That the compositions of the American composer David Amram (1930) on this CD are explicitly presented as part of the American Jewish musical heritage, is logical when one knows Amram's opinion about his Jewish roots. According to him, a thorough knowledge of your ethnic background is a precondition for communicating with people from other origins. For him, emphasizing identity does not mean seeking
… isolation, but communication. The Symphony 'Songs of the soul', written in 1986/1987, however, is emphatically exclusively oriented towards Jewish musical traditions, on the understanding that the origin of the Jewish melodies must be sought partly in Africa (Yemen and Ethiopia) and the Baltic states. Clearly recognizable in the work is Amram's love for jazz, which according to him gave an important impulse to the 'classical' music of the twentieth century. Parts of the choral work Shir L'erev Shabbat (1965) and the opera The final ingredient (1966) will also be heard. The music is often reminiscent of Bernstein's: it is not all equally strong, but at least entertaining and colorful. In that respect, the attempt at communication has in any case been successful. (JvG)more
