A radio show of the European Institute of Jewish Music, hosted by Hervé Roten
MUSIQUES JUIVES D’HIER ET D’AUJOURD’HUI – TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 2013, Judaïques FM (94.8), 21h05. Radio program in French
Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813-1888) was a composer, virtuoso pianist, and a teacher and was often compared to Chopin or Liszt.
His musical language and his whole work that we rediscover today speak of a surprising modernity, long in advance from his time.
Alkan was born and died in Jewish faith. With his brothers and sisters, born with the name Morhange, he chose as a surname the Hebrew first name of his father and became Charles-Valentin Alkan senior. As he knew many ancient languages (Hebrew, Latin, Greek, Syriac), he translated the Old and New Testament.
Along with Fromental Halévy, he collaborated occasionally with the Consistoire for the modernization of the liturgy. He would compose in particuliar two melodies for worship, asked by the chazan Samuel Naumbourg (Ets Khayim and Hallelujah). In 1851, he became the organ player of he synagogue in rue Notre-Dame de Nazareth, before resigning a few days later!
He wrote a compilation of Prayers for organ, some with a Hebrew text aside, but these melodies are as much free compositions as prayers. Finally in 1854, he wrote three small Jewish melodies, of which the third one is a paraphrase of Estro poetico-armonico by Benedetto Marcello, Venitian composer from the XVIIIth century, a Christian interested in Jewish liturgy.
Alkan died in 1888, crushed down, according to the legend, by his library while he was looking for the Talmud!
Musicologist Anny Kessous Dreyfuss who wrote a book dedicated to the Jewish work of Charles-Valentin Alkan – Le Passant du pont de l’Europe : Charles-Valentin Alkan, will speak of the importance of this great composer who succeeded to reconcile Jewish tradition and modernity of his time.
A radio show illustrated with many musical excerpts…
Officer of the Ordre of Arts and letters, PhD in musicology at Paris University Sorbonne, prize-winning graduate from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, Hervé Roten is the director of the European Institute of Jewish Music since its creation in 2006.
Ethnomusicologist, he quickly developed an interest in the safeguard and digitization of archives, subjects he taught for several years in Reims and Marne-La-Vallée universities.
Author of many articles, books and recordings related to Jewish music, producer of radio programs, Hervé Roten is recognized today as one of the best specialists of Jewish music in the world.
