Ernest Bloch, Isaac Stern, Alexander Zakin – Baal Shem - Three Pictures of Chassidic Life/ Sonata No. 1 for Violin and Piano (1965)

Ernest Bloch (July 24, 1880 – July 15, 1959) was a Swiss-born American composer. Bloch was a preeminent artist in his day, and left a lasting legacy. He is recognized as one of the greatest Swiss composers in history. Several of his most notable compositions reflect his Jewish heritage. As well as producing musical scores, Bloch had an academic career that culminated in his recognition as Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley in 1952.

A highly individual composer, Ernest Bloch did not pioneer any new style in music but spoke with a distinctive voice into which he could assimilate folk influences, 12-tone technique, and even coloristic quarter tones. In a stylistically atomized century, his interests were universal, and his music was both beloved by the public and inspirational for a younger and more academically oriented generation. He established his reputation in music on Hebraic themes in works such as the cello concerto "Schelomo" (1916). Bloch was also an important teacher. His output comprised numerous operas, symphonies, concertos, and chamber music, though his works exploring Hebrew concepts, such as "Baal Shem" (1923) and "Suite hébraïque" (1951), remain the most popular.

Ernest Bloch is most widely recognized for his compositions that are infused with Jewish and Hebrew folk elements, and with good reason; it is in this idiom that he produced his most easily accessible and enjoyable pieces of music. From this period, this album features the "Baal Shem Suite", written for violin and piano.

Ernest Bloch’s "Baal Shem" is a distillation of the Hebraic spirit in music — more specifically, of the mysticism and joys of the messianic vision. Echoes of synagogue cantillations and festival melodies produce the effect of a kind of spiritual folk song suite. There is a similar mood in sections of Bloch’s Violin "Sonata No. 1", but this remains a more reserved and impersonal piece, without the evocative powers of "Baal Shem".


Tracklist.

Baal Shem (Three Pictures Of Chassidic Life) (14:13)
A1 Vidui (Contrition) 3:11
A2 Nigun (Improvisation) 6:17
A3 Simchas Torah (Rejoicing) 4:35

Sonata No. 1 For Violin And Piano (29:36)
B1 Agitato 11:02
B2 Molto Quieto 10:02
B3 Moderato 8:22


Ernest Bloch, Isaac Stern, Alexander Zakin – Baal Shem - Three Pictures of Chassidic Life/ Sonata No. 1 for Violin and Piano (1965)
(320 kbps, cover art included)