Born into a family that had lived in Florence since the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492 Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968) entertained only a distant relationship with the music he heard at synagogue. It was only when he discovered Schelemo a rhapsody for cello and orchestra written in 1916 by Ernest Bloch that he began to understand what “Jewish music” could be. In the mid-1920s the young composer found a collection of prayers set to music among his maternal grandfather’s papers. Something clicked and from then on Jewish tradition would become a source of inspiration for Castelnuovo-Tedesco. In 1928 two years after publishing theDances of King David he wrote this Vocalise-Étude for medium voice and piano at the request of vocal teacher Amédée-Landély Hettich who wanted to include it in the Répertoire moderne de Vocalises-Études published by Leduc. The piece became so popular that several instrumental adaptations were soon created published under the title Chant hébraïque (for violin and piano: AL17 713; for cello and piano: AL 17196). Divided into three sections this wordless melody opens with a “sad and impassioned” chant that appears to grieve the tragic fate of the Jewish people. A folk dance follows in which a “lively and stubborn” movement has great panache. The third section returns to the initial poignant theme before briefly reiterating the dance motif allowing the piece to conclude on a hopeful note. The composer himself would adopt this proactive stance refusing to yield to resignation when fleeing Mussolini’s anti-Semitic laws he decided to emigrate in 1939 to the United States a land of refuge to which he would remain faithful until his death some thirty years later.
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