Schelomo
Encyclopedia
Schelomo is a cello concerto written by Ernest Bloch
, first published in 1916 and receiving its first premiere on May 3, 1917 in Carnegie Hall
, New York City. This Rhapsodie
hébraïque pour violoncelle et grand orchestre was completed during Bloch's "Jewish Cycle," which lasted from 1912 to 1926. Bloch claimed that he wrote music as an expression of emotion that he felt resulted from his Jewish heritage, not specifically Jewish melodies
. Controversy remains over Bloch’s label as a "Jewish composer". Bloch wrote, "It was this entire Jewish heritage that moved me deeply, and was reborn in my music. To what extent it is Jewish, to what extent it is just Ernest Bloch, of that I know nothing. The future alone will decide." Schelomo was written around 1915.
Troubled by the agony and suffering that followed the outbreak of World War I
, Bloch was especially moved by the book of Ecclesiastes
and had begun drafting a work for voice and orchestra. A meeting with the cellist Alexandre Barjansky inspired him to give the solo voice to the cello, which Bloch wrote was "vaster and deeper than any spoken language." In program notes that Bloch wrote for a performance of Schelomo in 1933, he established that the solo cello is the voice of King Solomon while the orchestra represents the world surrounding him.
The first section of Schelomo opens with a rhapsodic lament in the solo cello leading into a cadenza
in the low range of the instrument. The first section is thickly orchestrated and utilizes many extravagant tonal colors
and effects including unresolved dissonances
, exotic chord
progressions, col legno
in the strings
, and bold brass
statements. The first section ends with a powerful orchestral climax leading into the central section of the work.
The second theme is a rhythm
ic figure
stated first by the bassoon
and soon after by the oboe
. The cello repeats the cadenza of the first theme while the second theme continues as a counter melody
in the woodwinds
and brass. The solo cello continues to reiterate the first theme but is overwhelmed by the swelling and increasingly frenzied orchestra.
The third section begins with material first presented in the first and second sections. A forceful orchestral climax gives way to a hushed, tense mood where the cello makes its final statement, ending on a resigned low D.
The Italian critic Guido Gatti
wrote of Schelomo, "The violoncello, with its ample breadth of phrasing, now melodic and with moments of superb lyricism, now declamatory and with robustly dramatic lights and shades, lends itself to a reincarnation of Solomon in all his glory. The violoncello part is of so remarkably convincing and emotional power that it may be set down as a veritable masterpiece; not one passage, not a single beat, is inexpressive; the entire discourse of the soloist, vocal rather than instrumental, seems like musical expression intimately conjoined with the Talmud
ic prose."
Ernest Bloch
Ernest Bloch was a Swiss-born American composer.-Life:Bloch was born in Geneva and began playing the violin at age 9. He began composing soon afterwards. He studied music at the conservatory in Brussels, where his teachers included the celebrated Belgian violinist Eugène Ysaÿe...
, first published in 1916 and receiving its first premiere on May 3, 1917 in Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, New York City. This Rhapsodie
Rhapsody (music)
A rhapsody in music is a one-movement work that is episodic yet integrated, free-flowing in structure, featuring a range of highly contrasted moods, colour and tonality. An air of spontaneous inspiration and a sense of improvisation make it freer in form than a set of variations...
hébraïque pour violoncelle et grand orchestre was completed during Bloch's "Jewish Cycle," which lasted from 1912 to 1926. Bloch claimed that he wrote music as an expression of emotion that he felt resulted from his Jewish heritage, not specifically Jewish melodies
Jewish music
Jewish music is the music and melodies of the Jewish People which have evolved over time throughout the long course of Jewish History. In some instances Jewish Music is of a religious nature, spiritual songs and refrains are common in Jewish Services throughout the world, while other times, it is...
. Controversy remains over Bloch’s label as a "Jewish composer". Bloch wrote, "It was this entire Jewish heritage that moved me deeply, and was reborn in my music. To what extent it is Jewish, to what extent it is just Ernest Bloch, of that I know nothing. The future alone will decide." Schelomo was written around 1915.
Troubled by the agony and suffering that followed the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Bloch was especially moved by the book of Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes
The Book of Ecclesiastes, called , is a book of the Hebrew Bible. The English name derives from the Greek translation of the Hebrew title.The main speaker in the book, identified by the name or title Qoheleth , introduces himself as "son of David, king in Jerusalem." The work consists of personal...
and had begun drafting a work for voice and orchestra. A meeting with the cellist Alexandre Barjansky inspired him to give the solo voice to the cello, which Bloch wrote was "vaster and deeper than any spoken language." In program notes that Bloch wrote for a performance of Schelomo in 1933, he established that the solo cello is the voice of King Solomon while the orchestra represents the world surrounding him.
The first section of Schelomo opens with a rhapsodic lament in the solo cello leading into a cadenza
Cadenza
In music, a cadenza is, generically, an improvised or written-out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist or soloists, usually in a "free" rhythmic style, and often allowing for virtuosic display....
in the low range of the instrument. The first section is thickly orchestrated and utilizes many extravagant tonal colors
Chromatic scale
The chromatic scale is a musical scale with twelve pitches, each a semitone apart. On a modern piano or other equal-tempered instrument, all the half steps are the same size...
and effects including unresolved dissonances
Consonance and dissonance
In music, a consonance is a harmony, chord, or interval considered stable, as opposed to a dissonance , which is considered to be unstable...
, exotic chord
Chord (music)
A chord in music is any harmonic set of two–three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may for many practical and theoretical purposes be understood as chords...
progressions, col legno
Col legno
In music for bowed string instruments, col legno, or more precisely col legno battuto , is an instruction to strike the string with the stick of the bow, rather than by drawing the hair of the bow across the strings. This results in a quiet but eerie percussive sound.Col legno is used in the final...
in the strings
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
, and bold brass
Brass instrument
A brass instrument is a musical instrument whose sound is produced by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips...
statements. The first section ends with a powerful orchestral climax leading into the central section of the work.
The second theme is a rhythm
Rhythm
Rhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...
ic figure
Figure (music)
A musical figure is the shortest idea in music, a short succession of notes, often recurring. It may have melodic pitch, harmonic progression and rhythmic . The 1964 Grove's Dictionary defines the figure as "the exact counterpart of the German 'motiv' and the French 'motif'": it produces a "single...
stated first by the bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
and soon after by the oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
. The cello repeats the cadenza of the first theme while the second theme continues as a counter melody
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
in the woodwinds
Wind instrument
A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator , in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into a mouthpiece set at the end of the resonator. The pitch of the vibration is determined by the length of the tube and by manual modifications of...
and brass. The solo cello continues to reiterate the first theme but is overwhelmed by the swelling and increasingly frenzied orchestra.
The third section begins with material first presented in the first and second sections. A forceful orchestral climax gives way to a hushed, tense mood where the cello makes its final statement, ending on a resigned low D.
The Italian critic Guido Gatti
Guido Gatti
Guido Maggiorino Gatti. . Italian music critic and founder of the journal Rassegna musicale in 1928. Previously he had edited another music journal, called Il Pianoforte. He was director of the Turin Theater from 1925-31 and general director of the first Maggio Musicale Fiorentino...
wrote of Schelomo, "The violoncello, with its ample breadth of phrasing, now melodic and with moments of superb lyricism, now declamatory and with robustly dramatic lights and shades, lends itself to a reincarnation of Solomon in all his glory. The violoncello part is of so remarkably convincing and emotional power that it may be set down as a veritable masterpiece; not one passage, not a single beat, is inexpressive; the entire discourse of the soloist, vocal rather than instrumental, seems like musical expression intimately conjoined with the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
ic prose."