1. Hiver-Printemps For Orchestra: Hiver 	7:05 
2. Hiver-Printemps For Orchestra: Printemps 	7:32 	
3. Poèmes D'automne For Mezzo-Soprano And Orchestra: La Vagabonde	4:03 
4. Poèmes D'automne For Mezzo-Soprano And Orchestra: L'Abri	7:51 
5. Poèmes D'automne For Mezzo-Soprano And Orchestra: Le Déclin 	5:03 
6. Poèmes D'automne For Mezzo-Soprano And Orchestra: Invocation 	5:36 
7. In The Night (For Orchestra) 		5:24
8. 2 Psaumes For Soprano And Orchestra: Prélude	3:21 
9. 2 Psaumes For Soprano And Orchestra: Psaume 114 		3:41 	
10. 2 Psaumes For Soprano And Orchestra: Psaume 137	6:05 	
11. Psaume 22 For Baryton And Orchestra 	7:55

Brigitte Balleys 	- Mezzo-Soprano 
Mireille Delunsch – Soprano
Vincent le Texier - Baritone 
Luxembourg Symphony Orchestra 
David Shallon - 	Conductor

Ernest Bloch, (born July 24, 1880, Geneva, Switz.—died July 15, 1959, Portland, Ore., U.S.), composer whose music reflects Jewish cultural and liturgical themes as well as European post-Romantic traditions. His students included Roger Sessions and Randall Thompson.

Bloch studied with the noted Swiss composer Émile Jaques-Dalcroze and in Belgium with the violinist Eugène Ysaÿe. From 1911 to 1915 he taught at the Geneva Conservatory. He toured the United States in 1916 with the dancer Maud Allen, and after the tour company went bankrupt he settled in New York. He was director of the Cleveland Institute of Music from 1920 to 1925 and of the San Francisco Conservatory from 1925 to 1930. In 1930 he went to Switzerland, but he returned to the United States in 1939, settling in Oregon in 1943. He taught composition for several summers at the University of California at Berkeley.

Bloch’s music reflects many post-Romantic influences, among them the styles of Claude Debussy, Gustav Mahler, and Richard Strauss. His interest in the chromatic sonorities of Debussy and Maurice Ravel is evident in the tone poem Hiver-Printemps (1905; Winter-Spring). Bloch composed a significant group of works on Jewish themes, among them the Israel Symphony (1916), Trois poèmes juifs for orchestra (1913; Three Jewish Poems), the tone poem Schelomo for cello and orchestra (1916; Solomon), and the suite Baal Shem for violin and piano (1923). His sacred service Avodath Hakodesh for baritone, chorus, and orchestra (1930–33) represents the full maturity of his use of music appropriate to Jewish themes and liturgy. Many of Bloch’s works show a strong neoclassical trend, combining musical forms of the past with 20th-century techniques. Examples include his Concerto Grosso No. 1 (1925) and his Quintet for piano and strings (1923), which utilizes quarter tones to colour and heighten the emotional intensity of the music. His other notable works include an “epic rhapsody” for orchestra (America, 1926), the Suite for viola and piano (1919), and five string quartets (1916, 1945, 1952, 1953, 1956). --- britannica.com

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Concerto Grosso No. 1 For String Orchestra With Piano Obbligato
 1. 1. Prelude: Allegro energico e pesante
 2. 2. Dirge: Andante moderato
 3. 3. Pastorale And Rustic Dances
 4. 4. Fugue

Concerto Grosso No. 2 For String Orchestra
 5. 1. Maestoso
 6. 2. Andante
 7. 3. Allegro
 8. 4. Tranquillo

 9. Schelomo: Hebraic Rhapsody For Violoncello And Orchestra

Georges Miquelle - violoncello
Eastman-Rochester Orchestra
Howard Hanson – conductor

These extraordinary performances recorded at the Eastman Theatre, Rochester, in the late 50s, show no sign of fading. In aesthetic, presentation and sound, they are as fresh and vital as when they first came out...and I remember when they did, about 1960.

The greater part of the accolades, of course, go to Howard Hanson, whose tenacity and talent changed how the USA and the world looked at and listened to American music. Here he is in top form before the outstanding ensemble he built. In the concerti, the point and attack so necessary in Bloch is there, the virtusoity is there, the songfulness and emotion most definitely there. What's remarkable is that Hanson doesn't make a point of it...his Bloch aesthetic is by now so ingrained in our collective conscience that imagining a slack performance of any Bloch piece is brainwork, indeed.

The outstanding Miquelle works into the scheme very well, too. His Schelomo is the meditative king that eschews the rhetoric, bluster, bounce and noise we often get in the work. His Gallic tone is intimate, pure, on point, and even diminuitive at times without in any way being retiring or pusilanimous. He and Hanson stick very close to the music and by doing less, they express more. Miquelle and Hanson's way won't appeal to those who seek "virtuosismo", but will reward those who seek Bloch's creative thought and compositional process. In that way, it's a unique and extraordinary performance.

If you don't know Bloch, this is a superlative way to start (my third grade music teacher played these performances on a Magnavox console for us kids and we immediately loved the music). Thanks to Wilma Cozart for refurbing her own sessions so effectively, and Mercury for bringing back these historic performances for more generations to experience. ---amazon.com

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I. Lent et solennel: Prayer in the Desert
II. Allegro agitato: Yom Kippur
III. Moderato: Succoth

Adriana Kohútková (Soprano); 
Katarina Kramolisova (Soprano); 
Terezia Bajakova (Mezzo-soprano); 
Denisa Hamarova (Contralto); 
Michal Macuha (Baritone);
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra; 
Dalia Atlas (Conductor).

This work dates from 1912-16 and belongs to the composer's "Jewish cycle". The symphony evokes two Jewish traditional celebrations, "Yom Kippur" (Day of Atonement) and "Succoth" (Celebration of Harvest). The symphony is, consequently, divided in two parts. The first one comprises the first and second movements. The third includes the intervention of two sopranos, two altos and one bass, intended originally as a wordless choir, though Bloch wrote a text after the music score was complete, in order to sing syllables rather than single vowels. Bloch intended to call the work "Fêtes Juives"("Jewish Festivities"), but changed it to "Israel" by suggestion of Romain Rolland. Bloch himself provided notes for the New York Philarmonic 1943 performance of the symphony: "Though a single unit, the symphony falls into three sections. A slow introduction, Adagio molto ("Prayer in the Desert") is immediately followed by the Allegro agitato ("Yom Kippur"), with a main theme of bold, barbaric character...A short transition leads into the second part, Moderato ("Succoth") which, after a fierce climax, brings in the voice...This second part of the work is more contemplative, serene, a kind of prayer". The idiom is modern romantic, passionate, intense. As usual, Bloch did not follow a program and did not use traditional melodies. The work is Jewish in a spiritual sense. ---Hector Bellman, Rovi

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CD1
1. Intro - Montpellier PO Languedoc-Roussillon/Friedemann Layer 	
2. 'D'ou Viens-Tu? Sur Le Champ De Bataille...' - Sophie Fournier/Hanna Schaer/Ariene Stamboulides 
3. 'Oh Macbeth! Voyez Ces Creatures Fletries - Jacque Trussel 	
4. Macbeth! Plus Rapides Que La Grele...' - Jean-Philippe Marliere 
5. Act I, Scene 1. Une Salle Dans Le Chateau De Macbeth: 'Et Puis...Elles Disparurent'
 - Jean-Philippe Lafont 	
6. Act I, Scene 1. Une Salle Dans Le Chateau De Macbeth: 'Seigneur, Le Roi Vient!'				play
 - Franck Bard 
7. Act I, Scene 1. Une Salle Dans Le Chateau De Macbeth: 'O Fidele Epouse De Mon Fidele Macbeth'
 - Christer Bladin 
8. Act I, Scene 1. Une Salle Dans Le Chateau De Macbeth: 'Je Suis Vieux, Malcolm'
 - Christer Bladin 
9. Act I, Scene 1. Une Salle Dans Le Chateau De Macbeth: 'Ah! Si La Chose Une Fois Faite'
 - Jean-Philippe Lafont 
10. Act I, Scene 1. Une Salle Dans Le Chateau De Macbeth: 'Ecoute: Quand Duncan...'
 - Markella Hatziano 
11. Act I, Scene 1. Une Salle Dans Le Chateau De Macbeth: Interlude Orchestral
 - Montpellier PO Languedoc-Roussillon/Friedemann Layer 	
12. Act I, Scene 2. La Cour Interieure Du Chateau: 'Il Est Plus De Minuit' - Jacque Trussel 
13. Act I, Scene 2. La Cour Interieure Du Chateau: 'Est-ce Un Poignard?' - Jean-Philippe Lafont 
14. Act I, Scene 2. La Cour Interieure Du Chateau: 'Les Portes Sont Ouvertes' - Markella Hatziano 
15. Act I, Scene 2. La Cour Interieure Du Chateau: 'Frappe, Frappe, Dit Le Demon' - Marcel Vanaud 
16. Act I, Scene 2. La Cour Interieure Du Chateau: 'Il Etait Donc Bien Tard L'ami?'
 - Jean-Philippe Marliere

CD2
1. Act II: Une Salle D'apparat Dans Le Chateau De Macbeth: 'Ces Hommes Sont La?'
 - Jean-Philippe Lafont 	
2. Act II: Une Salle D'apparat Dans Le Chateau De Macbeth: 'Partis! Partis! Pour Toujours!'
 - Jean-Philippe Lafont 
3. Act II: Une Salle D'apparat Dans Le Chateau De Macbeth: 'Qu'entends-Je Mylords?'
 - Jean-Philippe Lafont 	
4. Act II: Une Salle D'apparat Dans Le Chateau De Macbeth: 'Que Vois-Je? Plus De Place Pour Moi'
 - Jean-Philippe Lafont 	
5. Act II: Une Salle D'apparat Dans Le Chateau De Macbeth: 'O Macbeth! Pourquoi?' - Markella Hatziano 	
6. Act II: Une Salle D'apparat Dans Le Chateau De Macbeth: 'Oui, Je Tiens Dans Mes Bras'
 - Jean-Philippe Lafont 	
7. Act III, Scene 1. Une Caverne Tenebreuse: 'La Chatte A Miaule' - Sophie Fournier/
Hanna Schaer/Ariene Stamboulides 	
8. Act III, Scene 1. Une Caverne Tenebreuse: 'Que Faites-Vous Donc, Sorcieres Tenebreuses?'
 - Jean-Philippe Lafont 	
9. Act III, Scene 1. Une Caverne Tenebreuse: 'Macbeth! Macbeth!' - Mojtek Smilek/Annie Vavrille		play 
10. Act III, Scene 1. Une Caverne Tenebreuse: Interlude Orchestral
 - Montpellier PO Languedoc-Roussillon/Friedemann Layer 	
11. Act III, Scene 2. Une Salle Dans Le Chateau De Macbeth Avec Une Galerie Ouverte Sur La Forte De...
 - Markella Hatziano 	
12. Act III, Scene 2. Une Salle Dans Le Chateau De Macbeth Avec Une Galerie Ouverte Sur La Forte De...
 - Jean-Philippe Lafont 	
13. Act III, Scene 2. Une Salle Dans Le Chateau De Macbeth Avec Une Galerie Ouverte Sur La Forte De...
 - Jean-Philippe Lafont 	
14. Act III, Scene 2. Une Salle Dans Le Chateau De Macbeth Avec Une Galerie Ouverte Sur La Forte De...
 - Jean-Philippe Lafont 	
15. Act III, Scene 2. Une Salle Dans Le Chateau De Macbeth Avec Une Galerie Ouverte Sur La Forte De...
 - Choeur De La Radio Lettone

Jean-Philippe Lafont - Macbeth
Markella Hatziano - Lady Macbeth
Jean-Philippe Marliere - Macduff
Jacque Trussel - Banquo
Christer Bladin - Duncan
Philippe Georges - Lennox
Marcel Vanaud - Le Portier
Feijs Millers - Malcolm
Andris Gailis - Le meurtrier

Orchestre Philharmonique de Montpellier Languedoc-Roussillon
Choeur de la Radio Lettone
Friedemann Layer - conductor, 1997

Macbeth is an opera in three acts, with music by Ernest Bloch to a libretto by Edmond Fleg, after the eponymous play of William Shakespeare. Bloch composed the opera between 1904 and 1906, but it did not receive its first performance until November 30, 1910 by the Opéra-Comique Paris. Alex Cohen has written of quarrels within the cast that contributed to the opera's poorly received premiere. After the premiere, the opera was performed 15 times through January 1911, but then was withdrawn. Romain Rolland had studied the score and communicated his admiration to Bloch in June 1911.

Guido Gatti has compared elements of Bloch's opera to the music of Modest Mussorgsky. He has also written of the different treatments of the Macbeth story by Giuseppe Verdi and Bloch in their respective operas on the subject, with Verdi being more "realistic" and Bloch being more in keeping with the symbolist era in art at his time.

After the premiere production, the opera was staged in 1938 in Naples, but was then banned on orders of the Fascist government. Subsequently, the opera was produced in Rome in 1953, and in Trieste. Portions of the opera have been recorded with Heinz Rehfuss and Lucienne Devallier, with Ernest Ansermet conducting, and in another recording, with Inge Borkh. More recently, complete recordings conducted by Alexander Rumpf and Friedemann Layer have been produced. The University College Opera (of University College London) performed the English language premiere of Macbeth in the UK in March 2009.The opera was staged, in English, at the Juilliard School of Music in New York under the direction of John Houseman, in May 1973. P H Adler conducted; singers included L. Carlson, H. Barnsley, R. Termine, F. Burchinal, M. Li-Paz and W. White.

The story is essentially that of the Shakespeare play, with the five acts compressed to three. The opera contains seven tableaux, with the prelude comprising the first tableau, and each of the three acts containing two tableaux.

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1. Piano Quintet No.1 - I. Agitato
2. Piano Quintet No.1 - II. Andante mistico
3. Piano Quintet No.1 - III. Allegro energico
4. Night (for string quartet)
5. Paysages - 1. North: Molto moderato
6. Paysages - 2. Alpestre: Allegretto
7. Paysages - 3. Tongataboo: Allegro
8. Two Pieces for String Quartet - 1. Andante moderato
9. Two Pieces for String Quartet - 2. Allegro molto
10. Piano Quintet No.2 - I. Animato
11. Piano Quintet No.2 - II. Andante
12. Piano Quintet No.2 - III. Allegro

Piers Lane, piano
Goldner String Quartet

Swiss-American composer Ernest Bloch is best known for his works on Jewish themes and subjects -- Baal Shem, Schelomo, the Israel Symphony -- but the majority of his works are abstract, if heavily accented music written in the standard late nineteenth century central European harmonies and forms. This 2007 Hyperion disc features two large-scale chamber works by Bloch, his three-movement piano quintets from 1923 and 1957, plus three shorter pieces for string quartet alone: Night and Paysages (Landscapes) both from 1923 and Two Pieces from 1938 and 1950. Over his long career, while his themes grew more concentrated, his harmonies more austere and his forms more focused, Bloch's tonal rhetoric and dramatic developments remained deeply rooted in the late Romanticism of his youth. Though written more than 20 years apart, his piano quintets are prime examples of this. Both are three-movement works with heroic themes surging above driven harmonies in the fast outer movements and ecstatic themes soaring above restless harmonies in the central slow movements. Played with immense conviction by the Goldner String Quartet with pianist Piers Lane, these performances reveal both the fundamental unity and the inevitable sharpening of Bloch's style. The intensity of the quartets' tone, the way they bring out the expressive nuances of the string writing, is quite persuasive on its own, and when coupled with the power and flexibility of Lane's piano playing in the quintets, it is wholly compelling. For a taste of Bloch, try either the evocative Night or the exciting "Tongatboo" from Paysages. For the best of Bloch, try the beautifully extended slow coda to the Second Piano Quintet. For the full Bloch immersion, start with the blustery Agitato that opens the first First Piano Quintet and don't stop until the blissful end of the Second Piano Quintet. ---James Leonard, Rovi

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I.Schelomo for Cello & Orchestra

Mstislav Rostropovich - cello
Orchertre Nacional de France
Leonard Bernstein - conductor

II. Sonata for Violin & Piano No.1

Agitato - Molto quieto - Moderato

Isaac Stern – violin
Alexander Zakin – piano

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1. Violin Sonata No 1 - Agitato
2. Violin Sonata No 1 - Molto quieto
3. Violin Sonata No 1 - Moderato
4. Violin Sonata No 2 - Andante moderato
5. Violin Sonata No 2 - Animato
6. Violin Sonata No 2 - L'istesso tempo
7. Violin Sonata No 2 - Animato
8. Mélodie
9. Nuit exotique
10. Abodah

Hagai Shaham: violin
Arnon Erez: piano

Hagai Shaham has already demonstrated his thrilling virtuosity and luscious tone in his Hyperion recordings of Jenö Hubay, and here he shines in the richly expressive music of Ernest Bloch. The two violin sonatas are contrasting works (Bloch described No 1 as embodying ‘the world as it is’, while No 2 represents ‘the world as it should be’): the first is in three movements and balances violent and ritualistic motifs with passages of dream-like calm; the second is more simple and lyrical, characterized by long melodic lines and stylistically not unlike Szymanowski. The three shorter works are also lyrical and, like most of Bloch’s music, exemplify the Jewish influence on Bloch’s musical idiom.

Lovers of the violin and early twentieth-century Romanticism will revel in ravishing music performed with such an irresistible zeal and flair.---hyperion-records.co.uk

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Ernest Bloch (1880-1959)
1. Baal Shem: 3 pictures of Hassidic life: Vidui
2. Baal Shem: 3 pictures of Hassidic life: Nigun
3. Baal Shem: 3 pictures of Hassidic life: Simchas Torah
4. Suite hébraïque: Rapsodie
5. Suite hébraïque: Processional
6. Suite hébraïque: Affirmation
7. Suite No. 1 for solo violin: Prelude
8. Suite No. 1 for solo violin: Andante tranquillo
9. Suite No. 1 for solo violin: Allegro - Andante
10. Suite No. 1 for solo violin: Allegro energico
11. Suite No. 2 for solo violin: Energico, deciso
12. Suite No. 2 for solo violin: Moderato
13. Suite No. 2 for solo violin: Andante
14. Suite No. 2 for solo violin: Allegro molto

Paul Ben-Haïm (1897-1984)
15. Sonata for solo violin in G minor, Op. 44: Allegro energico
16. Sonata for solo violin in G minor, Op. 44: Lento e sotto voce
17. Sonata for solo violin in G minor, Op. 44: Molto allegro
18. Berceuse Sfaradite
19. Improvisation and Dance, Op. 30

Hagai Shaham: violin
Arnon Erez: piano

Shaham's and Erez's first disc of Bloch's music for violin and piano drew raving reviews from critics and listeners alike. This second should be a barnstormer like the initial foray, only this time Bloch has to share the programme with Paul Ben-Haïm, one of Israel's most famous composers, who together with some 40 other musicians had to flee the Nazi persecution and rebuild his career in strange and often trying conditions in Palestine.

Although Ernest Bloch (1880-1959) was born in Switzerland and Ben-Haïm (1897-1984) was a native of Munich, the musical language of both men ran parallel to the fact that the two experienced an awakening of the Jewish soul in music. All the pieces on this CD are a testimony to the inner suffering and anguish that many Jews were subjected to with the rise of Nazism, but if one listens carefully, the spirit of defiance and the will to survive it are at the very core of these emotional utterings.

Performances are simply electrifying, and the relentless tension that they create is almost unbearable. A vividly recorded and superbly documented disc all round. ---Gerald Fenech, classical.net

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