Kol Nidrei (Bruch)

The Kol Nidrei Op 47 is a musical work by the composer Max Bruch for cello and orchestra. The work is based on the Jewish Kol Nidre prayer, which is on the eve of the highest Jewish holiday, the Yom Kippur prayers.

Formation

The work was written in 1880 at the suggestion of the cellist Robert Hausmann, after fracture had initially refused to compose after the success of his violin compositions for the cello.

About the Music

Occupation

Cello, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, harp and strings

Description

Kol Nidrei is divided into two sections. The first, emphasized by pauses vocabulary is based on the traditional Bußgesang of the Jewish Yom Kippur festival. In the second section of the Kol Nidrei fraction Isaac Nathan used version of Lord Byron's anthem " Oh Weep for Those did Wept on Babel 's Stream ".

Minor and major alternate in the elegiac piece held. Break even compared the Kol Nidrei with his Scottish Fantasy in E flat major, Op 46, " because it so broken, " like this one given melodic material processed " in an artistic way ."

Effect

With the premiere of the end of 1880 in Berlin breakage was not satisfied, because you have this Adagio brought in his opinion " by an insanely slow pace artificially from life to death." Nevertheless, the composition quickly gained popularity. To the displeasure of the Protestant composers emerged in the public opinion, breakage was a Jew, an issue that flared up in the music world during the Nazi era again. Under this impression the Kol Nidrei was no possibility to performance during this time.

Documents

• Haren mountain concert guide, Haren mountain communication, Dortmund, 1998, ISBN 3-611-00535-5