More quotes by classical composer Ernest Bloch
Ernest BlochConcerto Grosso No. 1
Concerto Grosso No. 2
Schelomo: Hebraic Rhapsody
Georges Miquelle, cello
Howard Hanson Conducting the Eastman-Rochester Orchestra
"I do not propose or desire to attempt a reconstruction of the music of
the Jews … or to base my work on melodies more or less authentic. I am
not an archeologist. I believe that the most important thing is to write
good and sincere music – my music. It is rather the Hebrew spirit that
interests me, the complex, ardent, agitated soul that vibrates for me in
the Bible. The vigor and ingeniousness of the patriarchs, the violence
that finds expression in the books of the Prophets, the burning love of
justice, the desperation of the teachers of Jerusalem, the sorrow and the
grandeur of the Book of Job, the sensuality of the Song of Songs. All
this is in us, all this is in me, and it is the better part of me. This
is which I seek to feel within me and to translate in my music, the
sacred race emotion that lies dormant in our souls."
Ernest Bloch: Avodath Hakadosh (Sacred Service)
Leonard Bernstein conducts the New York Philharmonic
1992 Sony Classical
"In those of my works that are described as Jewish I did not approach the problem from the outside by using more or less authentic melodies or oriental formulas, rhythms or intervals! No! I listened only to an inner voice, deep, secret, insistent, burning, the voice of instinct far more than cold, dry reason, and the result was music. -- To what extent it is Jewish, to what extent it is only Ernest Bloch I cannot say: only the future can decide."
For more info see Bloch, Schoenberg, and Bernstein: Assimilating Jewish Music by David M. Schiller and our review of Avodath Hakadosh.