''Suite Hébraïque'' is a 3-movement work composed in 1951 for viola and piano by
Ernest Bloch
Ernest Bloch (July 24, 1880 – July 15, 1959) was a Swiss-born American composer. Bloch was a preeminent artist in his day, and left a lasting legacy. He is recognized as one of the greatest Swiss composers in history. As well as producing music ...
, which he subsequently arranged for viola and small orchestra.
The piece draws upon
Jewish music
Jewish music is the music and melodies of the Jewish people. There exist both traditions of religious music, as sung at the synagogue and domestic prayers, and of secular music, such as klezmer. While some elements of Jewish music may originat ...
, and it simulates the blow of a
shofar
A shofar ( ; from he, שׁוֹפָר, ) is an ancient musical horn typically made of a ram's horn, used for Jewish religious purposes. Like the modern bugle, the shofar lacks pitch-altering devices, with all pitch control done by varying the ...
.
''Suite Hébraïque'' is similar in style to another of Bloch's compositions, ''Baal Shem'' for violin and orchestra (1939).
[
]
Background
Bloch had composed six pieces, known as the ''Jewish Cycle'', between 1911 and 1916, and last of these was '' Schelomo: Rhapsodie Hébraïque for Violoncello and Orchestra''. When he immigrated to the United States in 1916 and settled in New York City, Bloch renewed his study of Jewish music.[
In 1950 the Chicago Federation of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations organized a weeklong celebration of Bloch's music to mark the composer's 70th birthday. Violist ]Milton Preves
Milton Preves (June 18, 1909 in Cleveland, Ohio – June 11, 2000 in Glenview, Illinois) was a violist, conductor and pedagogue. He was a member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for 52 years, of which 47 years were as principal violist.
Preves ...
, who had performed Bloch's ''Suite for Viola and Orchestra'' (1919) at the celebration, asked the composer to write pieces for viola similar to ''Baal Shem''.[
]
Movements
* Rapsodie
* Processional
* Affirmation
References
External links
Suite hébraïque, B.83 (Bloch, Ernest)International Music Score Library Project
* Alexander Knapp
The Jewishness of Bloch: Subconscious or Conscious?
''Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association'' (Vol. 97, 1970-1971), pp 99-112
Further reading
David M. Schiller, ''Bloch, Schoenberg, and Bernstein: Assimilating Jewish Music'' (Oxford University Press, 2003)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Suite Hebraique
Compositions for viola
Compositions by Ernest Bloch
1951 compositions
Jewish music