Contemporary Allegory

Paul Ben-Haim's oratorio 'Joram',
heard by MALCOLM MILLER

Nearly eighty years after its composition, the oratorio Joram (1933) by the Israeli composer Paul Ben-Haim, the last work he composed in his native Germany before emigrating to Palestine to escape the Nazi regime, received its long-awaited Israeli premiere, in Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv, on 2 and 3 April 2012. The historic performance was given by the Münchner MotettenChor and their conductor Hayko Siemens, who had conducted the world premiere in Munich in 2007, and who on this occasion directed the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and a superb cast of soloists, all but the soprano having performed at the world premiere.

I attended the performance on 3 April 2012 at the acoustically impressive Smolarz Auditorium of Tel Aviv University. There was a large and enthusiastic audience...

PAUL BEN-HAIM

TEL AVIV

CHORAL MUSIC

ISRAEL

GERMANY

20TH CENTURY