CANTORIAL COMMENTS

BY

CANTOR ELIHU FELDMAN

THE MILKEN ARCHIVE OF JEWISH MUSIC ( PART I )

            The Milken Archive of American Jewish Music is a new recorded collection of Jewish music, both sacred and secular, that developed over the course of the last 300 years of Jewish communal life in America.  The Milken collection’s abundant repertoire, not only reflects the history, evolution, and variety of the Jewish experience in America, but, by extension, bears witness to Jewish continuity and renewal through more than five millennia, revealing universal qualities that can speak to people of all faiths and cultures.  

More than 600 musical works have been newly recorded on 50 CDs to date, as part of this extensive, multiyear recording project. The production of these CDs is the centerpiece of the Milken Archive of American Jewish Music.  Established in 1990, the Milken Archive is the result of the vision and initiative of Lowell Milken, Chairman and Co-Founder of the Milken Family Foundation. His love of synagogue music deepened into a recognition of the value and scope of Jewish music in general.  In keeping with the Foundation’s educational goals, Mr. Milken translated his enthusiasm for this area of music into an ongoing project. Under the artistic direction of Neil W. Levin, he intended to increase the public’s awareness of and appreciation for the quality and variety of Jewish music written in this country. The Milken Archive seeks to inspire, educate, and entertain as wide an audience as possible by emphasizing the intrinsic artistic value, historical importance, and broad appeal of this eclectic and ever-expanding musical literature.

            These CD recordings are being distributed by Naxos American Classics. This groundbreaking series has released more than 100 discs in its survey of nearly two centuries of American music—from acknowledged classics to neglected works of pioneering composers.  The association between Naxos and the Milken Archive is particularly fitting because both share a commitment to enlarging the musical repertoire and to bringing previously unrecorded works of Jewish music to the public at a reasonable price.       

            Never before has such a comprehensive archive of Jewish music been attempted.  The Milken Archive will comprise the broadest spectrum of musical works pertaining to Jewish life and culture in America ever assembled. This coming year (2004) will mark the 350th anniversary of the arrival of the first Jews in America (1654.)  The Milken Archive series celebrates on disc these three-and-a-half centuries of uninterrupted Jewish life in the United States, where Jews have been free to exercise fully their creative spirit and to contribute to the fabric of national society, absorbing and enriching American culture and, at the same time, renewing their ancient heritage. It is in this fertile environment that the music of the American Jewish experience has flourished, forming a significant chapter in the development of American music as a whole. 

            The music heard on these recordings includes more than 600 individual compositions, both sacred and secular, by more than 200 composers—almost half of them living—representing a wide variety of genres, styles, periods, and purposes. Fewer than 100 of these compositions appear to have been previously recorded by other companies for commercial release.  These new recordings were produced according to the highest technical standards, under the direction of internationally recognized recording producers.   

            The repertoire ranges from classical art music for the concert hall, to more popular idioms for the theater and communal celebrations, to liturgical music for the synagogue and home.  There are symphonies, concertos, solo and instrumental works inspired by Jewish themes; Cantorial masterpieces and art songs; popular songs from the heyday of Yiddish theater and radio; complete synagogue services in the Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform traditions; operas, oratorios, and other dramatic works; “Klezmer” and Hassidic-inspired music; music for holyday and life-cycle celebrations; songs of Zionism and social action; and a wide range of sacred compositions, from authentic Colonial-period prayers to contemporary settings in the idioms of Broadway and jazz.  

            Although these works may vary significantly in scope, complexity, and stylistic orientation, they share certain qualities that help to define them as Jewish music.   Some may incorporate or be influenced by traditional, enduring Jewish musical characteristics, such as melodic patterns, modes, and expressive idiosyncrasies.  They are often inspired by the broad array of Jewish text sources—Biblical, Talmudic, folk, mystical, poetic, and literary—that have maintained their immediacy and relevance over time, as well as by defining moments in Jewish history: the siege of the Inquisition, and the Holocaust; or, in a more positive vein, victories over oppression and the birth the nation of Israel.   Finally, these compositions may constitute a response to the ongoing spiritual aspirations and the intense personal and collective experiences (from the most joyful to the most tragic) that have delineated Jewish existence over the course of time.       

            Because these works reflect not only Jewish influences but also the entire spectrum of evolving musical styles and trends in general, from the Classical/Romantic to the avant-garde, they often reveal the fascinating artistic intensity that results from the dynamic interplay between these fundamental forces.

                        The compositions included in the Milken Archive of American Jewish Music, ranging from liturgical miniatures to large-scale synagogue services and symphonies, were created by both native and immigrant American composers.   In addition to such well-known figures as Leonard Bernstein, David Diamond, Lukas Foss, Darius Milhaud, Shulamit Ran, Kurt Weill, and Lazar Weiner, there are young composers represented on these recordings who are finding their own voices; award-winning composers at the forefront of American musical life who are creating new works of Jewish significance; and older composers whose legacies have recently been “rediscovered.”  There are composers of liturgical music and of songs for the Yiddish theater, whose names may not be familiar but whose music lives on from one generation to the next.  In addition, the Archive also includes the works of several non-Jewish composers who have been inspired by Jewish ideals or texts including Dave Brubeck, who cantata, (The Gates of Justice) explores the historic and spiritual parallels of Jews and African Americans. It combines Hebrew biblical texts and the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., in a plea for brotherhood.

            The roster of renowned performing artists heard on the recordings of the Milken Archive series illustrates the international nature of this project.  It features many prominent American and European conductors, orchestras, instrumental and vocal soloists, choral groups, and chamber ensembles. Among them are: conductors Yoel Levi, Sir Neville Marriner, Gerard Schwarz, and Joseph Silverstein. Orchestras include: the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, the Barcelona Symphony/National Orchestra of Catalonia, the Rundfunk –Sinfonieorchester Berlin, the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Seattle Symphony. Instrumental soloists and chamber musicians include:the Dave Brubeck Trio, Eliot Fisk, the Juilliard String Quartet, David Krakauer, Elmar Oliveira, and Richard Stoltzman. Vocal artists: John Aler, Phyllis Bryn-Jolson, James Maddalena, Ana Maria Martinez and Erie Mills; and choral ensembles The BBC singers, the London Choral Society, the Ernest Senff Choir, and the Vienna Boys Choir Have all contributed to this project. Theatrical personalities Theodore Bikel, Tovah Feldshuh, and Fritz Weaver (who serve as narrators in several of the dramatic works.) will perform as well.

            In addition, the artistry of celebrated cantors, Jewish choirs, and exponents of popular Yiddish theater music and of the klezmer tradition, who are steeped in their particular repertoires, lends a valuable note of authenticity and intensity to these recordings.  Finally, there are performances by rapidly rising young artists and promising soloists and ensembles from leading conservatories and universities.

            The recording of more than 600 compositions for the Milken Archive of American Jewish Music was truly an international effort involving the enthusiastic participation of European and American artists, ensembles, and recording personnel.  Hundreds of hours of recording sessions took place in prestigious American and European venues from Seattle to Prague, Los Angeles to Berlin, with the highest regard for authenticity.   Whenever feasible, works were recorded in historically appropriate locations; in many cases, composers either recorded their own works or were present at the sessions to provide guidance and inspiration.           

            Most of the works heard on these recordings have never been recorded before.  In several cases, compositions had to be reconstructed from manuscript versions, new orchestrations were required, or works were resurrected from relative obscurity, providing new opportunities for them to be heard and performed.  One interesting example is the Genesis Suite, which features the music of seven 20th-century masters including Milhaud, Schoenberg, and Stravinsky, and which was reconstructed after considerable research for its first commercial recording on this series.  In a more popular vein, 49 songs from the heyday of the Yiddish theater and radio were newly orchestrated according to historical performance practice for this project, restoring their colorful impact.

            Among the premiere recordings included in the Milken Archive series are the following: the first commercial recording of complete scenes from Kurt Weill’s epic pageant The Eternal Road (75 minutes of musical and dramatic highlights sung in the original English); the first complete version of Milhaud Service Sacre and the premiere of his Etudes on Liturgical Themes for String Quartet; rare sacred works by Leonard Bernstein (many of which existed only in manuscript form) the complete Avodat Shabbat (Sabbath Service) by Herman Berlinski; the first violin concerto and additional works by Joseph Achron; and a unique recording of the Jewish liturgy as sung and heard by the earliest Jews to settle in Colonial America in the 17th century. 

All proceeds from the sale of the Milken Archive recordings and educational materials will be directed back into the Milken Archive’s nonprofit programs in furtherance of educational and cultural goals. So, I urge you, if you have the opportunity to, to support this noble undertaking and participate in the Milken Archive’s efforts. Buy Jewish music for your home, for Chanukah gifts, for your own and your family’s entertainment and pleasure.

Sincerely,

Cantor Elihu Feldman