MUSIC OF A PEOPLE STANLEY BLACK

Conducting

THE LONDON FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA AND CHORUS

Every now and then an Album comes along, the making of which is both a

challenge and a labour of love. “Music of a People"—as an idea—had been on my mind for several years,

and when producer Tony D'Amato told me that idea was about to become

fact I was wild with excitement and enthusiasm. So, incidentally, was Tony.

There was something almost symbolic in the feverish way we two set to work:

—Tony, an Italian New Yorker and I, a "Limey" representative of “the

people" whose music we were going to present. In retrospect, I believe it was

the knowledge that previous Albums of Jewish music had resulted in some¬

thing either over-sentimentalised or superficial which made us the more

determined to treat the subject seriously, lavishly and in depth.

Starting with a list of approximately two dozen possible items, we con¬

sidered, discussed, argued, compared and discarded until we were left with

a short-list of some fifteen or sixteen melodies; at which stage Tony said to

me with a grin “This Album is your idea and you do have a sort of 'Member's

priority'—you make the final selection!"

Historians and Sociologists have for long debated whether the Jews are a

Nation, a Race, or a Religious Group, and I suppose the correct answer is that

they are a unique mixture of all three. But whatever they are ethnically, the

Jews are a people whose 3,000 years of historical background has been largely

Nomadic. Their culture and music stem from many sources and mirror the

diverse environments of their migrations. Thus, although their music is

basically Semitic-Oriental, there are also overtones of Russia and Poland;

echoes of Rumania, Spain and Morocco; reflections of the Yemen and the

Negev. In choosing the ten Melodies contained in this Album I feel I have selected

those which are not only the most familiar in the rich heritage of Jewish

Music, but also those which reflect the widest cross-section of Jewish Life.

For the scoring of these melodies I utilized a very large orchestra and male-

voice choir, not because I wanted an overpowering weight of sound per se,

but because the kind of arrangements I had in mind required the most varied

possible palette of orchestral and vocal colour.

I have tried to reflect many things in these scores:—Not only the memory

of a centuries-old struggle for existence, but also the comparatively recently-

acquired dignity of recognition as a People. Not only the evocative nostalgia

of a fable related by a grandparent or a story read in the Bible, but also the

joys and sorrows of the present day, felt as part of all humanity rather than

as an isolated group. I have tried to reflect the roots—roots old and new,

whether in a Russian Village or a Polish Ghetto; in the East End of London

or the Lower East Side of New York; in the simplicity of a desert settlement

or the sophistication of the great urban centres of the World. I have tried to

reflect the characteristic traits—the inherent melancholy, the irrepressible

gaiety, the resigned fatalism; the humour and warmth of the family circle,

the instinctive respect for the Patriarch whether he be religious teacher or

head of the family, and the unselfconscious love of the Matriarch who will

ever be, simply, “Mamma". I have tried to echo the love of traditional cere¬

mony both sacred and secular, the love of music, the love of dancing, the

love of living. It could be argued that these traits could also apply, in varying degrees, to

all people, and I suppose they can. The Jews, after all, are only one segment

of the much larger family of world humanity, and their emotions and reactions

are the same as those of all Peoples. This Album is indeed Music of a People ,

but it is also music for all Peoples.

HAVA NAGILA This, the first band on the record, was designed as a sort of

miniature musical summation of "the people". It starts with an original

setting of the Shema—the basic tenet of the Faith—and continues into a

passage based on the folk song “Yisroel Chay ( Israel lives on ), descriptive

of the passionate striving for survival. The Shofah (Rams Horn) is heard

and leads straight into the best-known Hora of contemporary Israel, and a

tune which is familiar throughout the world—Hava Nagila. The simple lyric

is a call to "Come and rejoice".

RAISINS AND ALMONDS The best loved of all the Jewish Lullabies. A

mother rocks her child to sleep and sings of a little white kid which stands

behind the cradle. Raisins and Almonds are the traditional symbols of joy

and abundance.

YES MY DARLING DAUGHTER A comparatively recent composition influ¬

enced by the folk song of the American immigrants, the New York Yiddish

Theatre and Tin Pan Alley. Oboe and Bassoon take on the respective roles

of teenage daughter asking plaintively "Mother may I go out dancing and

Mother resignedly answering “Yes my Darling Daughter".

EILI, EILI A traditional folk song which takes as its text the first line of the

22nd Psalm “My God why has Thou forsaken me" and expresses the isolation

of the oppressed who feels cut off from everything except his faith in the

Holy Law and the one God.

TZENA, TZENA This is one of the rare instances of a Jewish Melody written

in the major mode. Tzena, Tzena became a very big hit in America in the

1950's and Latin-American Orchestras throughout the world have adapted it

as a standard Samba. This song was originally a call to the Workers of the

collective settlements to defend their land against the aggressor.

AND THE ANGELS SING Whilst there is no set programme or story in¬

tended in this arrangement I must confess that I let my imagination run riot.

If the opening section suggests a desert scene with a Yemenite Flute in the

background; if the entry of the Strings is evocative of a beautiful Biblical

heroine; if the gradual build-up suggests crowds of gaily-clothed people

rushing in from all directions to join the dance—please feel free to let your

imagination run riot too. One thing is certain—the quotation from the

famous Ziggy Elman record is intentional!

A LETTER TO MY MOTHER This song originated among the New York

immigrants during the first decade of this century. The lyric tells of a

Mother saying goodbye to her only son who is going far across the sea to

seek security and, perhaps, prosperity. Although broken hearted at the

parting, she voices the hope that he remains in good health and that he

writes regularly in order to ease the pain of separation.

JOSEPH, JOSEPH This is a typical example of the way in which even

humorous Jewish songs are tinged with tenderness and romanticism.

HEBREW MELODY This beautiful melody, based on a folk song, was

written by Joseph Achron as a Violin solo and recorded by Heifetz. To my

knowledge, this is the first time it has been set for full Orchestra and Choir.

HATIKVAH It is perhaps fitting that the last item in this Album should be

the Jewish National Anthem. The melody itself has a long and interesting

history and there are versions of it associated with many European countries,

ranging from a Basque folk tune to Polish and German Folk songs. The

Bohemian version was used by Smetana in his tone poem “The Moldau .

Hatikvah has become for world Jewry the heartfelt expression of life, free¬

dom and dignity. STANLEY BLACK

Liner SP 44060

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SIDE ONE

tHEMA (Black-ASCAP) introducing:

HAVA NAC1LA (Trad; New words and music by Black-ASCAP-4:25)

RAISINS AND ALMONDS (Trad; Arr. Black-ASCAP-4:35)

YES, MY DARLING DAUGHTER (Jack Lawrence-ASCAP-2:37)

EILI, EILI (Trad; Arr. Black-ASCAP-4:40)

TZENA, TZENA, TZENA (Miron; Grossman; Parish-ASCAP-3:30)

SIDE TWO

AND THE ANGELS SING (Mercer; Elman-ASCAP-6.-30)

A LETTER TO MY MOTHER (Gilbert; Small-BMI-5:00)

JOSEPH! JOSEPH! (Casman; Steinberg; Cahn; Chaplin-ASC A P-2:30)

HEBREW MELODY (Joseph Achron-ASCAP-6:30)

HATIKVAH (Trad; Arr. Black-ASCAI:’-4:50)

Produced for records by Tony D'Amato Recording Engineer: Arthur Lilley

stereo arctu a-t

L9±9 1VZ

SP 440S0

1. Introduction SHEMA (Black), HAVA NAGILA (Trad., arr. Black)

2. RAISINS AND ALMONDS (Trad., arr. Black)

3. YES, MY DARLING DAUGHTER (Lawrence, Sirmay)

4. EILI EILI (Trad., arr. Black)

5. TZENA TZENA TZENA (Myron, Grossman, Parish)

STANLEY BLACK k conducting the

LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND CHORUS A