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)
