Track Listing

1. Cello Concerto: 1. Allegro Cantabile
2. Cello Concerto: 2. Allegretto
3. Cello Concerto: 3. Allegro Ritmico
4. Sabbath Evening Service, for cantor & chorus: Mi khamokha
5. Sabbath Evening Service, for cantor & chorus: V'sham'ru
6. Sabbath Evening Service, for cantor & chorus: O May the Words
7. Sabbath Evening Service, for cantor & chorus: Adon olam
8. Hagiographa, 3 Biblical narratives for piano & string quartet: 1. Job
9. Hagiographa, 3 Biblical narratives for piano & string quartet: 2. Ruth
10. Hagiographa, 3 Biblical narratives for piano & string quartet: 3. Joshua
11. Ahavat olam, for cantor, chorus & organ
12. Pieces (2) in Sabbath Mood, tone poem: 1. Kaddish
13. Pieces (2) in Sabbath Mood, tone poem: 2. Oneg shabbat

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #378770 in Music
• Released on: 2004-11-16
• Number of discs: 1

Album Description
Alban Gerhardt, cello • Barcelona Symphony • Karl Anton Rickenbacher, conductor • Patrick Mason, baritone • The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chorus • Joseph Cullen, conductor • Cantor Robert Bloch • New York Cantorial Choir • Aaron Miller, organ • Samuel Adler, conductor • Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra Frederick Jacobi (1891-1952): Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra • Sabbath Evening Service (excerpts) • Hagiographa • Ahavat olam • Two Pieces in Sabbath Mood

Widely considered one of the foremost 20th-century American composers during his lifetime, and especially known for his concert music inspired either by Jewish or by American Indian sources, Frederick Jacobi was championed by such legendary conductors as Koussevitzky, Stokowski, and Monteux. Jacobi’s "Jewish" compositions combine the refinements of the great European romantic tradition with an evocative melodic and harmonic palette, suggesting both traditional Jewish flavors and Near Eastern atmospheres. The Milken Archive is proud to reintroduce Jacobi’s music on these new recordings.

Amazon.com
During his lifetime, Frederick Jacobi (1891-1952) was considered one of America's most distinguished, representative composers by colleagues, critics and audiences; major orchestras and ensembles performed his works and he taught at prestigious conservatories. His subsequent neglect may be due to changing tastes and fashions, but judging from the works presented here it is sadly unjustified. Skillfully constructed, with remarkably smooth tempo, mood and character changes, they are tonal and romantically expressive; Jacobi never attempted to be "modern" or original, composing to please himself and others.

Born to German-Jewish parents but raised without religious affiliation, Jacobi did not get involved in Judaism until 1930, when Lazare Saminski, music director of New York's Temple Emanu-El, commissioned him to compose a Sabbath service. This led to several more liturgical works, and gave his writing a new, Jewish-oriented direction, confirming his conviction that America's diverse cultural traditions could be melded into a composite musical style. Moreover, his works show that music transcends not only language, but disparities of faith. The liturgical pieces recorded here are beautifully devout, pleading, ecstatic, but would not be out of place in a church service. The Cello Concerto--the program's highlight--sounds far more "Jewish," showing the influence of Jacobi's teacher, Ernest Bloch; with its flowing, soaring melodies and idiomatic, effective solo part it should be a welcome addition to the repertoire. Among the many excellent performers, cellist Alban Gerhardt from Berlin and baritone Patrick Mason from Ohio stand out; their uncanny stylistic and emotional identification with the music is further proof of its universality. --Edith Eisler