Search - Boston Camerata :: The Sacred Bridge: Jews and Christians in Medieval Europe

From the roots of Jewish-Christian history

John Wheeler | King David's Harp, Inc., Houston, TX. USA | 01/07/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This well-done CD explores the often-complex interrelationships between Jewish and Christian music (both sacred and secular). It goes from the earliest sources to the end of the Middle Ages.Most striking to me was the track that alternates an early Jewish chant of Psalm 114 and a Gregorian chant of the same Psalm. Mr. Cohen thinks this may be the oldest song on recording. I don't agree with that assessment; the music of the Temple at Jerusalem was different and far older (cf. my reviews of LA MUSIQUE DE LA BIBLE REVELEE, CD, and the book THE MUSIC OF THE BIBLE REVEALED, both on Amazon.com).There are many other beautiful and haunting works on this CD, some of which make me think there was more Hellenistic influence on early Jewish music than the producer and performers realize. This CD gives us *popular* rather than *classical* Jewish liturgy, which then influenced Christian liturgy (and vice versa). It also gives us a good sample of popular, non-liturgical Jewish song."

Sharing the sacred

FrKurt Messick | Bloomington, IN USA | 09/25/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The music on this disc is wonderful, both in composition, in setting, and in performance. There is a lively, crisp and vibrant tone to each piece, and the emotions (which range from sombre and serious to joyous and praising) come through clearly in the voices and instruments. The Boston Camerata has a long history of performance of ancient and medieval music, and this expertise is clearly shown in this disc. The Boston Camerata, founded in 1954, has literally dozens of recordings available, from ancient liturgical songs to Shaker songs to Christmas/holiday collections.



The idea behind this disc is very welcome, the demonstration of shared aspects of Christian and Jewish music, particularly the worshipful and liturgical music. At that point at which Christians and Jews might seem to be most separate, there is a bridge that binds the two together in ways often overlooked and unknown. Jews and Christians have lived together (albeit often separately congregated) throughout Europe and throughout history. The music here represents Sephardic and Oriental influences from Judaism, and many national influences from the Christian side.



If I may respectfully agree and disagree with fellow reviewers, I hasten to remind the reader that this is a compact disc, and the historical notes included in the liner notes are intended not as definitive pronouncements but rather helpful guides - for example, the claim about the Psalm 114 being the oldest music is intriguing, and one hopes that the reader, upon reading such a claim, will be sufficiently motivated to research the matter and discover for himself or herself the glories of ancient music (and the attendant controversial issues in dating, authenticating, etc.). As a religious/theological scholar, I too appreciate documentation; as a listener of music, my standards are not as strict.



The notes are very helpful with regard to the lyrics. Cohen has presented the texts in their original languages as well as French, English and German translations. Sometimes there is an old Spanish or Latin text, and a parallel Hebrew text.



This disc not only makes for wonderful listening, but also represents a trip through history and an experience in interfaith communication of a sort different from today's more community and academic symposia.



I cannot praise the quality of this music as highly as it should be praised.

"

Sacred Bridge or Secular Cringe?

J. Prusch | Schenectady, NY USA | 01/08/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Not that I want to be a party pooper, but I was not completely enthralled by this wonderful recording. The Boston Camerata is certainly a great group worthy of high accolades for their performance quality and the integrity of their arrangements. However, their scholastic endeavors leave a little to be desired.The recordings start with the earliest known Jewish music, and go historically through the music leading up to and including Sephardic traditional. Unfortunately, the producers put too much more emphasis on the Sephardic traditions than on the Ashkenazic (Northern and Eastern European Jews) which has its own ample share of Jewish music of historical note. While there may have been more "cross-cultural syncretism" in the Sephardic traditions, there are certainly worthy examples thereof in the Ashkenazic. It seems that the emphasis of this recording was placed on the music, and not on the scholarship.It was disappointing to see that the instrumentation and arrangers were not listed separately. This is a major oversight, and hinders the listener in discerning who interpreted which pieces.It was also disappointing that Mr. Joel Cohen failed to inform us about little things in the notes, i.e. the reasoning behind his interpretation of an unusual clef sign for Mi al har Horeb, or the basis for his claim that this music for Psalm 114 was the earliest music on record. Certainly some of the Greek music recording of Gregorio Paniagua would rival both the Psalm music as well as the Psalm text in antiquity. That is also coupled with the fact that we cannot substantiate whether the Psalms of David are truly his words or music, or whether either was composed at or around the time of the exile in Babylon. Considering the weight he places on his claim, a bit of background would have been nice.Finally, the song descriptions were haphazard at best. It is difficult to keep up with all the musical sources, text sources, and source information when only a smattering of each is included.However, in general, the project was well performed. Although no specific recording information is given, it is played at a level of musical communication usually found in a live group recording, with a level of perfection usually only found in studio recording. These musicians are very well adapted both to their ancient instruments and their ancient music."