SOUND ART CONCEPT
Musician statements:
Rita Mitsel
Through the ages, biblical texts have been a great source of inspiration for the composers of all genres. Both sacred and secular works were written, illuminating and reinterpreting the biblical narrative. There is no better musical "instrument" than the human voice to tell the stories of Tanakh. Vocal works, such as Renaissance motets, Baroque and classical oratorios, romantic and contemporary operas, show us the interest in retelling biblical stories through the human voice that continues with every new generation.
As a part of this project, I will perform two works by notable Jewish composers, Alexander Krein (1883-1951), and Paul Ben-Haim (1897-1984). Both works are vocal in their nature and unique in their attempt to fuse Jewish music with European classical tradition.
Krein's "Three Ornaments," written originally for the voice, blends traditional Eastern European Jewish folk and liturgical music with Western European style. Ben Haim's "Songs without words" synthesizes European and Mediterranean music, thus developing a fusion of these musical traditions.
Through the ages, biblical texts have been a great source of inspiration for the composers of all genres. Both sacred and secular works were written, illuminating and reinterpreting the biblical narrative. There is no better musical "instrument" than the human voice to tell the stories of Tanakh. Vocal works, such as Renaissance motets, Baroque and classical oratorios, romantic and contemporary operas, show us the interest in retelling biblical stories through the human voice that continues with every new generation.
As a part of this project, I will perform two works by notable Jewish composers, Alexander Krein (1883-1951), and Paul Ben-Haim (1897-1984). Both works are vocal in their nature and unique in their attempt to fuse Jewish music with European classical tradition.
Krein's "Three Ornaments," written originally for the voice, blends traditional Eastern European Jewish folk and liturgical music with Western European style. Ben Haim's "Songs without words" synthesizes European and Mediterranean music, thus developing a fusion of these musical traditions.
Nadya Meykson
In the 70s Soviet avant-garde composers turned to religious and spiritual aspects of music. Living in an atheist country where religious practices had been suppressed for several decades, Alfred Schnittke, Sofia Gubaidulina, Arvo Pärt, Galina Ustvolskaya, Vladimir Martynov and Giya Kancheli began composing psalms, hymns, chants and other works that focused on religious texts and subjects. At the same time Valentine Silvestrov developed his own style rooted in nature symbolism and cosmic mysticism and influenced by ancient music.
Vladimir Vavilov, a guitarist and lutenist, composed in Renaissance, Baroque and ancient styles, often on religious context. He wrote under various pseudonyms, or ascribed his music to authors of the past.
Soviet intelligentsia was hungry for any art that wasn't Soviet. The premiere of “St Matthew Passion” by J.S. Bach in Moscow in 1972 nearly caused a riot. All tickets were sold out and mounted police had to guard the doors of The Tchaikovsky Conservatory from the crowds that flooded the surrounding streets.
My program will include works by Arvo Pärt, Alfred Schnittke and other Soviet avant-garde proponents of mystical and spiritual sound. I will also play my own compositions that are influenced by ethnic and ancient music.
In the 70s Soviet avant-garde composers turned to religious and spiritual aspects of music. Living in an atheist country where religious practices had been suppressed for several decades, Alfred Schnittke, Sofia Gubaidulina, Arvo Pärt, Galina Ustvolskaya, Vladimir Martynov and Giya Kancheli began composing psalms, hymns, chants and other works that focused on religious texts and subjects. At the same time Valentine Silvestrov developed his own style rooted in nature symbolism and cosmic mysticism and influenced by ancient music.
Vladimir Vavilov, a guitarist and lutenist, composed in Renaissance, Baroque and ancient styles, often on religious context. He wrote under various pseudonyms, or ascribed his music to authors of the past.
Soviet intelligentsia was hungry for any art that wasn't Soviet. The premiere of “St Matthew Passion” by J.S. Bach in Moscow in 1972 nearly caused a riot. All tickets were sold out and mounted police had to guard the doors of The Tchaikovsky Conservatory from the crowds that flooded the surrounding streets.
My program will include works by Arvo Pärt, Alfred Schnittke and other Soviet avant-garde proponents of mystical and spiritual sound. I will also play my own compositions that are influenced by ethnic and ancient music.