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Re: Fw: Joseph Achron



Eliott:

It's Biddulph LAW 021 (1996) (England?).

Bob

-----Original Message-----
From: eliott kahn <elkahn (at) JTSA(dot)EDU>
To: World music from a Jewish slant <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
Date: Thursday, January 06, 2000 2:20 PM
Subject: Re: Fw: Joseph Achron


>Bob:
>
>Thanks so much for the recommendation. I wasn't aware of this
recording. Do
>you have the label, number and year of publication? I presume it's
Israeli,
>and will try our Israeli sources for it.
>
>Eliott K.
>
>At 02:17 PM 1/6/00 -0500, you wrote:
>>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
>> >
>> >
>>
>
>
>----------------------
jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org ---------------------+
>


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