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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not for All Tastes, 4 Jul 2005
Much as I wanted to like this recording of Bloch's 'America (An Epic Rhapsody)' I wasn't able to. First, the performance by an eastern European orchestra and chorus is clueless at best and downright sloppy at worst. Second, the piece itself is, for an American listener, almost embarrassing in its jingoistic and relatively naïve approach to limning America in music. One can certainly understand Bloch's sincerity and his wish to sing the praises of the country of which he had just become a citizen, but his means do not accomplish much that is memorable. The first movement -- '1620: The Soil - The Indians - (England) - The Mayflower - The Landing of the Pilgrims' -- is naïve in its use of supposed Native American themes. Reminiscent of Edward MacDowell's earlier 'Indian Suite,' it is not so well done. The second movement -- '1861-1865: Hours of Joy - Hours of Sorrow' -- makes awkward use of Civil War tunes and folksongs like 'Pop Goes the Weasel.' It's hard not to laugh at - not with - this section. The third movement - '1926: The Present - The Future (Anthem)' -- is rife with sounds of cars and factories and makes use of the kind of symphonic jazz used by such composers as Weill and Milhaud. It is the strongest movement, until it ends with a chorus intoning an anthem entitled 'America! America!' to words by Bloch himself. In performance Bloch meant it to be sung by the audience. The lines 'Our fathers built up a nation / To give us justice and peace / Towards higher aims, / Towards greater goals, / Towards freedom of all mankind' might, I'm afraid, turn to dust in our mouths in the current political circumstances. 'America' has also been recorded by Stokowski and Gerard Schwarz but I am not familiar with those performances. The twelve-minute 'Suite hebraïque' was written in 1953 and exists in four versions: violin/orchestra; viola/orchestra; violin/piano; viola/piano. We hear Israeli violinist Hagai Shaham (not as well-known as fellow Israeli violinist Gil Shaham, but obviously a talented instrumentalist) accompanied by the Atlas Camerata in a fine performance of this three-movement work that makes frequent use of Schelomo-like Jewish themes and harmonies. The first movement, 'Rapsodie,' is a bit lethargic in this performance, but 'Processional' and 'Affirmation' are nicely done. The main theme of 'Affirmation' has real potential to stick in one's mind's ear for hours. Dalia Atlas, an Israeli conductor who has made a specialty, we're told, of Bloch's music, leads both performances, the first by the Slovak Radio Symphony, the second by her own group, Atlas Camerata, an Israeli group made up primarily of Soviet emigrés to Israel. Scott Morrison
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