Aliyah! Israel — For the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel
How joyful it is to witness the sixtieth anniversary of the State of Israel in May 2008! Of the monumental historical events of the twentieth century, the founding of Israel in 1948 surely stands as one of the most significant. With this commemorative recording, Gloriæ Dei Cantores joins voices with the Jewish people in celebration of their life and heritage.
In that spirit, this music by Jewish and non-Jewish composers offers prayer and praise, reflecting the atmosphere of the Shabbat service. War has been an integral part of the lives of many of these composers, and they have found peace only through great personal sacrifice. Their faith in God has been tried and tested, but the message that rings out of their music is clear: God is faithful and worthy of all praise: Ki Tov!—“God is good!”
“This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.” (Leonard Bernstein)
“The special Jewish experience is the idea of a personal relationship between man and his God; the burning conviction or even command that the Jew’s mission on earth is to be ‘a light unto the nations’; the ‘nagging conscience’ that never lets him rest but calls him to continuous service to all mankind . . . so that in the end of days all men will be brothers.” (Samuel Adler)
“I found a greater intensity with my own emotions in the Armenian culture as I grew older, as well as from the beginning, although I didn’t know anything about it.” (Alan Hovhaness)
“Thus I can say that I’ve had a happy life, and if I compose, it’s because I am in love with music and I wouldn’t know how to do anything else.” (Darius Milhaud)
“Divine fires do not blaze every day, but an artist functions in their afterglow hoping for their recurrence.” (Ned Rorem)
“I’ve never known a musician who regretted being one. Whatever deceptions life may have in store for you, music itself is not going to let you down.” (Virgil Thomson)
