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LISZTS | 6 Classical Music Pieces For Passover

By Sara Schabas on April 10, 2017

April is a busy month for religious communities in Toronto, declared the “most diverse city in the world” by BBC Radio in 2016. Palm Sunday on April 9th marked the beginning of Christian Holy Week, culminating in Easter Sunday; on April 24th Muslims will observe Isra and Mi’raj; Laos and Tamil cultures will celebrate new years, and tonight, Jewish residents of Toronto will begin to celebrate Passover.

Passover celebrates the exodus of Jews from slavery in Egypt, with family Seders (festive meals)  in which the story of Exodus is read along with traditional dishes, songs, prayers and the prohibition of eating leavened bread products.

For those who would like a little classical music to go along with their matzah and maror, below we present a list of Passover-themed pieces to get you Seder-ready.

1 “Their land brought forth frogs,” Israel in Egypt, G.F. Handel

What would any Passover Seder be without a recitation of the various plagues brought upon the Egyptians after their refusal to free the Israelites from slavery? Handel may not have been Jewish but he certainly writes a spirited rendition, sung here by Grace Bumbry.

2 Moses und Aron, Arnold Schoenberg

Arnold Schoenberg, born to a Jewish family in Vienna, was certainly familiar with the story of Exodus, which he documented in musical form in his opera Moses und Aron. German expression isn’t for everyone, but there’s no denying the seemingly limitless range of colours Schoenberg deploys from orchestra and singers to tell this timeless story.

3 “Rachel, quand du seigneur,” La Juive, Fromental Halévy

Praised by Wagner, despite his anti-semitism, and Mahler, who called La Juive, “one of the greatest operas ever created,” Fromental Halévy, a 19th-century French Jewish composer who composed music “infused with religious fervour,” is certainly worth remembering. La Juive (“The Jewess”), a grand opera in five acts, features a Passover Seder in Act II, in which the Jews are at one point forced to hide the holiday symbols when they receive an unexpected visitor. Neil Shicoff’s interpretation of the famous aria from Act IV, “Rachel, quand du Seigneur,” is simply unforgettable.

4) Cantata of the Bitter Herbs, Ernest Toch

Ernest Toch, an Austrian composer who fled the Nazis to the United States in the 1930s, was one of Weimar’s most celebrated composers before his exodus from Europe. His lush Cantata of the Bitter Herbs recounts the story of Passover for chorus, orchestra, and soloists. Toch uses the story of Passover as a metaphor, illustrating people around the world’s fleeing from injustice. Self-described as “the world’s most forgotten composer,” his music is certainly worth a listen.

5 “Passover Psalm,” Erich Korngold

Erich Wolfgang Korngold, an Austrian-born Jewish composer, also left Europe for America in the 1930s, where he became one of Hollywood’s most celebrated composers. A virtuosic child prodigy, his “Passover Psalm” was a commission by Rabbi Jacob Sonderling with texts based on the Passover Haggadah. Sung in English, the combination of rising vocal lines with soaring violin solos and Romantic French horns evokes the music of Wagner and Strauss that Korngold would have grown up hearing. Definitely worth checking out.

6 “Let My People Go,” Louis Armstrong

And what would Passover be without a bit of jazz-age flare? Here’s Louis Armstrong singing “Let My People Go” (or “Go Down, Moses”). Gotta love it.

For more LISZTS, click HERE.

#LUDWIGVAN

Sara Schabas

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