differing ideas and patterns by way of a variety of registers and daring forays, making for excellent listening. 

The program also included a work by Rabin himself - "Fantasia on Sabbath Zemirot" (songs sung around the table during the sabbath and on Jewish holidays.) A demanding and somewhat programmatic work, the songs emerge via a variety of textures, as Rabin engages in some canonic writing, his harmonies at times bordering on clusters; there are humorous and mysterious touches and moments of imposing organ timbres. Rabin's style is personal, appealing and certainly challenging to the player. His explanations throughout the evening made for lively discussion with the audience.

Born in Haifa, Israel in 1973, Rabin studied at the Dunie Weizmann Conservatory (Haifa), the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, the Musik Akademie der Stadt Basel and the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis (Switzerland.) He participates in festivals and performs internationally with ensembles, orchestras and choirs. His CD recordings include “Organ Music from Israel'' and works of C.P.E Bach and Mendelssohn.