The 2023 Jerusalem International YMCA's Christmas concert features the Israel Camerata Jerusalem (conductor: Avner Biron). Soloists Rachel Frenkel (mezzo-soprano), Muki Zohar (oboe)

 

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.