B i o g r a p h y
B i o g r a p h y
B i o g r a p h y
Joshua R. Jacobson holds a Bachelors degree in Music from Harvard College, a Masters in Choral Conducting from the New England Conservatory, a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Cincinnati, and a Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa from Hebrew College. Before retiring in 2018, Dr. Jacobson served 45 years as Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Northeastern University, including nine years as Music Department Chairman and six years as the Bernard Stotsky Professor of Jewish Cultural Studies. He is also Visiting Professor and Senior Consultant in the School of Jewish Music at Hebrew College. He is also the founder and director of the Zamir Chorale of Boston, a world-renowned ensemble, specializing in Hebrew music. He has conducted workshops on choral music for various groups, including the American Choral Directors Association, and has guest conducted a number of ensembles, including the Boston Pops Orchestra, the Bulgarian National Symphony and Chorus, the New England Conservatory Orchestra and the Boston Lyric Opera Company. He has also written articles on various aspects of choral music, and over one hundred published compositions and arrangements. In 1989 he spent four weeks in Yugoslavia as a Distinguished Professor under the auspices of the Fulbright program. In 1994 Hebrew College awarded him the Benjamin Shevach Award for Distinguished Achievement in Jewish Educational Leadership, in 2004 the Cantors Assembly presented him with its prestigious “Kavod Award,” in 2016 Choral Arts New England presented him the Alfred Nash Patterson Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2018 Chorus America selected him for its Distinguished Service Award. Prof. Jacobson is past President of the Massachusetts chapter of the American Choral Directors Association. He is the conductor and host of the PBS film, Zamir: Jewish Voices Return to Poland. His book, Chanting the Hebrew Bible: The Art of Cantillation, published by the Jewish Publication Society in 2002, was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award. He is co-author of Translations and Annotations of Choral Repertoire—Volume IV: Hebrew Texts, published by earthsongs in 2009.
Prof. Jacobson’s articles have appeared in The Choral Journal, the American Choral Review, The Journal of Synagogue Music, Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity, Encyclopedia Judaica, Studies in Jewish Civilization, Yale University Institute of Sacred Music Colloquium, The Musical Quarterly, and others. His compositions, arrangements and editions have been performed by ACDA honors choirs, by the Boston Pops and Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and by the St. Olaf College Choirs, among others. His music is published by Transcontinental, ECS, Broude Brothers and Earthsongs. He has guest lectured at Harvard, Brandeis, Yale, and many other schools. In addition to his specialization in Jewish music, he has conducted many of the standard choral-orchestral masterworks, including Bach’s Johannespassion, Beethoven’s Mass in C, Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Die Schöpfung, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Mozart’s Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Poulenc’s Gloria, Schubert’s Mass in E-flat, Thompson’s A Peaceable Kingdom. He has also prepared Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony for Daniel Barenboim and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Mahler's Second Symphony for Zubin Mehta and the I. P. O., Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms for Gary Bertini and the Jerusalem Symphony, Schoenberg’s A Survivor from Warsaw for Piero Bellugi and the New England Conservatory Orchestra. In 2011 Jacobson launched "Middle Eastern Harmonies," a program bringing together on stage Jewish and Arab music and musicians. He has performed the program for diverse audiences throughout New England.
Here are excerpts from some press reviews. Richard Dyer wrote in the Boston Globe (June11, 2002) “Jacobson has a gift for programming that is instructive and entertaining, and more often than not, the Zamir Chorale performs works that music lovers would be unlikely to hear anyplace else.” Philip Greenfield in the American Record Guide (March/April, 2002), “The Zamir Chorale of Boston has become America’s foremost Jewish choral ensemble.” Kevin Gabriel in The Worcester Telegram and Gazette (March 25, 1996), “Jacobson led polished performances that emphasized clarity and balance. And the chorale’s professionalism was everywhere evident, particlularly in its unflagging attention to detail.”
Joshua R. Jacobson holds a Bachelors degree in Music from Harvard College, a Masters in Choral Conducting from the New England Conservatory, a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Cincinnati, and a Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa from Hebrew College. Before retiring in 2018, Dr. Jacobson served 45 years as Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Northeastern University, including nine years as Music Department Chairman and six years as the Bernard Stotsky Professor of Jewish Cultural Studies. He is also Visiting Professor and Senior Consultant in the School of Jewish Music at Hebrew College. He is also the founder and director of the Zamir Chorale of Boston, a world-renowned ensemble, specializing in Hebrew music. He has conducted workshops on choral music for various groups, including the American Choral Directors Association, and has guest conducted a number of ensembles, including the Boston Pops Orchestra, the Bulgarian National Symphony and Chorus, the New England Conservatory Orchestra and the Boston Lyric Opera Company. He has also written articles on various aspects of choral music, and over one hundred published compositions and arrangements. In 1989 he spent four weeks in Yugoslavia as a Distinguished Professor under the auspices of the Fulbright program. In 1994 Hebrew College awarded him the Benjamin Shevach Award for Distinguished Achievement in Jewish Educational Leadership, in 2004 the Cantors Assembly presented him with its prestigious “Kavod Award,” in 2016 Choral Arts New England presented him the Alfred Nash Patterson Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2018 Chorus America selected him for its Distinguished Service Award. Prof. Jacobson is past President of the Massachusetts chapter of the American Choral Directors Association. He is the conductor and host of the PBS film, Zamir: Jewish Voices Return to Poland. His book, Chanting the Hebrew Bible: The Art of Cantillation, published by the Jewish Publication Society in 2002, was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award. He is co-author of Translations and Annotations of Choral Repertoire—Volume IV: Hebrew Texts, published by earthsongs in 2009.
Prof. Jacobson’s articles have appeared in The Choral Journal, the American Choral Review, The Journal of Synagogue Music, Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity, Encyclopedia Judaica, Studies in Jewish Civilization, Yale University Institute of Sacred Music Colloquium, The Musical Quarterly, and others. His compositions, arrangements and editions have been performed by ACDA honors choirs, by the Boston Pops and Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and by the St. Olaf College Choirs, among others. His music is published by Transcontinental, ECS, Broude Brothers and Earthsongs. He has guest lectured at Harvard, Brandeis, Yale, and many other schools. In addition to his specialization in Jewish music, he has conducted many of the standard choral-orchestral masterworks, including Bach’s Johannespassion, Beethoven’s Mass in C, Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Die Schöpfung, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Mozart’s Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Poulenc’s Gloria, Schubert’s Mass in E-flat, Thompson’s A Peaceable Kingdom. He has also prepared Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony for Daniel Barenboim and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Mahler's Second Symphony for Zubin Mehta and the I. P. O., Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms for Gary Bertini and the Jerusalem Symphony, Schoenberg’s A Survivor from Warsaw for Piero Bellugi and the New England Conservatory Orchestra. In 2011 Jacobson launched "Middle Eastern Harmonies," a program bringing together on stage Jewish and Arab music and musicians. He has performed the program for diverse audiences throughout New England.
Here are excerpts from some press reviews. Richard Dyer wrote in the Boston Globe (June11, 2002) “Jacobson has a gift for programming that is instructive and entertaining, and more often than not, the Zamir Chorale performs works that music lovers would be unlikely to hear anyplace else.” Philip Greenfield in the American Record Guide (March/April, 2002), “The Zamir Chorale of Boston has become America’s foremost Jewish choral ensemble.” Kevin Gabriel in The Worcester Telegram and Gazette (March 25, 1996), “Jacobson led polished performances that emphasized clarity and balance. And the chorale’s professionalism was everywhere evident, particlularly in its unflagging attention to detail.”
Joshua R. Jacobson holds a Bachelors degree in Music from Harvard College, a Masters in Choral Conducting from the New England Conservatory, a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Cincinnati, and a Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa from Hebrew College. Before retiring in 2018, Dr. Jacobson served 45 years as Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Northeastern University, including nine years as Music Department Chairman and six years as the Bernard Stotsky Professor of Jewish Cultural Studies. He is also Visiting Professor and Senior Consultant in the School of Jewish Music at Hebrew College. He is also the founder and director of the Zamir Chorale of Boston, a world-renowned ensemble, specializing in Hebrew music. He has conducted workshops on choral music for various groups, including the American Choral Directors Association, and has guest conducted a number of ensembles, including the Boston Pops Orchestra, the Bulgarian National Symphony and Chorus, the New England Conservatory Orchestra and the Boston Lyric Opera Company. He has also written articles on various aspects of choral music, and over one hundred published compositions and arrangements. In 1989 he spent four weeks in Yugoslavia as a Distinguished Professor under the auspices of the Fulbright program. In 1994 Hebrew College awarded him the Benjamin Shevach Award for Distinguished Achievement in Jewish Educational Leadership, in 2004 the Cantors Assembly presented him with its prestigious “Kavod Award,” in 2016 Choral Arts New England presented him the Alfred Nash Patterson Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2018 Chorus America selected him for its Distinguished Service Award. Prof. Jacobson is past President of the Massachusetts chapter of the American Choral Directors Association. He is the conductor and host of the PBS film, Zamir: Jewish Voices Return to Poland. His book, Chanting the Hebrew Bible: The Art of Cantillation, published by the Jewish Publication Society in 2002, was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award. He is co-author of Translations and Annotations of Choral Repertoire—Volume IV: Hebrew Texts, published by earthsongs in 2009.
Prof. Jacobson’s articles have appeared in The Choral Journal, the American Choral Review, The Journal of Synagogue Music, Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity, Encyclopedia Judaica, Studies in Jewish Civilization, Yale University Institute of Sacred Music Colloquium, The Musical Quarterly, and others. His compositions, arrangements and editions have been performed by ACDA honors choirs, by the Boston Pops and Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and by the St. Olaf College Choirs, among others. His music is published by Transcontinental, ECS, Broude Brothers and Earthsongs. He has guest lectured at Harvard, Brandeis, Yale, and many other schools. In addition to his specialization in Jewish music, he has conducted many of the standard choral-orchestral masterworks, including Bach’s Johannespassion, Beethoven’s Mass in C, Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Die Schöpfung, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Mozart’s Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Poulenc’s Gloria, Schubert’s Mass in E-flat, Thompson’s A Peaceable Kingdom. He has also prepared Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony for Daniel Barenboim and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Mahler's Second Symphony for Zubin Mehta and the I. P. O., Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms for Gary Bertini and the Jerusalem Symphony, Schoenberg’s A Survivor from Warsaw for Piero Bellugi and the New England Conservatory Orchestra. In 2011 Jacobson launched "Middle Eastern Harmonies," a program bringing together on stage Jewish and Arab music and musicians. He has performed the program for diverse audiences throughout New England.
Here are excerpts from some press reviews. Richard Dyer wrote in the Boston Globe (June11, 2002) “Jacobson has a gift for programming that is instructive and entertaining, and more often than not, the Zamir Chorale performs works that music lovers would be unlikely to hear anyplace else.” Philip Greenfield in the American Record Guide (March/April, 2002), “The Zamir Chorale of Boston has become America’s foremost Jewish choral ensemble.” Kevin Gabriel in The Worcester Telegram and Gazette (March 25, 1996), “Jacobson led polished performances that emphasized clarity and balance. And the chorale’s professionalism was everywhere evident, particlularly in its unflagging attention to detail.”
JOSHUA JACOBSON
Titles I-M Recommended Jewish Choral Music
title: I Have a Little Dreydel
composer: Michael Gelbart (arranger Matthew Lazar)
publisher: Transcontinental
catalogue number: 982002
voicing: SATB, T solo
accompaniment: piano (optional bass and drum set)
timing: 3:00
language: English
text: Michael Gelbart
year of arrangement: 1989
recordings: LIGHTS (HZ-901)
level of difficulty: moderate
description: Originally written in Yiddish, Michael Gelbart’s “I Have a Little Dreydel” has proven to be a popular children’s song for Chanukah. In English translation it has captivated several generations of American children, as well. Utilizing the styles of 1950s rock-’n’-roll, this lighthearted arrangement conveys the joyous aura of the Festival of Lights. After a deceptively simple a cappella introduction by the choir, the piano boldly enters in 12/8 rhythms. The soloist carries the melody for the most part, while the chorus enjoys the sounds of “doo-wop.”
title: I Never Saw Another Butterfly
composer: Charles Davidson
publisher: Ashbourne Music
catalogue number:
voicing: SSA (children’s choir), S soli, narrator
accompaniment: piano (or orchestra)
language: English
text: children from Terezin
year of composition: 1968
timing: 39:20
recordings: Music Masters 70492C
level of difficulty: moderate
description: Davidson has created a moving an uplifting suite out of poems written between 1941 and 1944 by children who were imprisoned in the Terezin concentration camp. Most of these children were murdered in the Auschwitz death camp, but through Davidson’s composition their voices live on, a moving testament to the faith and optimism of young children under oppression.
title: In the Beginning
composer: Copland, Aaron
publisher: Boosey and Hawkes
catalogue number: 028035C
voicing: satb div (mezzo soprano solo)
accompaniment: a cappella
language: English
text: Genesis 1
year of composition: 1947
timing: 17:00
recordings: (Angel EMI 66787)
level of difficulty: challenging
description: Written for a symposium at Harvard University more than fifty years ago, this work by America’s greatest composer tells the story of the beginnings of the world in a uniquely American idiom. The scales and rhythms are challenging. And it’s no mean feat to keep pitch without accompaniment for seventeen minutes.
title: Joshua
composer: Modest Musorgsky
publisher: G. Schirmer
catalogue number: 5534
voicing: SATB, MS and B soli
accompaniment: orchestra (or piano)
language: Russian
text: Bible (reworked by the composer)
year of composition: 1874-7
timing: 5:00
recordings: RCA 61354
level of difficulty: moderate
description: This little oratorio, based on the exploits of the Hebrew warrior, packs a powerful dramatic punch. The opening theme is actually based on a Hassidic niggun that the Russian master heard in his neighborhood. If you can’t find a performing edition, look for the music in Musorgsky’s collected works.
title: Judas Maccabaeus
composer: George Frederic Handel
publisher: Kalmus
catalogue number: 6206
voicing: SATB (SATB soli)
accompaniment: orchestra
language: English
text: Thomas Morell
year of composition: 1746
timing: 2 hours and 50 minutes
recordings: Hyperion 66641
level of difficulty: moderate
description: Handel composed many of his “Old Testament” oratorios with the Jewish audience of London in mind. Judas Maccabaeus is especially appropriate for Chanukah. Individual numbers (such as “See The Conquering Hero” and “Hallelujah Amen”) can be excerpted and performed effectively with piano. Other highly effective “Old Testament” oratorios by Handel include Saul and Israel in Egypt.
title: K'Ayal Ta'arog (Psalm 42)
composer: Page, Nick
publisher:Boosey & Hawkes
catalogue number: 48022670
voicing: satb; optional solos (any part(
accompaniment: piano and 4 percussion instruments (can be payed by singers)
language: Hebrew and English
text: Psalm 42
year of composition: 1967
timing: 4:10
recordings: Lots on YouTube
level of difficulty: easy
description: The piano and percussion establish a driving quasi-minimalist pulse, against which the singers declaim a simple lovely melody, at first in call and response, then in canon and with drones.
title: Kabbalat Shabbat (Friday Evening Service)
composer: Ben-Haim, Paul
publisher: IMP (distributed in the USA by Theodore Presser)
catalogue number: Presser 512-00007 (IMP 328)
voicing: satb; solo S and baritone or tenor
accompaniment chamber orchestra
language: Hebrew
text: Friday evening synagogue liturgy
year of composition: 1967
timing: 40:00
recordings:
level of difficulty: moderate
description: A setting of the Friday evening synagogue liturgy according to the American Reform Jewish ritual. Commissioned by the National Federation of Temple Youth, the work is not difficult for a good high school choir.
title: Kaddish (Sanctification)
composer: Rossi, Salamone
publisher: Transcontinental
catalogue number: 982046
voicing: SSATB
accompaniment: a cappella
language: Aramaic
text: liturgy
year of composition: 1622 (published)
timing: 3:00
recordings: Rossi
level of difficulty: moderate
description: Salamone Rossi, a Jewish composer working in the Gonzaga court in Mantua at the beginning of the seventeenth century, composed the only substantial collection of polyphonic music for the synagogue to appear before the nineteenth century. The “Kaddish” (or “doxology”) is set here in the joyous style of the balletto.
title: Kiddush (Sanctification)
composer: Kurt Weill
publisher: European American
catalogue number: EA 399-7
voicing: SATB div
accompaniment: piano (or organ)
language: Hebrew
text: Sabbath liturgy
year of composition: 1946
timing: 3:15
recordings: Jewish Composers in America
level of difficulty: moderate
description: A rare liturgical gem from the pen of the great German-American composer. Like many of his works, “Kiddush” blends elements of jazz (the blues scale) with classical formalism. This setting of the blessing over the wine, commissioned by New York’s Park Avenue Synagogue, is dedicated to the composer’s father, Albert Weill, chief cantor in Dessau, Germany until 1919.
title: Kol Nidre (op. 39) ("All Vows" -- Yom Kippur Eve Service)
composer: Arnold Schoenberg
publisher: Boelke-Bomart
catalogue number: 20
voicing: SATB, narrator
accompaniment: large orchestra
language: Aramaic, Hebrew and English
text: Yom Kippur liturgy & Schoenberg
year of composition: 1938
timing: 11:00
recordings: Sony 44571
level of difficulty: moderate
description: This work is much more demanding on the orchestra than the chorus. It is based on the traditional Yom Kippur text and its Ashkenazic melody, but the composer consciously avoided any hint of sentimentality.
title: Ledor Vador (In Every Generaion)
composer: Meir Finkelstein (arranged by Joshua Jacobson)
publisher: Transcontinental
catalogue number: 992074
voicing: SATB (solo S or T)
accompaniment: piano or organ
language: Hebrew (or English)
text: synagogue liturgy
year of composition:
timing: 3:00
recordings: The Songs Live On
level of difficulty: easy to moderate
description: A very sweet setting of the last paragraph of the Kedushah (Sanctification). The choir supports the cantor and sings the melodious refrain.
title: Lord Is My Shepherd, The (Psalm 23)
composer: Herbert Fromm
publisher: Transcontinental
catalogue number:
voicing: SATB
accompaniment: organ with optional flute
language: English
text: Psalm 23
year of composition:
timing: 4:00
recordings: Zamir – From Boston to Berlin
level of difficulty: moderate
description: An appropriately pastorale setting of the Psalm text, slow and homophonic.
title: Mah Tovu (How Good Are Your Dwellings)
composer: Louis Lewandowski
publisher: Broude Brothers
catalogue number: CR-69
voicing: SATB, T (or bar) solo
accompaniment: organ (or piano)
timing: 3:00
language: Hebrew (alternate English)
text: liturgy
year of composition: circa 1882
recording: Majesty of Holiness (HZ-912)
level of difficulty: moderate
description: Louis Lewandowski was the first musician to serve the Jewish synagogue as a choirmaster serves a church. In 1864 the building in Berlin of the Oranienburgerstrasse Temple, which was equipped with an organ, offered Lewandowski the opportunity of creating an entire new service with organ accompaniment — a task never before undertaken. The culmination of his career came in 1882 with the publication of his magnum opus, Todah W’Simrah (Thanks and Song), a setting of the entire liturgical cycle for four-part choir, cantor and organ. “Mah Tovu” is the prayer recited upon first entering a synagogue. Its homophonic style, somewhat reminiscent of Mendelssohn, evokes the pomp and formality of worship in nineteenth-century Berlin. An orchestration is available from Transcontinental Publications.
title: Maoz Tsur (Fortress Rock) and Chanukah Candle Blessings
composer: traditional (arranged by Abraham Binder and Joshua Jacobson)
publisher: Transcontinental
catalogue number: 992017
voicing: SATB. Solo (any voice)
accompaniment: piano or organ (optional)
language: Hebrew and English
text: liturgy for Chanukah
year of composition: 1990 (re-arrangement)
timing: 2:05
recordings: Lights
level of difficulty: easy to moderate
description: A fairly straightforward setting of the traditional Ashkenazic melody for the three blessings of the Chanukah candles—the choir provides a wordless accompaniment to the soloist. The Maoz Tsur (again in the traditional Ashkenazic melody) is sung in homophony by the full chorus, with some lovely chromatic harmonies.
title: Maoz Tsur/ Fortress Rock
composer: Hugo Weisgall
publisher: Theodore Presser
catalogue number: 342-40014
voicing: SATB
accompaniment: a cappella
language: Hebrew (English alternate available)
text: Modecai Ben Yitzhak (Hanukkah hymn)
year of composition: 1957
timing: 1:05
recordings: Lights
level of difficulty: moderate
description: Weisgall’s setting (one of a group of “Three Hebraic Folksongs”) is based on an old Italian Jewish melody. Weisgall’s style is lean, terse, and elegant.
title: May the Words (Yih’yu le’rotzon)
composer: Hugo Weisgall
publisher: T. Presser
catalogue number: 312-40507
voicing: SATB
accompaniment: a cappella
language: Hebrew (English alternative text)
text: Psalm 19:14
year of composition: 1935 (revised 1950)
timing: 2:00
recordings: Naxos 8.559425
level of difficulty: challenging
description: A beautifully crafted setting of the verse that ends the silent prayer in the Jewish liturgy. This slow meditation has some difficult but stunning enharmonic key changes.
title: Mi Zeh Yemallel (Who can Tell)
composer: Joshua Jacobson
publisher: Transcontinental
catalogue number: 992016
voicing: satb (div) (baritone solo)
accompaniment: tof (Middle-eastern hand drum), tambourine
language: Hebrew (alternate English)
text: traditional
year of composition: 1988
timing: 2:30
recordings: Lights
level of difficulty: moderate
description: This robust and exotic composition is based on a traditional Chanukah song from Tetuan, Morocco. The chorus is divisi into many sections. While the parts are not difficult, the divisi requires significant independence from each singer.
title: Min Hametsar (From out of the Straits)
composer: Jacques Halévy
publisher: Transcontinental
catalogue number: 982073
voicing: SATB (TBB soli)
accompaniment: a cappella or organ
language: Hebrew
text: Psalm 118
year of composition: ca. 1818
timing: 7:11
recordings: The Majesty of Holiness
level of difficulty: moderate
description: The great opera composer wrote this setting when he was 18 years old for his father. It is a dramatic setting of the “Hallel” Psalm from the Festival liturgy.
title: Mizmorei Tehillim (Psalm Songs)
composer: Tzvi Avni
publisher: Transcontinental Music Publications
catalogue number: 991377-12
voicing: SATB
accompaniment: a cappella
timing: 6:25
language: Hebrew (alternate English)
text: from Psalms 47, 48, 150
year of composition: 1967
recordings: Zamir 25 (HZ-907)
level of difficulty: moderate to challenging
description: This three-movement work was commissioned for the 1967 Zimriyah International Choral Festival in Israel. Its texts reflect both the uniqueness of the host nation, and the joy a foreigner experiences when coming to the Holy Land. This is one of the last works from Avni’s “Mediterranean” style period, incorporating the rhythms and modes of the Middle East. The first movement is set in a lively 5/4 meter. The second movement evokes the Palestrina ideal in its polyphonic texture made up of independent, lyrical, flowing lines. The finale returns to the mood of the opening: joyous homophony in mixed meters. This colorful work is very rewarding for more advanced choirs.
title: Moadim (Festivals)
composer: Mordecai Seter
publisher: IMI
catalogue number: 120
voicing: SSAATTBB
accompaniment: a cappella
language: Hebrew
text: liturgy
year of composition: 1946
timing: 13:10
recordings: MII-CD-25
level of difficulty: challenging
description: Seter bases his compositions on traditional Jewish melodies, and treats them in a style reminiscent of Bartok. (First movement: Tsur Yeshuati, based on a hymn for Sukkot, 5:46. Second movement: Ha Lakhma Anya, based on the Passover Haggadah, 4:45. Third Movement: Kol Tsahola, based on a Sabbath hymn, 2:19)