"Aires de Sefarad" Album Review
Duo46 Perform Jorge Liderman's Cycle of 46 Spanish Songs
Oct 31, 2009
Listening to Duo46's recording of Jorge Liderman's Aires de Sefarad (46 Spanish Songs for Violin and Guitar) is like digesting a series of epigrams. Each of the 46 songs is brief, almost too brief, one short image after the next. And together they weave together a larger sense of a far off time and place.
These 46 short pieces commemorate the experiences of the Spanish, or Sephardic, Jews. Persecuted during the Spanish Inquisition, many fled or converted to Christianity. Yet their culture left a mark in southern Spain.
Since these songs are entirely instrumental, it is the violin who sings the main voice in the music. The guitar is the faithful lover, sometimes mournful as the violin soars to poignant heights, but always there when she returns. And in pieces such as "Un lunes por la manana," the violin fades to the background to let the guitar's passionate strumming finally declare itself.
But the romance of the violin and guitar may have another meaning entirely: nostalgia. Many of the song titles include the mention of Mother or Father, suggesting the sense of displacement and a search for the familiar and home.
Evoking the Mediterranean, these songs exude a rich warmth and deep romance. Duo46's interpretation of Jorge Liderman's vignettes ignite a desire to travel and see the world. Or maybe just to snuggle up with a loved one and dream together at home.
Composer Jorge Liderman: A Journey from Europe to Argentina to Israel to America
The grandson of European immigrants, the composer Jorge Liderman was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1957. Though he began composing as a child, he first began to formally study music at the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem. He later earned his master's in composition from the University of Chicago in 1986 and a Ph.D in the same subject in 1988.
He taught for nearly 20 years in the University of California, Berkeley's Music Department. His eclectic family roots and education fostered a unique musical voice, with hints of Latin America, Israel, Eastern Europe and the 20th century.
His reputation as a composer was just beginning to spread when he tragically died in 2008 at the age of 50. Commissions for his work came from such ensembles as the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the London Sinfonietta.
Duo46: Husband and Wife Team Perform, Teach Round the World
Duo46 is a husband and wife ensemble, with Beth Ilana Schneider-Gould on violin and Matt Gould on classical guitar. Specializing in 19th- and 20th-century music, the ensemble also inspires new generations of composers, with over 100 new works commissioned for their unique violin and guitar sound.
From 2000-2005, the pair served on the faculty at Eastern Mediterranean University in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Now they reside in Phoenix, AZ. In July 2010, Duo46 will be participating in soundSCAPE New Music Festival in Pavia, Italy.
Sources
Maclay, Kathleen. "Jorge Liderman, Award-Winning Composer and Music Professor, Dies at Age 50." February 6, 2008. UCBerkeley News.
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