Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

composer Paul Ben-Haim's Symphony no. 1 is the first Eretz-Israel

symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...

and one of the most important works in the history of

classical music in Israel Classical may refer to: European antiquity *Classical antiquity, a period of history from roughly the 7th or 8th century B.C.E. to the 5th century C.E. centered on the Mediterranean Sea *Classical architecture, architecture derived from Greek and ...

Background

Ben-Haim started composing the piece at the end of August 1939 and completed it at the end of June 1940. This is the period after his immigration to Israel, and the end of the days of the fall of France. The composition of the piece is about "the desire to compose a large-scale composition in the spirit of our people and country for our Eretz Israel Orchestra... the terrible rampage of the underworld forces must have had a powerful impact on my composition (at least on its first movement, and to some extent also on its last). Nevertheless, this composition is nothing but absolute pure music..."

Structure

The piece has three movements: # Allegro energico—according to Yehoash Hirschberg, the first theme, which is characterized by rhetorical expression of excitement and storm in the exposition, changes its nature into pastoral

lyricism Lyricism is a quality that expresses deep feelings or emotions in an inspired work of art. Often used to describe the capability of a Lyricist. Description Lyricism is when art is expressed in a beautiful or imaginative way, or when it has an ...

. The second theme, which is festive and wondering in exposition, becomes a military march. The movement is organized into long divisions, each of which features a climax, and decays slowly. The descending augmented second motive functions as an expression of lament and the pain of the Jewish prayer. # Molto calmo e cantabile—is based on a long melodic line presenting the movement's motif material. The final part of the theme is a quote from a traditional song motif of

Persian Jews Persian Jews or Iranian Jews ( fa, یهودیان ایرانی, ''yahudiān-e-Irāni''; he, יהודים פרסים ''Yəhūdīm Parsīm'') are the descendants of Jews who were historically associated with the Persian Empire, whose successor ...

''I shall lift my eyes to the mountains'', arranged by Ben-Haim for Bracha Tzfira in the beginning of April 1940. # Presto con fuoco—above a constant tarantella rhythm are two contrasting ideas: a quote from the choir part of the first finale of Ben-Haim's great work ''Yoram'', followed by a

syncopated In music, syncopation is a variety of rhythms played together to make a piece of music, making part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat. More simply, syncopation is "a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of rhythm": a "place ...

hora dance.

References

{{Authority control Compositions by Paul Ben-Haim Classical music in Israel 1940 compositions Ben-Haim 1