Schelomo (Ernest Bloch)

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Schelomo - Hebrew Rhapsody for violoncello and orchestra , after the ancient Israeli King Solomon ( Hebrew שְׁלֹמֹה Šəlomoh , German 'Salomon' ; Schelomo), is a piece of music for solo violoncello and orchestra by Ernest Bloch from the years 1915 to 1916. The piece is his best-known and belongs stylistically to the composer's neoclassical and late romantic period. The program musical composition, consisting of three parts, describes in archetypal , partly oriental-sounding harmony and timbre , the dialogue between the legendary Israeli King Solomon, whose voice is played by the cello, with his people, who speak polyphonically through the orchestra.

background

Ernest Bloch did not want to reconstruct Jewish music with his work like an archaeologist , he was more interested in the deeper Hebrew spirit of this music. The piece of music Schelomo is part of Bloch's series of works, Jewish Cycle , which was created from 1912. With the works contained in this cycle, the composer found his destiny for this type of music. These include the pieces Prelude and Two Psalms (Psalms 137 and 114, 1912–1914, for soprano and orchestra) Trois poèmes juifs (three Jewish poems, for orchestra, 1913), Psalm 22 (for baritone and orchestra, 1914), Israel ( Symphony for five solo voices and orchestra, 1912–1916) and Schelomo - Hebrew Rhapsody for violoncello and orchestra (1915/1916). Ernest Bloch always used texts from the Old Testament of the Bible as inspiration for these works . He originally planned a vocal work with texts from the book of Kohelet , a collection of rules of life and wise advice attributed to King Solomon, but was unsure which language to use. The cello as a solo instrument was ultimately the solution. A visit to the virtuoso Jewish-Russian cellist Alexandre Barjansky in Geneva, who owned a wax figure of King Solomon made by his wife Katherina (another version of the story speaks only of the sketch of a small Solomon figure that Katherina Barjansky made during Bloch's visit to give it to him later as a finished sculpture), finally encouraged him to complete the composition. Bloch then also dedicated the work to the Barjanskys as: Pour Alexandre et Catherine Barjansky . The concept of the program musical composition is the dialogue between King Solomon and his people. Solomon's voice is intoned by the solo part of the violoncello, the people return Solomon's words in the form of the orchestra.

History and musical content

Schelomo was Bloch's last piece of music, which he completed in Switzerland before his trip to the USA. It premiered on May 3, 1917 in New York's Carnegie Hall under the direction of Artur Bodanzky . The solo part was played by the cellist and later founder of the National Symphony Orchestra, Hans Kindler . Two other works from the Jewish cycle were also performed in that concert , such as the Trois poèmes juifs (premiered three months earlier in Boston) and the Israel Symphony (conducted by Bloch himself).

Schelomo consists of three parts that are played without a break. The piece takes about 20 minutes, depending on the interpretation. The solo cello, in its thoroughly lyrical playing, describes Solomon's worldview , wisdom, sensuality and joie de vivre, but also pessimistic sentences like everything is vain , even in the knowledge of failure. Further programmatic elements of Bloch's music are a special exotic-oriental harmonics, known since the turn of the century for example from Richard Strauss' opera Salome ( Dance of the Seven Veils ), consisting of frequently used semitones , fourths and excessive seconds , rich timbres that go through a certain unusual instrumentation can be produced. All of this creates an extremely emotional music, which is characterized by the monologues of the cello, the questions of individual instruments and the subsequent answers of the solo instrument. But also the confusion in some instrumental tutti passages is musically illustrated. Numerous tonal quotations from the Jewish world, dance-like and sensual elements also complement the piece. Exemplary is everything is vain and a chasing after the wind from Solomon's sermon (Ecclesiastes 1:14), which is thematically presented by woodwinds, harps and strings. Another example is the primeval sounding call of the shofar , a ram's horn, which Bloch makes sounded through a solo bassoon and an oboe. The piece ends with a very soft ( pianopianissimo ) monologue by the cello in the lower registers .

First part

The first part of the piece is initially headed with the musical performance name Lento moderato . So it should start slowly and moderately. The cello as the preacher's voice begins, inspired by Solomon's words about vanity and his sad conclusions from it, with the first theme in the form of a cadenza . The orchestra follows quietly at first, then from the 16th bar ( Andante moderato ) onwards , the dialogue becomes stronger . Now the other themes appear, which are broken down into smaller and smaller tonal units, varied and brought together again. Strange sound colors, accompanied by the harps, the celesta and the strings in the col legno playing technique , illustrate the exotic-oriental character of the music and thus Solomon's people. There are phases in which the orchestra is downright excited , but is then calmed down by the solo instrument. Towards the end of the first chapter there is a dramatic orchestral climax with all the instruments ( fortissimo ), which is then ended in a last definite and lively monologue of the cello.

Second part

The second chapter ( Allegro moderato ) of Schelomo is determined by the shofar's reputation . The shofar is the horn of a ram on which simple melodies can be blown to carry long distances. As a ritual Jewish instrument, it recalls the sacrifice of Isaac . In Schelomo , the shofar call is made heard by a bassoon played as a soloist. After a few bars, it is followed by the oboe, which develops the theme further. According to the American cellist and musicologist Tracie D. Price, this theme is the only original Jewish melody that Bloch uses in his piece. It is a cantorial song originally from southern Germany with the title Kodosh Attoh . This theme is then taken up and varied by the other instruments, including the solo cello. Later on, a second theme appears, which the orchestra literally increases in a dynamic and rhythmic way to a war-like, aggressive sound, while the cello (Solomon's voice) tries in vain to hold back the orchestra. The second climax of the piece follows in musical intensity with all instruments and finally the music calms down, brass and timpani stop playing.

third part

This last part of the rhapsody is overwritten with the tempo designation Andante moderato . The volume has been reduced to a pianissimo and the shofar's call can still be heard faintly, but this time lightly struck by two timpani tuned a perfect fifth . The previous themes are taken up again with new timbres. Then the cello begins its monologue with gloomy and hopeless tones, Solomon seems to be complaining. Then the game turns into a kind of dreamlike, peaceful harmonies created by the celesta, it is the fantasy of a better world, which is then replaced by reality through a triple octave jump into the depths. The orchestra slowly builds up to its third and final climax, which leads to a pessimistic ending, according to Solomon's words that everything is vain . Regarding the end of this work, Bloch said: “Almost all of my works, however dark they may be, end with an optimistic conclusion, or at least with hope. This is the only one that ends in an absolute negation. But the subject asked for it. "

instrumentation

The score of the work, published in 1916 by the New York music publisher G. Schirmer , provides for extensive instrumentation for a large symphony orchestra :

The string section (the number of instrumentalists is the minimum) consists of:

  • First violin (12 players), second violin (10 players)
  • Violas (eight players)
  • Cellos (six players)
  • Double bass (four players)

Publications (selection)

  • Ernest Bloch - Schelomo: Hebraic Rhapsody For Cello And Orchestra. London Records 1950. Performers: Zara Nelsova; The London Philharmonic Orchestra ( discogs.com ).
  • Gregor Piatigorsky - Schelomo (RCA Victor LSC 2109) Recorded with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Charles Munch in 1958
  • Edward Elgar, Cello Concerto / Ernest Bloch, Schelomo. Performers: Pierre Fournier , violoncello; Berlin Philharmonic ; Dir .: Alfred Wallenstein . Deutsche Grammophon 1966, ( discogs.com record).
  • Shelomo: (Solomon); Hebrew rhapsody for violoncello and orchestra. Orchester National de France , EMI-Electrola, Cologne 1977, OCLC 630665991 (record).
  • Schelomo (1916), Hebrew rhapsody for violoncello and large orchestra. Music production Dabringhaus and Grimm, Detmold 1986 (CD).

literature

  • Guido M. Gatti, Theodore Baker: Ernest Bloch . In: The Musical Quarterly . tape 7 , no. 1 , January 1921, p. 20-38 , JSTOR : 738015 (English).
  • Barbara E. Swartz: An analysis of Schelomo by Ernest Bloch. M. Mus. Florida State University, 1952, OCLC 25141445 (English, dissertation).
  • Ernest Bloch: Schelomo; Hebrew Rhapsody Vc Orch: Hebraic rhapsody . Schirmer, New York, OCLC 837955732 (score).
  • Harald Suerland: "Schelomo" by Ernest Bloch . In: Westfälische Nachrichten . March 14, 2012 ( wn.de ).
  • Asu Perihan Karadut: Narratives in music: Schelmo, Hebraic Rhapsody for Cello and Orchestra. (= Louisiana State University Doctoral Dissertations. 944). DMA Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge 2007 ( digitalcommons.lsu.edu , English).
  • Alexander Knapp: 10 - King Solomon and the Baal Shem Tov: Traditional Elements in Bloch's Musical Representation of Two Iconic Personalities from Jewish History . In: Ernest Bloch Studies . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2016, ISBN 978-1-107-03909-4 , pp. 171–205 , doi : 10.1017 / 9781139856454.015 ( books.google.de - reading sample).
  • Klára Móricz: Jewish Identities. Nationalism, Racism, and Utopianism in Twentieth-Century Music. Berkeley / Los Angeles / London 2008, ISBN 978-0-520-25088-8 ( Schelomo is extensively described, analyzed and classified in the appropriate historical-musical context in this standard work on Jewish music. Pages 9, 111, 117, 137-38 , 140-42, 144, 145-49, 150-51 and 182)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Schelomo - Hebraic Rhapsody for Violoncello and Orchestra. Website with a quote from Bloch.
  2. ↑ David M. Schiller: Bloch, Schoenberg, and Bernstein. Assimilating Jewish Music. New York 2003, ISBN 0-19-816711-3 , p. 22.
  3. ^ San Francisco Symphony Orchestra Program Notes. 1955-1956.
  4. ^ Klára Móricz: Jewish Identities. Nationalism, Racism, and Utopianism in Twentieth-Century Music. Berkeley / Los Angeles / London 2008, ISBN 978-0-520-25088-8 , p. 137.
  5. ↑ Bloch's manuscript of the score, title page 1916.
  6. ↑ Alexander Knapp: The Jewishness of Bloch: Subconscious or Conscious? In: Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association . tape 97 , 1970, pp. 99-112 , here p. 108. , JSTOR : 766194 (article).
  7. ^ Walter Simmons: Voices in the Wilderness: Six American Neo-Romantic Composers. The Scarecrow Press, Oxford 2006, ISBN 0-8108-5728-6 , pp. 57 f. ( books.google.de ).
  8. ↑ a b c d Detailed description and analysis by the musician Tracie D. Price on the website cello.org
  9. ↑ Ernest Bloch: Schelomo. Rhapsody hebraïque pour violoncelle solo et grand orchestra. G. Schirmer, New York 1916 (score), pp. 3–34.
  10. ↑ Schelomo score. Pp. 34-58.
  11. ↑ Schelomo score. Pp. 59-77.
  12. ↑ Robert Strasbourg: Ernest Bloch: Voice in the Wilderness. Los Angeles 1977, p. 38.