A Rare Choral Symphony
This CD offers the opportunity to hear the major work of an almost forgotten 20th Century composer, Moses Pergament (1893 -- 1977). Born in Finland to an Orthodox Jewish family, Pergament studied composition and violin in St. Petersburg from 1908 -- 1912 and settled in Sweden in 1915. A writer, music critic, and composer, Pergament composed "Den Judiska Sangen" -- "The Jewish Song" in 1944 as WW II was coming to an end. In the work, Pergament set poems by his friend, the art historian and theatre director Ragmar Josephson (1891 -- 1966).
Pergament's "The Jewish Song" is a large, choral symphony scored for orchestra, solo soprano, solo tenor, and chorus. It has been recorded only once, in a 1974 LP on the Caprice Label, and has just been reissued on this CD. The late American conductor James DePreist (1936 -- 2013) conducted the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Choir in this recording from early in his career. DePreist, one of the first African American conductors, received the National Medal of Arts in 2005 and was a fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. He conducted the Oregon Symphony for many years. Soprano Bigit Nordin, tenor Sven-Olaf Eliasson, and the Stockholm Philharmonic Choir also participate in this recording.
"The Jewish Song" commemorates the Holocaust which was still ongoing when the work was composed. It consists of 13 parts, including poems and instrumental interludes. The Prelude, titled "In Memoriam" states that the work constitutes "a lament for the six million Jews who fell victim to the cruelty of the Third Reich". The music opens with a deeply ominous rhythmic figure in the drums, dissonances in the orchestra, and an outcry from the choir. The work derives its title from the first of Josephson's poems which speaks of the oppression and suffering of Jewish people in the diaspora in the face of the Holocaust. Several of the poems describe the ongoing Jewish settlement of what was then Palestine in the face of the Holocaust. These sections are interspersed with poems describing the Holocaust before the music comes to a measure of peace at the end.
The music is highly passionate and emotive throughout. The sections describing the ongoing Holocaust, together with scenes of fighting in Palestine, are dissonant, troubled, and angry. They include the opening Prelude and a dramatic "Intermezzo dramatico", designed to describe the "blood-thirsty Nazi Deutschland-uber-Alles mentality and the indescribable terror it struck in the hearts of all the Jews in the world." The music also includes martial, march-like sections of determination to prevail. There are also melancholy, melodic interludes in the score with messages of hope and of life in peace and brotherhood. Much of the music in these sections uses modal scales in the manner of traditional Jewish music. Sections for orchestra alternate with sections for the soloists and choir. The solo sections tend to be elegiac in character. The work concludes with two connected sections: a long poem, the "Prayer for the Approaching Sabbath" begins stormily with the chorus and large orchestra but gradually works to a peaceful conclusion with some intimate writing for winds and the only duet in the piece for the two soloists. The tranquil conclusion to the piece, "We Thank You Lord" follows without pause. In its broad scope, length, and orchestration, the piece owes something to Mahler.
The CD is well-produced with a booklet including essays on Pergament and his music from the initial release and from this reissue. There is also a short discussion of "The Jewish Song" by Pergament himself together with text and translations of Josephson's poems.
It is rewarding to have the opportunity to hear valuable but neglected music; and I was particularly glad to hear this work. This recording will make Pergament accessible to interested listeners and help save his "The Jewish Song" from oblivion. This is a worthwhile moving recording, both musically and historically. The CD is distributed by Naxos which kindly sent me a copy to review.
Total Time: 75:43
Robin Friedman
