Art Songs Of The Jewish Diaspora
Acis, 2024
8/10
Listen to Art Songs Of The Jewish Diaspora
An effort that reveals a treasury of Jewish art song, Ian Pomerantz, Byron Schenkman, and Sarah Freiberg come together for these well thought out selections.
“Three Sephardic Songs” begins the listen with Pomerantz’s soaring voice alongside Schenkman’s stirring piano in the very emotive climate, and “Six Chansons Populaires” follows with the booming vocals and frisky keys making for an adventurous moment.
Further along, the dizzying keys of “Lazar Weiner” allows for eloquent wordplay and diverse key progressions that can be swift and melodic, while “Psalm 119” is particularly intimate and powerful thanks to the expressive pipes and poetic keys.
Close to the end, Freiberg’s engaging cello guides the dreamy mood of “Impressions: 2”, and “Wiegala” exits with the calm textures blending the keys, vocals and cello with unparalleled beauty.
The pieces here have largely not been documented in the digital age and have lingered in archives up until now. They represent queer, female, refugee, Sephardi, Ashkenazi, and Mizrahi lineage, and are fleshed out with intense, ominous and even heartfelt gestures from a trio of esteemed musicians.
Travels well with: Michele Kennedy- Agave: In Her Hands; Shawn Crouch- Chaos Theory