Kol Nidrei

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The Kol Nidrei op. 47 is a musical work by the composer Max Bruch for orchestra and cello . The work is based on the Jewish prayer Kol Nidre , which is prayed on the eve of the highest Jewish holiday , Yom Kippur .

Emergence

The work was written in 1880 at the suggestion of the cellist Robert Hausmann , after Bruch initially refused to compose for the cello after the success of his violin compositions. Bruch wrote to his publisher Fritz Simrock from Liverpool : “I just wanted to tell you that I wrote a cello piece with orchestra for Hausmann, about a most excellent Hebrew melody 'Kol Nidrei' (Adagio). On November 2nd I heard it here from Hollmann for the first time, and could then send it to you right away. ... [Hausmann] plagued me until I finally wrote this piece. It is also very good as a violin piece; I've already arranged it and tried it with Schiever, and everyone thinks it's doing very well. "

In addition to the original version, Kol Nidrei also appeared in the aforementioned violin version and for viola and piano, piano and harmonium, piano solo, cello and organ and organ solo. At first Bruch could only experience from a distance how Hausmann got along with the music, until he finally received news from him: “Hausmann is writing to me today about Kol Nidrei . According to this there is no doubt that in the orchestra lesson they artificially brought this Adagio from life to death by an insanely slow tempo. It's the old story - if you are not there yourself, nobody has any idea how to stage such a new piece ... ”In the same letter, Bruch announced from December 23rd to January 3rd in Being Berlin and wanting to conduct the piece yourself; the real reason for his trip to Berlin was the upcoming wedding with Clara Tuczek .

To the music

occupation

Cello , two flutes , two oboes , two clarinets , two bassoons , four horns , two trumpets , three trombones , timpani , harp and string instruments .

description

Kol Nidrei is divided into two sections. The first part, emphasized by pauses, is based on the traditional penitential song of the Jewish Yom Kippur festival. In the second section of Kol Nidrei , Bruch uses Isaac Nathan's version of Lord Byron's hymn Oh Weep for Those that Wept on Babel's Stream .

Minor and major alternate in the elegiac piece. Bruch himself compared the Kol Nidrei with his Scottish Fantasy in E flat major, Op. 46 , “because it”, so Bruch, “how this artistically processes a given melodic material”.

effect

Bruch showed himself dissatisfied with the premiere in Berlin at the end of 1880, since, in his opinion, “this Adagio was artificially brought from life to death at an insanely slow pace”. Nevertheless, the composition quickly gained popularity. To the displeasure of the Protestant composer, the public opinion arose that Bruch was a Jew, a topic that flared up again in the music world during National Socialism . Under this impression, the Kol Nidrei was no longer performed during this time.

literature

  • Christopher Fifield: Max Bruch - Biography of a Composer , Swiss publishing house, 1990 Zurich, ISBN 3-7263-6616-4 , pp. 166–167
  • Harenberg concert guide , Harenberg Kommunikation, Dortmund, 1998, ISBN 3-611-00535-5

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Max Bruch to Fritz Simrock , October 9, 1880
  2. ^ Max Bruch to Fritz Simrock, November 12, 1880