Jewish String Quartets

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Milhaud - Binder - Schonthal - Zorn - Secunda

With the premiere recording of Darius Milhaud's Études, based on the original synagogue melodies of Provençal Jewry, the world-renowned Juilliard String Quartet leads off this unique collection of five Judaically inspired string quartets. A rich bouquet of Ashkenazi sacred melodies pervades the string quartet by Sholom Secunda, the composer of Yiddish theatrical music better known for the song hit Bay mir bistu sheyn. German refugee composer Ruth Schonthal expands the quartet medium with a striking work dedicated to the memory of the murdered victims of the Holocaust. The Kol Nidre by John Zorn is a highly original exploration of motifs of the best-known Yom Kippur chant. A new recording of this work, as well as Two Hassidic Moods by the liturgical composer Abraham Wolf Binder, complete the program.

Reviews and Recognitions:

"This is an excellent example of how many different ways there are to write for two violins, viola and cello....this is a gem of a recording, with wonderfully empathic playing by the Juilliard, Bachmann and Bingham String Quartets. Just a wonderful record." —George Robinson, The Jewish Week

"Schonthal is an extraordinary composer. Her quartet is serious, personal, frightening, devastating, and deeply moving. The Bingham Quartet does an excellent job with it. I have never heard anything quite like it." —Elaine Fine, American Record Guide

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