Bloch, E: From Jewish Life: No. 1, Prayer

Les Violoncelles Français first appeared in concert together in 2006: eight leading figures of the French school of cellists, they perform here as a consort in homage to violists of an earlier period. They play an entirely new set of transcriptions taken from mainstream repertoire in this, their first recording, arranged by Roland Pidoux.

The emblematic recording devoted to ‘Jewish Songs’, which has been so important in the career of the distinguished cellist Sonia Wieder-Atherton, is now available once more, with new texts written by the artist herself in a beautifully produced 72-page four-colour booklet. In addition to the original recording, this reissue includes Ravel’s Chanson hébraïque, for which Sonia Wieder-Atherton is joined by Sinfonia Varsovia under Jànos Fürst.

Despite its success in France some years ago on another label, this recording has never been released in several countries. Its reissue in an enhanced form (there’s also an extra traditional Jewish song on track 3) comes as part of Wieder-Atherton’s exclusive Naïve contract. The project is very much the cellist’s: she researched the sources that gave birth to these prayers and chants. She and pianist Daria Horova transcribed, harmonized and often reconstructed these melodies – but in a way that respected the original. Then she turned to composer Jean-François Zygel, asking that he imprint his own vision of certain of these sources and that he draw inspiration from them in composing three more pieces.

Years later, they decided to add to the cycle Bloch’s magnificent compositions inspired, as was a great part of his work, by ancient Hebraic music: The Nigun (improvisation) written in 1923, a transcription of one of his works for violin and piano taken from the Baal Shem cycle; the three-part Jewish Life; and Meditation Hébraïque, both written in 1924. The latest addition is Maurice Ravel’s Hebraic song, warmly accompanied by Sinfonia Varsovia directed by János Fürst, the charismatic conductor who died in 2007. The Hebraic song is the last of a cycle of seven popular songs dating from 1910.

The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra’s series on AVIE marks its eighth release with this new recording of works derived from the Jewish tradition. The young principal cello of the orchestra, Jonathan Aasgaard gives fine performances of two seminal works from this genre – Bloch’s Hebraic Rhapsody Schelomo and Bruch’s Kol Nidrei. David Diamond’s Kaddish has been eagerly taken up by many cellists including Janos Starker. The CD is completed by two premiere recordings: Gerard Schwarz’ In Memoriam and Jonathan Aasgaard’s own arrangement for cello and strings of Bloch’s Prayer from the suite From Jewish Life.