Friday, October 07, 2011

Momento Musicale


Max Bruch wrote what is perhaps the loveliest setting of the Kol Nidre (All Vows) for the eve of Yom Kippur.  This performance features an incredible group of musicians Jacqueline du Pré (cello),  Gerald Moore (piano),  Ray Jesson (organ), Osian Ellis (harp), and John Williams (guitar). The writings, visual arts, and photography in this video are the creations of Matthew Schwartz



I had not realized that the words are not in Hebrew but in Aramaic and that it is not actually a prayer but a declaration of an almost legal nature. 

The success of Kol Nidre led to the belief that Bruch was of Jewish ancestry and under the National Socialist Party his music ceased to be programmed because of the possibility of his being a Jew; as a result of this, his music was completely forgotten in German speaking countries. However there is no evidence for his being Jewish and Bruch himself was raised Catholic.

7 ottobre/October - Yom Yippur
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2 comments:

David said...

Very beautiful, and - not unconnected - can you catch the Rostropovich documentary on the BBC iPlayer, or does it not work in Canada? This is one of the best documentaries ever, miles away from the self-regarding tone of Christopher Nupen's Jackie films, and I challenge you not to weep. Slava does tend to do that.

Anonymous said...

It is marvelous, so relaxing, just beautiful! Will, thanks for this beautiful moment.
Linda