Maria Lambros, viola; Michael Kannen, cello; Marija Stroke, piano; Gerald Cohen, baritone; Curtis Macomber, violin; Calvin Wiersma, violin; Daniel Panner, viola; Kathryn Palange, soprano; Alice Lee, piano; Gregory Wood, cello; David Abrams, clarinet; Syracuse Children's Chorus; Barbara Tagg, Conductor
We remember and we imagine. We memorialize the past and nurture hopes for the future. We use tradition as raw material for the new and the innovative.
These ideas are the motivating forces in Gerald Cohen's music. He is a composer, but he is also a cantor, a teacher and a parent. All of these pursuits involve a passing on of traditionsmusical, religious, familyso that others may carry them into the future.
From life comes art, and so it is natural that the pieces on this disc are all, in one way or another, involved with the idea of tradition passed on. There are contemporary settings of traditional Jewish texts. There is a memorial to a late father and a blessing for a young child. Even the musical building blocksthe forms and the languagereflect an engagement with tradition, making new ideas comprehensible by their relationship to the old.
Cohen avidly weaves together several different traditions, including the "classics" of Western music (especially the music of Beethoven and Brahms); the musical traditions of the 20th century (some crucial composers in that regard are Mahler, Bartok, Britten and Copland); the traditions of Jewish texts; and the traditions of Jewish liturgical and secular music. His comprehensive knowledge of Western art music informs his specifically Jewish works, and the echoes of his cantorial training and his cultural heritage appear, as if inevitable, in his pure concert music. His music reflects all of these traditions, creating a musical voice that is distinctly his own.
In the end, however, a musical work does not succeed because of its origins or preoccupations. Cohens music succeeds so beautifully because it lives and breathes with vitality, energy, tenderness and sincerity. -Michael Kannen
This title, originally issued on the CRI label, is now available as a burn-on-demand CD (CD-R) or download in MP3/320, FLAC or WAV formats. CD-Rs come in a protective sleeve; no print booklet or jewel case included. Liner notes are accessible via the link above.
Gerald Cohen: Generations
| MP3/320 | $17.00 | |
| FLAC | $17.00 | |
| WAV | $17.00 | |
| CD-R | $17.00 |
A *.pdf of the notes may be accessed here free of charge.
Track Listing
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Trio for viola, cello and piano: I. Slow, mysterious - Broadly
Gerald Cohen
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Trio for viola, cello and piano: II. Fast
Gerald Cohen
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Trio for viola, cello and piano: III. Slow, calm
Gerald Cohen
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Four Songs on Hebrew Texts: Y'varech'cha (May you be blessed)
Gerald Cohen
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Four Songs on Hebrew Texts: Ad matai (How long?)
Gerald Cohen
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Four Songs on Hebrew Texts: Adonai ro'i (The Lord is my shepherd)
Gerald Cohen
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Four Songs on Hebrew Texts: V'haarev na (May The words be sweet)
Gerald Cohen
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String Quartet No. 2: I. Lively, graceful
Gerald Cohen
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String Quartet No. 2: II. Elegy: Slow, hushed
Gerald Cohen
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String Quartet No. 2: III. Very fast
Gerald Cohen
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V'higad'ta L'vincha: I. V'higad'ta L'vincha(And you shall tell your child)
Gerald Cohen
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V'higad'ta L'vincha: II. Avadim hayinu (We were slaves to Pharaoh)
Gerald Cohen
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V'higad'ta L'vincha: III. Ha lachma anya (This is the bread of affliction)
Gerald Cohen
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V'higad'ta L'vincha: IV. Dayeinu (It would have been enough)
Gerald Cohen
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V'higad'ta L'vincha: V. B'chol dor vador (In every generation)
Gerald Cohen
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V'higad'ta L'vincha: VI. L'fichach (Therefore we should thank)
Gerald Cohen
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