Kurt Weill: Eternal Road (Highlights) (Milken Archive of American Jewish Music)

Kurt Weill: Eternal Road (Highlights) (Milken Archive of American Jewish Music)

Kurt Weill: Eternal Road (Highlights) (Milken Archive of American Jewish Music)
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CD Details

Composer: Kurt Weill
Conductor: Gerard Schwarz
Orchestra: Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra
Performer: Vale Rideout
Performer: Ian Denolfo
Performer: Karl Dent
Performer: Constance Hauman
Performer: Ted Christopher
Performer: James Maddalena
Performer: Barbara Rearick
Performer: Hanna Wollschläger
Edition: Music CD
Audio: German (Unknown)
CD Release Date: 2003-09-30
Music Label: Milken Archive
Soundtracks:
  1. Abraham And Isaac
  2. Jacob And The Angel
  3. Jacob And Rachel
  4. The Death Of Jacob
  5. In Egypt/Miriam And Moses
  6. Moses Receives The Commandments/Dance Around The Golden Calf
  7. The Beam, Moses
  8. Moses Addresses The People
  9. Moses Gives The Commandments/The Death Of Moses
  10. Naomi And Ruth
  11. Ruth And Boaz
  12. Isaiah And Jeremiah
  13. The Streets Of Jerusalem
  14. Jeremiah
  15. Chananiah The False Prophet/The Mob Attacks Jeremiah
  16. Transformation/Finale

Music reviews of Kurt Weill: Eternal Road (Highlights) (Milken Archive of American Jewish Music)

Music Review: A Historical Work That Will Appeal To Many
Rating: 4 Stars

This is a recording that will probably be of interest to a varied audience. Opera lovers who appreciate Kurt Weill's music will probably enjoy the recording most. Opera lovers who collect recordings love the familiar, but always relish the less familiar music that is released from time to time. THE ETERNAL ROAD will certainly be a rare treat in any opera lover's collection, that when listened to from time to time, is certain to bring enjoyment. The excerpts included in this recording are powerful and represent a side of Weill that is not as familiar as many of his other stage works. While it was conceived as a stage work, the recording sounds more like a modern day oratorio, but listeners can easily see how the musical pieces could be staged. Since the music is somewhat large and spectacular, and much of Weill's music found as home on the Broadway stage, people who enjoy theatrical music will also appreciate the recording. The piece is important historically not only because it presents a less familiar side of Weill, but also its historical context. Weill began work in 1933 which coincided with the beginnings of Nazi persecution. It was an affirmation of faith in the midst of the Holocaust.

The work is composed of the stories of many of the great Biblical heroes and heroines of the Jewish faith. Included in this recording are scenes telling the story of Abraham and Isaac, Jacob and the Angel, Jacob and Rachel, the death of Jacob (a very moving musical scene), Moses receiving the Ten Commandments (I believe to be one of the best scenes of the recording), Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz, and the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah. The work ends with a very hopeful finale, but the ending is a bit closer to a Broadway musical's finale which does not fit the majesty of the other excerpts, but is an enjoyable musical moment none-the-less.

The recording was supported in part by the Milken Archive, an organization dedicated to presenting and preserving Jewish sacred and secular music. It has been released by the budget label Naxos, but the work is worth more than its modest price.

More Kurt Weill: Eternal Road (Highlights) (Milken Archive of American Jewish Music) free music reviews:
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Description of Kurt Weill: Eternal Road (Highlights) (Milken Archive of American Jewish Music)

This world-premiere recording of scenes from Kurt Weill?s rediscovered masterpiece The Eternal Road brings to life a major 20th-century work that was a sensation of the 1937 New York theatre season. Originally conceived as a biblical pageant, a profound music-drama, and a theatrical extravaganza, The Eternal Road combines the legends of timeless Jewish heroes and heroines with the all-too-familiar story of persecution in Europe. Set against a richly colored backdrop, Weill?s masterful score embodies the passions and aspirations of many dramatic characters in search of their Jewish Destiny.
This is an extraordinary, unique work: part opera, part oratorio, part Broadway musical, part pageant. The German libretto by Franz Werfel (the original title actually means "The Road of Promise") was translated by Ludwig Lewisohn; the story combines Biblical and modern Jewish history, messianic faith, and national politics. Set in a contemporary synagogue where the Jews are hiding from a pogrom, its four acts are centered on specific Biblical themes, which the group discusses and re-enacts throughout the night; at the end, the destruction of the ancient Temple and the group's present-day deportation melt together, as a messianic voice promises deliverance in Zion. Conceived by the promoter and Zionist activist Meyer Weisgal to awaken the world to Hitler's persecution of the Jews by juxtaposing their historical and present travails, it was premiered in New York in 1937 to critical acclaim. But it closed after 153 performances, never to be revived. No wonder: described as "the most formidable project" ever undertaken by any "undaunted group" of Jewish artists, it required an unprecedented expenditure of personnel and material and, though heavily cut even before the premiere, ran for some six hours.

Weill's music is fascinating. Alternating between cantorial liturgy, classical fugues and showtunes, it displays every aspect of his background and multi-faceted style. Son of a German cantor, his earliest works, written at age 12 and 13, were setting of Hebrew texts, but later in life, his Jewish consciousness seems to have been political rather than religious. Of all the European emigrée-composers, he was perhaps the most successful: master of operatic as well as cabaret-style, the Broadway musical became his natural habitat.

This recording offers a selection of scenes featuring recitatives, arias, ensembles and choruses. The music ranges from simple to sophisticated, from mournful, cantorial lamentations to affecting love duets, hymns, marches with trumpets and drums, dances, celestial choruses, and genuine, lovely cabaret songs. The most substantial and moving excerpt is the Death of Moses, preceded by his presentation of the Commandments. The singing is never less than good, frequently excellent. The record makes one long to hear the music in its entirety. --Edith Eisler

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