Hashkiveinu (Bernstein)

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Hashkiveinu is a work for solo cantor (tenor), mixed chorus, and organ composed by Leonard Bernstein in 1945. The work is six minutes in length and uses the prayer text from the Jewish Sabbath evening service. The work is in Hebrew, and the transliterated score uses Ashkenazic pronunciation.

<i>Hazzan</i> Jewish cantor

A hazzan or chazzan is a Jewish musician or precentor trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the congregation in songful prayer. In English, this prayer leader is often referred to as cantor, a term also used in Christianity.

Leonard Bernstein American composer, conductor, author, music lecturer, and pianist

Leonard Bernstein was an American composer, conductor, author, music lecturer, and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the US to receive worldwide acclaim. According to music critic Donal Henahan, he was "one of the most prodigiously talented and successful musicians in American history."

Contents

Commissioning

Hashkiveinu is the result of a commissioning project from 1943 to 1976 by Cantor Dr. David Putterman for a series of contemporary music at Park Avenue Synagogue in New York City. Putterman believed strongly that the synagogue music—particularly American synagogue music—would only endure through adaptation and creativity. In the preface to Synagogue Music by Contemporary Composers, Putterman wrote:

Park Avenue Synagogue other organization in New York, United States

The Park Avenue Synagogue – Agudat Yesharim - is a Conservative Jewish congregation located at 50 East 87th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1882, the congregation is one of the largest and most influential synagogues in the United States.

New York City Largest city in the United States

The City of New York, usually called either New York City (NYC) or simply New York (NY), is the most populous city in the United States and in the U.S. state of New York. With an estimated 2017 population of 8,622,698 distributed over a land area of about 302.6 square miles (784 km2), New York is also the most densely populated major city in the United States. Located at the southern tip of the state of New York, the city is the center of the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass and one of the world's most populous megacities, with an estimated 20,320,876 people in its 2017 Metropolitan Statistical Area and 23,876,155 residents in its Combined Statistical Area. A global power city, New York City has been described as the cultural, financial, and media capital of the world, and exerts a significant impact upon commerce, entertainment, research, technology, education, politics, tourism, art, fashion, and sports. The city's fast pace has inspired the term New York minute. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy.

The Jewish prayer-book of today is the result of development through the ages and reflects the Jewish spirit of these ages; similarly, the music of the Synagogue is a veritable growing treasure from Biblical times to present. The music contained in this volume is not meant to replace the traditional fixed prayer modes, but is rather intended to enrich the music of our time. [1]

At the time of the commissioning, the rabbi of Park Avenue Synagogue was Milton Steinberg. Steinberg wrote, "The preservation and recapture of the past of Jewish music. The adaptation of it to the musical present. The stimulation of new Jewish musical creativity.” [2]

Milton Steinberg American theologian

Milton Steinberg was an American rabbi, philosopher, theologian and author.

Premiere

Bernstein's Hashkiveinu was first performed on May 11, 1945 at the Park Avenue Synagogue with Cantor Putterman. [3] Noel Straus reviewed, “Mr. Bernstein's extensive Hashkiveinu (Prayer for Divine Protection) was remarkable for its dramatic forcefulness, its coloring and sharp contrasts of dynamics and mood.” [4]

Structure

The outer sections are dominated by the cantorial soloist and imitative choral entrances in Phrygian mode. The canonic heterophony, however, maintains relative stasis and calm evoking the peaceful, nighttime elements of the prayer. The a cappella middle section is composed polychorally with Stravinsky-like rhythmic intensity.

The Phrygian mode can refer to three different musical modes: the ancient Greek tonos or harmonia sometimes called Phrygian, formed on a particular set of octave species or scales; the Medieval Phrygian mode, and the modern conception of the Phrygian mode as a diatonic scale, based on the latter.

A cappella music is specifically group or solo singing without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It contrasts with cantata, which is usually accompanied singing. The term "a cappella" was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato style. In the 19th century a renewed interest in Renaissance polyphony coupled with an ignorance of the fact that vocal parts were often doubled by instrumentalists led to the term coming to mean unaccompanied vocal music. The term is also used, albeit rarely, as a synonym for alla breve.

Igor Stravinsky Russian-born composer

Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky was a Russian-born composer, pianist, and conductor. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the 20th century.

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For the purposes of this article, “contemporary” refers to the period from 1967 to the present day, “Jewish” refers to the various streams and traits of Judaism practiced. Many Orthodox Jews use the term “religious” to refer to a strict adherence to Jewish law. For the purposes of this article, “religious” refers to the content and context of the music itself: liturgical or implicit references to the divine.

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References

  1. ↑ David J. Putterman, “Preface,” in Synagogue Music by Contemporary Composers (New York: G. Schirmer, n.d.): v.
  2. ↑ David J. Putterman, “Preface,” in Synagogue Music by Contemporary Composers (New York: G. Schirmer, n.d.): iv.
  3. ↑ Jack Gottlieb, Leonard Bernstein: A Complete Catalogue of His Works (New York: Jalni Publications/Boosey and Hawkes, 1988): 38-39.
  4. ↑ Noel Straus, “Columbia Opens Music Festival,” New York Times (13 March 1949): 28.
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