Jewish Folk Songs

While visiting a friend in Los Angeles, we drove through a neighborhood full of Ethiopian restaurants – and just had to stop for lunch.  Afterwards, browsing through a nearby antiques shop, I found a book called Treasury of Jewish Folksongs and couldn’t resist buying it as the idea of writing music based on Jewish themes had been on my mind for much of the past year.  It had been an agonizing year as I watched the world erupt in yet another paroxysm of antisemitism. Even worse, this time the worst of it came from those with whom my political leanings are usually aligned. Watching progressives actively demonstrating in favor of a theocracy whose belief system is diametrically opposed to their purported values while screaming “from the river to the sea” was unbearably depressing.

So, finding that book seemed like fate.  Having already composed string quartets based on Appalachian and Ukrainian folk songs, I decided one based on songs from this collection had to be next. The quartet is in five movements:  Lullabies, Children’s Songs, Love Songs, Partisan Songs and Songs of Israel.