Israel and Vltava
What is the connection between the State of Israel and the Vltava River that transects the Czech Republic? Many of you will know the answer to this riddle, namely that the Israeli national anthem, Hatikva, is sung to the same tune that is the main theme in Smetana's composition "The Moldau," which is the German name for the Czech river Vltava.
How this came about is a bit uncertain, but it seems the tune came from an earlier European folk song, that Smetana remembered when he needed a rolling theme to characterize the mighty river, and he had heard it when he lived in Sweden. The same theme was used to fit to the Hebrew words of Naftali Herz Imber's poem "Hatikva," written in 1877, but published in 1886 in Jerusalem, that became our national anthem.
This point came up in the introduction to the piece "The Moldau" by Harvey Bordowitz, who is the Conductor of the Herzliya Chamber Orchestra, that gave an excellent concert entitled "Fire and Water," for the start of their 27th season on Saturday night. The "Fire" was when they had indoor fireworks at the conclusion of Handel's "Music for the Royal Fireworks" composed in 1749 for King George II of England. These were excellently choreographed to the music and brought the house down (figuratively not literally).
We also heard Manuel de Falla's short piece "The Fire Dance." Incidentally I believe that de Falla, considered one of the most authentic Spanish composers, was Jewish. And also Edward Elgar's "Sea Pictures," that was beautifully sung by an impressive Israeli mezzo named Edna Prochnik, who has been singing in Europe and the US. All in all an excellent concert.
How this came about is a bit uncertain, but it seems the tune came from an earlier European folk song, that Smetana remembered when he needed a rolling theme to characterize the mighty river, and he had heard it when he lived in Sweden. The same theme was used to fit to the Hebrew words of Naftali Herz Imber's poem "Hatikva," written in 1877, but published in 1886 in Jerusalem, that became our national anthem.
This point came up in the introduction to the piece "The Moldau" by Harvey Bordowitz, who is the Conductor of the Herzliya Chamber Orchestra, that gave an excellent concert entitled "Fire and Water," for the start of their 27th season on Saturday night. The "Fire" was when they had indoor fireworks at the conclusion of Handel's "Music for the Royal Fireworks" composed in 1749 for King George II of England. These were excellently choreographed to the music and brought the house down (figuratively not literally).
We also heard Manuel de Falla's short piece "The Fire Dance." Incidentally I believe that de Falla, considered one of the most authentic Spanish composers, was Jewish. And also Edward Elgar's "Sea Pictures," that was beautifully sung by an impressive Israeli mezzo named Edna Prochnik, who has been singing in Europe and the US. All in all an excellent concert.
posted by Jack Cohen at 8:24 PM
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