Greeting guests to the Jerusalem International YMCA
on December 24th 2023 were the many lights illuminating the impressive historic
building and the large, brightly lit Christmas tree, always a focal feature of
Jerusalem's King David St. during the festive season. Ringing out into the
crisp evening air were the festive sounds of Christmas carols played on the
YMCA's bell carillon, the only instrument of its kind in the entire Middle
East. Jerusalem residents, guests and tourists filled the auditorium to
celebrate Christmas eve with a concert performed by the Israel Camerata
Jerusalem conducted by its musical director Prof. Avner Biron. Soloists were
Rachel Frenkel (mezzo-soprano) and Muki Zohar (oboe.)
Welcoming the audience, Mr. Fadi Suidan, CEO of the
Jerusalem International YMCA, spoke of the YMCA as a beacon of unity and peace,
of its purpose and mission, its message of hope and as a place bringing
together people of different backgrounds.
The evening's program opened with Concerto Grosso
in G minor, Op. 6, No. 8 by Arcangelo Corelli. Published posthumously in 1714,
one of Corelli's 12 Concerti Grossi Op. 6, it bears the inscription
"Fatto per la notte di Natale" (made for the night of
Christmas.) The Camerata performance unveiled the work's subtlety and
cantabile expressiveness, as the players leaned into the dissonances of the
noble, reflective slower movements, setting them against the buoyancy and joy
of the faster sections, the final Allegro segueing into the graceful Pastorale so
gently evocative of the flocks near Bethlehem in the Christmas scene. From J.S.Bach’s
Orchestral Suite No.3 BWV 1068, composed for his patron Prince Leopold of
Anhalt, comes the much-loved Air on the G string. It was thus titled after
violinist August Wilhelm's late 19th century arrangement of the Air for violin
and piano. (Transposing the key from its original D major to C major and taking
the melody down an octave, Wilhelm was able to play the piece on only one
string of his violin, the G string.) Maestro Biron and the Camerata players
gave a beautifully poised reading of the piece reflecting how elegantly Bach's
density of material is lodged in the finespun interweave of inner lines
over a walking bass line. One could not object to listeners at the YMCA event
gently humming along with the melody of possibly one of the most famous single
movements in Bach’s output!
An enigmatic item on the program, however, was
"Three Pieces in the Old Style'' by eminent Polish composer Krysztof
Penderecki (1933-2020), a composer whose works from the 1960s placed him
firmly in the avant-garde scene, with music of sheer emotive power using new notation
methods, aggressive glissandi, massive tonal clusters and innovative vocal and
instrumental techniques. On the podium, Penderecki was an imposing figure who
conducted with sweeping gestures befitting his herculean music. His "Three
Pieces in the Old Style'' for string orchestra were commissioned for the
soundtrack for "The Saragossa Manuscript" (director: Wojciech Jerzy),
where they accompany scenes of a Baroque- or even Rococo-like atmosphere. At
the Christmas concert, the
beautiful, yet sad Aria (Lento) and two charming Minuets (all pieces unexpectedly pleasing to the most
conservative of audiences) were given a performance that was refined,
understated and unmannered. I imagine Penderecki's "Three Pieces in the
Old Style '' must have shocked listeners when they first appeared in 1963. They
certainly took the YMCA audience by surprise! It is a fact that the composer
only released them for publication in 1989.
One of the principal Italian composers of comic
operas Domenico Cimarosa (1749-1801) did not write an oboe concerto: It was
Australian-born composer Arthur Benjamin who adapted four of the thirty-two
keyboard sonatas Cimarosa wrote after the style of Domenico Scarlatti, scoring
them for oboe and string orchestra, retaining most of the melody in the solo
voice. First oboe of the Israel Camerata Jerusalem Muki Zohar (b. 1973 Tel
Aviv) soloed in a pleasing, effortless performance of this much-loved
work, giving expression to its warm melodiousness, grace and plangent moments, also
bringing attention to its playful and good-naturedly cheeky elements, the
latter making reference to the exuberance and wit present in many of Cimarosa’s
operas. Orchestra and soloist discoursed splendidly, making for a sparkling
performance.
Israeli-born mezzo-soprano Rachel Frenkel enjoys an
international career on both opera- and concert stages. The Christmas program included
Frenkel's performance of three of the most prominent Baroque arias. Her stable,
resonant and substantial voice endorsed the soaring curve of the “Et exultavit
spiritus meus” (And my spirit rejoices) from J.S.Bach's "Magnificat",
as she carried the jubilation through the entire movement. Singing
"Erbarme dich, mein Gott" (Have mercy Lord, My God, for the sake of
my tears) from Bach's St. Matthew Passion, she gave expression to the aria's
aching beauty and profound sadness, the lamenting solo violin obligato
expressively interwoven by Camerata concertmaster Matan Dagan. And finally, Frenkel's communicative performance of the virtuosic aria, “But who may abide/For He is
like a refiner’s fire” from Handel's Messiah, its two contrasting sections
addressed skilfully and meaningfully, as in her treatment of the bravura
runs and also in the dramatic expression given to the ominous passages that precede
them.
Concluding the evening of
high-quality musical performance and true enjoyment, the Jerusalem YMCA's 2023
Christmas concert presented Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" in a suave,
stylish rendition of Nemanja Marković's arrangement for string orchestra.
