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TOCH: Cantata of the Bitter Herbs / Jephta

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Naxos Milken Archives

TOCH: Cantata of the Bitter Herbs / Jephta

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ERNST TOCH: TWO WORKS ERNST TOCH (1887-1964) CANTATA OF THE BITTER HERBS (1941 JEPHTA , RHAPSODIC POEM (Symphony No. 5 - 1963) Ernst Toch is representative...

ERNST TOCH: TWO WORKS

ERNST TOCH (1887-1964)

CANTATA OF THE BITTER HERBS (1941

JEPHTA, RHAPSODIC POEM (Symphony No. 5 - 1963)

Ernst Toch is representative of those Jewish refugee composers from World War II Europe who, having been largely disinterested in or disconnected from their religious heritage, "rediscovered" their Jewish roots to varying degrees after settling in the United States.� His artistic odyssey illustrates the important role of key elements in the flowering of American-Jewish music in the 20^th century, among them an open and less restrictive society that fostered cross-cultural dialogue, especially in the creative sphere; broader options and opportunities in the degree of one's Jewish involvement; and various other factors that encouraged Judaic artistic expression outside strictly Jewish parameters.� This climate was particularly propitious in the Los Angeles area where Toch, like so many creative artists from the German cultural orbit, had settled.�

Cantata of the Bitter Herbs is freely based on the Hagadda, the annual retelling and re-examination of the story of the Jewish exodus from Egypt that lies at the core of the Passover home celebration - the seder.� The work's title refers to the mandated eating of bitter herbs at the seder that symbolizes the pain of slavery and reminds each generation of its unacceptability.� Along with the unleavened bread (matza) and the paschal lamb, the bitter herb is one of the three essential� components of the Passover ritual.

Toch decided to cast this cantata as a universal appeal for human freedom from oppression that would transcend the realm of Jewish experience and speak to a wider audience beyond the purely Jewish orbit.� He therefore directed his librettist to combine texts that expressed those ideals, primarily from the Psalms and the Book of Isaiah, with an original narration derived from the Hagadda itself.� Further, he deliberately chose not to incorporate any traditional Passover melodies so as to assure the work's broader appeal and nonparochial character.� The spoken narration alternates with a series of choral movements, recitatives, vocal solos and ensembles in an evocative post-Romantic style.� Featured on this Milken Archive recording are Theodore Bikel, narrator; Ted Christopher, baritone; Richard Clement, tenor; Carol Meyer, soprano; Elizabeth Shammash, mezzo-soprano; the Prague Philharmonic Choir; and the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra led by Gerard Schwarz.

Toch was moved to write this work following the death of his mother, when he attended a Los Angeles synagogue for the obligatory memorial prayers (the Kaddish).� While the cantata held obvious emotional significance for him, it cannot be definitively viewed as a manifestation of personal religious renewal.� It is certain, however, that this was the first composition in which he drew upon Judaic sources for musical inspiration, and that it was followed by three further works with Jewish connections.� Twenty years after its completion, Toch reflected on his thoughts and emotions as he worked on the piece, and described how his childhood Jewish experiences were evoked in the process:

The simplicity of the Hagadda story as I experienced it as a child, not part of a religious [i.e., synagogue] ceremony, but as part of a festive occasion, the reading of a breathtaking account of history, the impact of the strong emotions it carried along, stayed with me and made me welcome the task to convey with corresponding simplicity how this story had moved me at a time when we were as yet blissfully unaware of its pending revival in the fate of our generation.

The second work on this world premiere Milken Archive disc, Jephta, A Rhapsodic Poem, stems from the final years of Toch's life, a period of artistic renewal that yielded three symphonies.� Searching for an opera subject shortly before his death, the composer was attracted to a novel - Jephta and his Daughter - that was based on the famous story in the biblical Book of Judges.� Jephta, a celebrated warrior, is chosen to lead the Israelites in a key battle; he vows that if he is victorious he will express his gratitude by sacrificing to God the first person to emerge from his house upon his return.� In a moment of tragic irony suggestive of the Greek legend of Iphigenia, it is his own daughter that he must offer up.

Impatient to begin the project and unwilling to wait for a workable text from his librettist, Toch abandoned the operatic concept and created instead a purely symphonic programmatic work - a "rhapsodic" tone poem - based on the Jephta story, which became his one-movement Fifth Symphony.� This evocative work, Expressionist in character, conveys in abstract instrumental terms the unfolding of the narrative, its tragic conflicts, and the emotional impact of its unbearable denouement.� Premiered in 1964 by Erich Leinsdorf and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, it features short lyrical sections alternating with intensely dramatic passages.� Throughout, the composer exploits a wide range of instrumental combinations and capabilities.

The Jephta story has attracted many Christian as well as Jewish creative artists, and there have been more than 100 musical works based on this theme by composers ranging from Cimarosa to Schumann to Busoni, the most familiar being Handel's 1752 oratorio.� On this Milken Archive recording, Gerard Schwarz leads the Seattle Symphony.

Born in Vienna to a middle-class Jewish family, Ernst Toch pursued his musical studies in Germany, where he settled after World War I.� During the 1920s he was recognized as a principal advocate for the international new music movement that was prominent in central and Western Europe.� His works were performed by celebrated conductors, and his style evolved from late-Romanticism into a less tonal approach.� With the establishment of the National Socialist regime, Toch's music, along with that of other Jewish composers, was declared "degenerate" and its performance was forbidden.� The composer immigrated to the United States in 1934 and eventually settled in Los Angeles.� He earned several Oscar nominations for his nearly 20 film scores and a Pulitzer Prize for his Third Symphony.� Despite renewed productivity in the last decade of his life, Toch, like many of his fellow emigres, never fully recovered the prominence and cultural compatibility he enjoyed in pre-War Europe.� He is perhaps best known for his highly respected book, The Shaping Forces in Music, and his tour-de-force for speaking chorus, The Geographical Fugue.

Disc 1

Cantata of the Bitter Herbs, Op. 65

(more info)

Performed by: Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
Composed by: Ernst Toch
Conducted by: Gerard Schwarz
Carol Meyer, soprano
Richard Clement, tenor
Theodore Bikel, narrator
Ted Christopher, baritone
Elizabeth Shammash, mezzo-soprano
Recording date: October 2000
Produced by: Weir, Simon

Introduction and Psalm 114 - 6:12
Sheheheyanu - 1:34
Children's Dance - 1:52
The Ten Plagues - 1:59
And it Was at Midnight - 2:25
Aria - 4:07
Psalm 126 - 7:17
He Saved My Soul from Death - 1:59
God of Right, God of Might - 8:25
Hymn - 3:43

Jephta (Symphony No. 5)

(more info)

Performed by: Seattle Symphony Orchestra
Composed by: Ernst Toch
Conducted by: Gerard Schwarz
Recording date: June 1998
Produced by: Stern, Adam

Jephta (Symphony No. 5) - 25:26:00

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Composer(s):
Toch, Ernst

Conductor(s):
Schwarz, Gerard

Orchestra(s):
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra; Seattle Symphony Orchestra

Artist(s):
Bikel, Theodore; Christopher, Ted; Clement, Richard; Meyer, Carol; Shammash, Elizabeth

Label: Naxos Milken Archives/American
UPC: 636943941720
Item Number: 8559417
Release Date: Mar 1, 2004