Search - Isabelle Durin;Michaël Ertzcheid :: Hebrew Melodies of the Romantic Era

Powerful Performances of Jewish-Themed Violin Music

goodmusicman | USA | 04/04/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD features heartfelt and powerful performances of various Jewish-themed works for violin and piano. Several of the composers are Jewish (Joseph Achron, George Perlman, Abraham Goldfagen, and the famous Ernest Bloch) while two are non-Jewish (Max Bruch and John Williams). All of the works relate to Jewish themes, including religious worship and Hasidic dance. They are all full of Hebraic fervor yet they will appeal equally to Jews and non-Jews.



Violinist Isabelle Durin (who possesses a doctorate in philosophy and provides an excellent essay on these composers and their music) gives passionate and emotional performances of these works, while maintaining the classical poise necessary to make this music easily approachable. Her tone is ideally suited for this music: full-throated but never strident, expressive but never overwrought. The works are given a Romantic treatment by Durin even though they were not all composed in the Romantic period. The violin arrangement of Bruch's Kol Nidrei is particularly powerful, a more enjoyable way to hear this work than in its original cello incarnation. Durin captures the solemnity and yearning of this work as though it were being performed with its religious significance in mind. The Dance of the Rebbitzin is a fun piece that will sound familiar to many listeners. Three excerpts from John Williams' score to "Schindler's List" are played very convincingly, better (in my view) than Itzhak Perlman's original performance. The East European and Hasidic flavor of all the remaining works is overtly brought out by Durin and her excellent accompanist, pianist Michael Ertsceid. The sound quality throughout is first-rate, allowing the music to sweep the listener with its beautiful grandeur.



This CD is a real find and will appeal to a very broad audience. The program combines works that you will otherwise have a hard time tracking down. I would strongly recommend this CD for anyone who appreciates excellent violin playing, ethnic (especially Slavic) music, and particularly for those interested in a program of Jewish-themed works. The quality of these performances combined with the program of rare works united by Jewish themes makes this CD a must-own."

Jaw dropping beautiful music

M. Fry | Orem, UT USA | 04/28/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is my first foray into Hebrew music. I am not Jewish so I don't know the religious significance of these songs. I only found this because of the song "Abodah" being in Amazon's "99 Perfectly Relaxing Songs." The violin and piano performances are perfect. The tunes are almost painfully beautiful. I find myself often stopping what I'm doing and focusing solely on the music. A lot of these songs have very sorrowful melodies, especially the Schindler's List tracks. Speaking of which, I agree with the earlier reviewer that the performance on those tracks are better than the originals."