Fw: Joseph Achron

[robert wiener <wiener...>]

I'm re-sending the post below because it's been 30 minutes since I
first sent it and I haven't received it yet.  Apologies if it comes
through twice.

Bob

-----Original Message-----
From: robert wiener <wiener (at) mindspring(dot)com>
To: jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
Date: Thursday, January 06, 2000 1:42 PM
Subject: Joseph Achron


>Judy and Eliot,
>
>If it's Achron's violin music you're  after, including the Stempenyu
>Suite (and 21 other pieces), try to get a copy of the CD "Stempenyu:
>The violin music of Joseph Achron" performed by Hagai Shaham (violin)
>and Arnon Erez (piano) with notes in English, Hebrew, and Yiddish!
>
>Bob
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Judy Pinnolis <pinnolis (at) brandeis(dot)edu>
>To: World music from a Jewish slant <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
>Date: Thursday, January 06, 2000 12:28 PM
>Subject: Re: "elevating" ("improving") folk music
>
>
>>Eliot:
>>And I wanted to congratulate you (and Julie) on that excellent
>publication
>>from JTS: the "Inventory of the Solomon Rosowsky Collection"
>published in
>>1996, but also your newly released "Inventory of the Max Wohlberg
>>Collection." I just started to take a look at those yesterday and
>they're
>>wonderfully helpful reference additions to help people locate
>archival
>>sources.
>>
>>I agree with you that more attention to Joseph Achron's music! If I
>recall
>>(this stretched the memory some and I had to look it up), several
>>compositions were attributed to him in the 1932 Union Hymnal.
>Actually,
>>this, the UH, was my first exposure to Joseph Achron, believe it or
>not.
>>(Amazing to think about now.)
>>
>>Judy
>>
>>At 06:03 PM 1/5/00 -0500, you wrote:
>>>Robert:
>>>
>>>RE: The Society for Jewish Folk Music. There were quite a few
>branches but
>>>the two most important ones were at Moscow, founded by Joel
(Julius)
>Engel,
>>>and the one at St. Petersburg, founded a little later, in 1908, by
a
>few
>>>composition students at the Conservatory there (L. Saminsky, S.
>Rosowsky,
>>>E. Skliar).
>>>
>>>An interesting anecdote: When author Sholom Aleichem was first
>informed of
>>>the St. Petersburg Society's goals of collecting tunes in the Pale
>of
>>>Settlement and using them as the basis for art songs and chamber
>works, he
>>>warned the members to make sure (I paraphrase) "that the tunes
don't
>freeze
>>>on the way to St. Petersburg." According to accounts by S. Rosowsky
>and L.
>>>Saminsky, however, he soon became an ardent supporter of the
>Society's
>>>goals. During its brief ten-year existence (1908-1918), The Society
>gave
>>>over 1200 concerts to adoring masses of Zionists throughout the
Pale
>of
>>>Settlement. They were proud, indeed, that what were once considered
>>>"kitchen songs" were now works of art in very sophisticated, yet
>>>accessible, chamber music and art song settings.
>>>
>>>The folks here who frequently refer to the Beregovski Collection
>should
>>>realize that the core of the collection that Beregovski cataloged,
>>>transcribed, and annotated in the 1920s-1930s were the cylinder
>recordings
>>>made during the Baron Horace von Ginsbourg Expedition of ca.
>1913-1914. The
>>>two ethnomusicologists who made these field recordings were Joel
>Engel
>>>(somewhere in the Pale, I forget), and Lazare Saminsky in the
>Caucausus
>>>region. As you can see, both these men were instrumental in
founding
>the
>>>Societies for Jewish Folk Music. I believe that Engel is referred
to
>in
>>>Israel as "the father of Jewish music."
>>>The lost cylinders were recently recovered and are now at the
>Vrenadsky
>>>Library in Kiev. The recently published CD was just a sampler
>compiled by
>>>the Library from the many cylinders in their possession.
>>>
>>>I hope folks won't sell this art music short before they've heard
>it. At
>>>the present time I am not aware of any performances that do this
>music
>>>justice. Joseph Achron (another member of the St. Petersburg
>Society) was a
>>>virtuoso violinist who studied with Leopold Auer -teacher of
>Heifetz,
>>>Gingold, Elmann, Milstein, etc. You've no doubt heard Heifetz' (and
>>>Perlmann's) performance of Achron's "Hebrew Melody." But I would
>love to
>>>hear a passionate, accurate performance of his "Stempenyu Suite,"
>among
>>>other works. I would wager that you'd hear the same type of fire
and
>>>authenticity that you hear in Bartok, if the right players were to
>perform
>>>this music.
>>>
>>>Arnold Schoenberg actually had very high praise for Achron's music;
>they
>>>knew each other in Los Angeles. Other St. Petersburg Folk Music
>Society
>>>composers of note were Moses Milner and Alexander Krein. The
Society
>for
>>>Jewish Music at St. Petersburg published over eighty pieces during
>their
>>>brief ten-year existence. Most of the music I've looked at strikes
>me as
>>>extremely tasteful and well-wrought--and very authentically Jewish.
>>>
>>>We have Solomon Rosowsky's Archive here at the Seminary Library,
and
>in
>>>1996, we published an Inventory of the collection by myself and
>archivist
>>>Julie Miller.
>>>
>>>Eliott Kahn, D.M.A.
>>>Music Archivist
>>>Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
>>>3080 Broadway
>>>New York, N.Y. 10027
>
>

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