Concerto for Violin, Horn, Shofar and Orchestra

The Concerto for Violin, Horn, Shofar and Orchestra announces its propensity for uncommon sonorities at the outset – a trio consisting of solo violin, shofar and bass clarinet, supported by splashes of ambient percussion, bowed gongs and celesta. The shofar is an ancient instrument, originally made from a ram’s horn, which in the composer’s opinion “sounds rather haunting and can give a sense of transcendence.”

Recorded by soloists Orsolya Korcsolan (violin) and Gergely Sugar (Horn and Shofars) with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Mo. Dennis Russell Davies (Naxos Records), the Concerto has been featured on nationally syndicated Classical Radio programs in the US along with features by the BBC Classics Magazine and podcast among others.

The shofar can be heard around the world during then High Holidays in the Jewish tradition, and resembles a “berrante,” played by cattle rangers in the hinterlands of Brazil, thus demonstrating the commonality in widely divergent folk traditions.

Because embouchure alone controls its pitch, its tuning can be very distinctive. In this concerto, the soloist alternates three shofars (tuned to three different basic pitches, B-flat3, B-flat4, B4) with a modern French horn. The brief first movement revels in these sounds, along with metallic sonorities of bowed percussion, clusters of string harmonics, and an introspective melodic episode followed by a coda.

The second movement features much imitative counterpoint between violin and horn, juxtaposing a playful idea in duple-compound meter with a solemn five-note motif. Virtuoso passages for the violin and horn and majestic tutti episodes including the full string choir, bass clarinet, percussion, celesta, and the organ add another layer of dramatic power to the movement and throughout the work.

The shofar returns in the third movement, in which seconds (both minor and major) form the backbone of the melodic material. Sonority again seems paramount, with ethereal soundscapes, the percussion playing a more active role, and a haunting solo violin theme navigating within.

The concluding movement, by far the longest of the four (and mostly scored in 11/4), brings a new melodic theme together with elements from each of the preceding movements – including both horn and shofar, a cyclical persisting five-note motif, much interplay and virtuosity between soloists, extended percussion (including two Brazilian berimbaus) – to which the composer adds, nearly half-way through, a rhythmic bass line reinforced by the organ, culminating with maestoso thematic statements in the concerto’s closing bars. The solo parts embark on both virtuosity and warm, lyrical playing.

Text by Frank K. DeWald for Naxos Records (publicly available) and Amazonica Music, New York