infotext:
Psalm - Escape Pieces - Psalm
There are words behind all the works on this CD. The second, central movement of the three-movement string quartet Psalm is inspired by Paul Celan's poem of the same name, which deals with the longing for a merciful God - despite his non-existence. The text is recited by the strings in a kind of chant and moves between several associative levels, both historical and religious. Motifs reminiscent of Jewish prayer scraps (including microtonal elements) resound alongside elements of the Christian choral tradition (It's a rose by Michael Praetorius). Two other poems by Paul Celan - with content Psalm connected – are sources of inspiration for the first and third movements, but without being spoken. In the moving final sentence sand folk becomes the biblical-looking desert scene in the poem through motifs and rhythms with an oriental touch Upstairs, silent described, with one word surviving: Water. In terms of motif, this movement is closely related to the first movement (eye of time) tied together.
Behind the Psalm The Psalms of David are for cello and piano. However, there are no specific psalms referred to. Rather, the span between Psalm 22 (my god why did you leave me) and Psalm 23 (God is my shepherd, I shall not lack.) describe the emotional spectrum in which the reciter moves: faith, longing for security and protection of God on the one hand, accusation, doubt and despair on the other.
The extraordinarily rich, vibrantly sounding and poetic language of the novel Fugitive Pieces (Flight Pieces) by Anne Michaels inspired the piano cycle of the same name, which consists of several short sound-images. The book describes the story of Jakob Beer, a Jewish child from a village in Poland who survives after his entire family was shot by the Nazis. It tells of his lonely escape into the forest and swamp, his miraculous rescue by the Greek archaeologist Athos, his survival in hiding on the island of Zakynthos and his obsessive preoccupation with the fate of his older sister Bella and with 'her' music, especially the Interludes by Brahms and Beethoven Moonlight Sonata. The novel takes place simultaneously on different levels of consciousness and reality. ("Every moment is two moments" / "The gradual moment" / "All visible things will be born again invisible"). The music reflects this preoccupation with time in some places. They are shorter or longer, always fleeting snapshots. The quotations from the novel stimulated associations in the respective pieces. However, unlike words, music is an extremely intangible substance and often finds unexpected ways...
Gilead Mishory
program:
Psalm (2005) 24: 33
for string quartet after poems by Paul Celan
[01] eye of time 04:27
[02] Psalm 10:51
[03] sand folk 09:15
Fugitive Pieces (2004-2005) 28:58
Cycle for piano solo after the novel by Anne Michaels
[04] blindguide 01:21
[05] Burst door 00:36
[06] Milk teeth 02:01
[07] Running, falling 02:04
[08] Bella: Brahms 00:44
[09] purple-orange 00:41
[10] Into Sound 02:17
[11] Decreasing 00:27
[12] Dirty Jew 03:05
[13] Pedhi mou 02:07
[14] Russian dolls 01:50
[15] ritardando 00:30
[16] Zakynthos: Sea 02:30
[17] Zakynthos: Stars 01:41
[18] Zakynthos: Stones 00:52
[19] Ghetto Lullaby 01:46
[20] car radio 01:11
[21] Bella 03:16
[22] Psalm (2003) for cello and piano 18:23
total time 72:11
Auritus Quartet
Key-Thomas Märkl, violin Leopold Lercher, violin
Klaus-Peter Werani, viola · Stefan Tragedy, cello
Gilead Mishorypiano
Julius Berger, cello
World Premiere Recordings
Press:
March 02, 2012
Words, sounds, psalms
Chamber and piano music by Gilead Mishory and Julius Berger
By Manfred Engelhardt
He became known through his confrontation with Leo Janácek: Gilead Mishory was the first to record the Czech's entire piano works. As a composer, the pianist, born in Jerusalem in 1960, like Janácek, searches for spaces of expression that are dictated by the melody of speech. Word - sound - music are parameters in which Mishory develops his own poetry. He now presents three works on CD: "Psalm" for string quartet and "Psalm" for cello/piano enclose "Fugitive Pieces" for piano.
He exhausts all possibilities of radical sound development
In the string quartet "Psalm" Mishory was inspired by three Paul Celan poems: "Eye of Time / the eponymous "Psalm" / "Sandvolk". For the strings, Mishory exhausts all possibilities of radical sound development in order to track down Celan's poetry, this apocalyptic search for meaning: from the noise to the melodically saturated vocalise, from the glass harmonic tone to the sharply polished outburst.
In “Psalm” the musicians of the outstanding Auritus Quartet quote the imploringly resigned gesture of this poem in chant collages; the frames "Eye of the Age / Sand people" are purely instrumental associations - captivating colors, also illustrative impressions of oriental music.
"Psalm" for cello/piano calls Julius Berger on the scene, who specializes in tracking down the core and context of avant-garde compositions with tonal sensitivity and striking modern string techniques. With Mishory, the Augsburg cellist unleashes an expressive tableau that moves in extreme areas.
The destiny of a child fleeing the Nazis
Finally comes the pianistic solo work on the CD: "Fugitive Pieces" (Fluchtstücke) based on the novel of the same name by Anne Michaels is a cycle of 21 stations from the fateful path of a Jewish child fleeing the Nazis with significant passages of this lyrically expressive language as a sound experience traced. This piano cycle, brilliantly played by Gilead Mishory himself, also unfolds in an extra-literary way – without including the printed text passages – as a purely musical picture arc.
Gilead Mishory "Psalm" for String Quartet after Paul Celan. "Fugitive pieces", Cycle for Piano after Anne Michaels. "Psalm" for cello and piano. Auritus Quartet; Gilead Mishory (piano); Julius Berger (cello). NEOS Music. 11022.
http://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/augsburg/Woerter-Toene-Psalmen-id19054746.html
14.01.2012
13.11.2011
