of American Jewry"--the arrival in 1654 of 23 Jewish refugees in New Amsterdam. Diamond initially envisaged an orchestral work but, realizing that he needed a "spokesman," added a narration compiled from biblical and historical sources, the poetry of Moses ibn Ezra and Yehuda Halevi, and the words of Rabbi Hillel, Benjamin Franklin and George Washington. The result is a paean to ideals universally shared: justice, freedom, equality, civilization, truth, peace and faith. The orchestra supplies both background and interludes for the spoken words, as well as a turbulent Prologue that starts with a timpanum crash, and a serene, celestial Epilogue on shimmering high strings. The music is basically tonal, by turns dissonant, loud and...  (less)