Join family and friends early for a fabulous dinner provided by the famed caterers of Sinai Temple and stay to meet the artists and Conductor Noreen Green at a dessert reception following the concert.

Program

Noam Sheriff was commissioned to write the Israel Suite in 1965 by the wealthy businessman Ze’ev Gorodetsky. A patron of the arts who founded the electronics firm Ampa, Gorodetsky was instrumental in bringing famous violinists of Israel such as Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zuckerman to America. He asked Sheriff to write a suite that would be accessible to all Israelis. The suite consists of five popular Israeli songs that every child there knows and sings. Unified by the Hebrew language, each of these songs was written before Israel became a state.

The Sephardic Songs of Exile suite opens with the depiction of the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1542. The overtones of church bells quickly give way to a lament based on a traditional song of the Sephardic Jews of Bosnia. The core of the lament is the Oud solo (taxim) which leads to the recapitulation of the first theme and the introduction of the female vocal soloist. A gentle sense of hopefulness is suggested through a change to the major key with a prayer from Halel (Praise). Based on a prayer from Spain, the lyrics describe the heavenly gates of justice and the gate leading to the Creator. Here, hope is linked to faith and a union with Adonai. The movement reaches its climax during the singer’s solo, using the words “Ya Eli,” a mix of Arabic and Hebrew, suggesting a plea to “My God.” Next is the depiction of the Sephardic Jews' arrival in a new land: Morocco. In this section, trance- inducing tribal North African rhythms introduce an entirely different soundscape. Here recovery occurs through the creation of a new identity, a fusion of Andalusian melodies and harmonies with the Moroccan 6/8 rhythm. The new life is celebrated in various praises of God, which are borrowed from the prayer Yefe Nof. It is a dance of healing, praise, and intoxicating joy.

Kadim (East Wind) was inspired by landscape concepts from the bible. Kadim is a biblical word implying a hot easterly wind which dries up all the vegetation in its path. “And behold, seven ears, thin and blasted with the east wind” (Genesis 41:6). “Ephraim striveth after wind, and followeth after the east wind, all day he multiplieth lies desolation” (Hosea 12:2). Kadim should not be viewed simply as a layering of Eastern musical sounds, but rather as a tonal illustration of desert landscapes.

Ariel Davydov’s Exodus Overture was written in 1997 by the order of the Petach Tiqva Conservatorion (music school) Orchestra. The composition is based on the Passover Seder motif: Ha Lahma Anya (the version of the Bukhara and Persian Jews). It first appears in the flute solo part. This year it was altered a little. This concert will be its world premiere.