🌟 Music & Meaning: The Jewish Soul

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✨ From Prayer to Dance: A Journey Through Jewish Spirit and Song

This vibrant program traces the expressive range of Jewish musical identity—from the deeply spiritual to the exuberantly joyful.

The concert opens with Mendelssohn’s Sonata in D Major, Op. 58, whose lyrical slow movement and radiant finale celebrate the Romantic ideal of song without words. Max Bruch’s Kol Nidrei follows as a solemn meditation inspired by the ancient Yom Kippur prayer, leading seamlessly into the virtuosic brilliance of David Popper’s Concert-Polonaise, Op. 14 and Tarantella, Op. 33, where dazzling technique meets infectious charm.

Gentle interludes such as Adon Olam and Yossel, Yossel bring warmth and humor, drawing from beloved Hebrew and Yiddish song traditions.

After intermission, Ernest Bloch’s Nigun and Prayer channel the soul’s inner dialogue—melancholy, hope, and transcendence—before Marc Lavry’s Suite for Cello and Piano evokes the spirited rhythms of the early Israeli pioneers. The program concludes with selections from the Five Melodies on Hebrew Themes and a jubilant Klezmer Journey, capturing the communal heartbeat of Jewish celebration through dance and song.

A program of remembrance, devotion, and joy—honoring a culture that sings its faith and hope across generations.

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 First Half

Felix Mendelssohn – Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 2 in D Major, Op. 58
  – III. Adagio
  – IV. Molto allegro e vivace

Max Bruch – Kol Nidrei, Op. 47

David Popper – Tarantella, Op. 33

Traditional Hebrew Melody – Adon Olam
  (arranged version, melody only; cello part optional)

Traditional Yiddish Song – Yossel, Yossel
  (also known as “Joseph, Joseph,” by Samuel Steinberg and Nellie Casman)

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 Intermission

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 Second Half

Ernest Bloch – Nigun (No. 2 from “Baal Shem” Suite)
  (Alternative option: Bloch – Meditation hébraïque)

Ernest Bloch – Prayer (No. 1 from “From Jewish Life”)

Marc Lavry – Suite for Cello and Piano (Hebrew Suite)

Traditional / arr. Paul Schoenfield or similar – Five Melodies on Hebrew Themes
  – No. 1 Moyshele, Mayn Freund
  – No. 2 Oyfn Pripetshik
  – No. 5 Charleston
  (or just Nos. 2 & 5 if shortened)

Traditional Klezmer Suite – Klezmer Journey

David Popper – Concert-Polonaise, Op. 14

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