Curtain Call for the St. Petersburg Jewish Music Society (1908) – 100th Anniversary. Songs and Piano Music by Joseph Achron, Mikhail Gnesin, Alexander Krein, Moshe Milner and Alexander Veprik.
by Sovali, soprano and Paul Prenen, piano

Art songs and piano music rooted in Jewish traditions by early 20th century Russian composers.

Tracks

MOSHE MILNER (1886-1953)
01-10 Vocal Suite to Y.L. Peretz’s Ten Childrens’ Songs (Mother and Child) (1916) 16:46
11 Khevre leytsim / Jesters for piano (1920s) 2:42

JOSEPH ACHRON (1886-1943)
12-13 Two Songs, Op. 52 (J. Fichman, A. Ben-Yitzhak) (1922), 5:12
14-16 Three Songs, Op. 53 (D. Frischmann, J. Cohen and Y. Karni (1923), 9:05
17-20 Statuettes for piano, Op. 66, No. 1, 6, 5 and 3 (1930), 4:45

MIKHAIL GNESIN (1883-1957)
21. Fragment from the Song of Songs, Op. 37: III. Achot Lanu K’tanah (1925), 1:32
22. Fragment from the Song of Songs, Op. 33: Ani Havatzelet (1919), 6:59
23-24 Two Songs of Laura, Op. 51 for the 2nd act of The Stone Guest by A. Pushkin, Op. 51 (1936), 4:05

ALEXANDER VEPRIK (1899-1958)
25-26 Two Jewish Songs, Op. 8 (1926), 3.28
27 Kaddish, Op. 6 (1925), 6:51

ALEXANDER KREIN (1883-1951)
28-31 Dances for Piano, Op. 50: No. 1, 3, 6 and 10 (1930), 7:35
32-36 Selection from 10 Yiddish Songs, Op.49 (1937-38), 7:04

Total playing time: 77:13

Musicians’ resumes

Sovali (Sofie van Lier) has been working with Paul Prenen for many years, and they form an ideal musical partnership. They joined forces on recordings of songs by Bernard van Dieren, Mieczyslaw Weinberg, and composers of the St. Petersburg Society for Jewish Folk Music: Joseph Achron, Mikhail Gnesin, Moshe Milner, Alexander Veprik, and Alexander Krein.

Sovali studied singing with Gerhard Meyer in the Netherlands and with Jon Frederick West and Eleanor Steber in New York. She got a Master’s degree in musicology at the University of Amsterdam, where she studied with Frits Noske and Ton de Leeuw. She has given solo recitals in the Netherlands and abroad, performed in music-theater productions, film and was featured on several recordings including “Bernard van Dieren Songs” with Paul Prenen (BVHaast), the Klezmokum CDs “Le Dor Va Dor” and “From Ancient and Newer Roots” (BVHaast).

Paul Prenen studied with Jan Wijn and Edith Lateiner at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam, where he graduated cum laude. At present he divides his talents between the concert hall and the theatre, in addition to his piano career he composes film and theatre music. He arranged operas for Frank Groothof, Opera Trionfo, and the Combattimento Consort. He also composed music for the Werkteater, Gebroeders Flint, the Children’s Theatre performances of O`ma Marée and two operas, “Hadjemaar” and “Katharina de Bronovo.”

Recording

Sovali and Paul Prenen’s performance was recorded during several sessions at the Bethaniënklooster and the Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ in Amsterdam between 2005 and 2008. The recording was released on CD in 2008.

Credits

JMP CD 002 © ℗ 2008 Joodse Muziek Projecten
Recording: Dick Lucas
Graphic design: Basia Knobloch

© All rights reserved

Tags: classical, art songs, early twentieth century, jewish music, yiddish, hebrew, russia

Price: €19,90 shipping included