Mordecai Sandberg
Mordecai (Markus) Sandberg (
As a composer of microtonal music Sandberg intended to translate and interpret the sacred texts of all the worlds’ religions to musical form. He began his monumental project with the
Early life
Sandberg was born in the town of
Move to Jerusalem
After World War I, Austria ended its control over the city of Suceava, and in 1922 Sandberg moved to
While working as a medical doctor in Palestine, Sandberg’s pursued his passion for music and he was active as a composer. In 1924, Sandberg began composing music to the Book of Psalms. In 1925, Sandberg’s musical composition, Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) was performed in Jerusalem. In 1926, he founded the Palestine Musicians Association together with composers Jacob Weinberg and
In 1928 Sandberg presented a concert in Jerusalem of his own works and those of
with 12th and 16th tones. In 1930, he founded the Hebrew monthly magazine, Hallel which included photographs of some instruments of his design.In 1938, Sandberg took part in an international conference on music and art in London. His lecture on microtonal music was later broadcast on the BBC. After the conference, he organized a number of concerts, broadcasts, and lectures of his work in England. The BBC program planner and advocate of contemporary music Edward Clark said that Sandberg was "a composer in whose path new music is following".[1]
Sandberg himself settled in the United States after the outset of World War II, later bringing his family to New York City following the end of the war. In 1939, he offered a number of lectures in music in New York including one on radio station WEVD about the “Problems of Palestinian Music”. In 1940, he taught a course at the New York College of Music on the subject of microtonal music. Over the next few years, concerts of his music were performed at Carnegie Hall, on radio station WCBS-FM, and at New York's Town Hall.
In 1949, Sandberg’s works Eskerah ("I remember") and Ruth were performed at Town Hall. The former was begun in 1938 in memory of those who were suffering persecution at the hands of the
Over the next twenty years, Sandberg devoted his time to composing musical settings for the entire Bible. In 1970, he moved to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where he obtained a position as a teaching fellow at Stong College of York University. He died in Toronto on December 28, 1973.
Performances
In recent years, Sandberg's music has been performed by the American Festival of Microtonal Music. In 1999, Sandberg's Psalm 51 was performed with soloist Dutch soprano Dorien Verheijden.[2]
Recordings
"Mordecai Sandberg: Chamber Works consisting of music composed between 1938 and 1948, performed by Adele Armin, James Wallenberg, Laura Wilcox, Richard Armin, Stephen Clarke and Marc Sabat and recorded at York University.
Selected works
Demosthenes (overture) (1925, unpublished)
Koheleth I (Ecclesiastes), for violin and pianoforte (1925) Symphony no. 1 (1925)
Four Little Preludes, for pianoforte (1925–1929, unpublished)
Elohai Neshama, for three flutes, English horn, and bass clarinet (1926, unpublished)
Sonata no. 1, quarter-tone hymn (1927)
Symphony no. 2 (1928)
The Vision of Isaiah, for baritone solo and organ (1934)
Elisha, Fantasy, for violin and pianoforte (1938)
Sim Shalom, for five tenors, baritone solo, list and organ (1938)
Ezkerah (I Remember) (oratorio), for soprano, alto, tenor, and bass and orchestra (1938–1952) Symphony no. 5 (1939–1953)
Orah no. 2, for violin and pianoforte (1940)
Shelosh Esrei Midot (The Thirteen Attributes), for baritone solo and organ (1940)
String Quartet no. 1 (1941)
Tel-Aviv, for violin and pianoforte (1941)
The Five Points, for orchestra (1942)
Concerto, for clarinet and strings (1943)
Hymn, Aria, Dance, for clarinet and pianoforte (1943)
Palestinian, Suite for violoncello and microtonal organ (1943)
Sonata, for pianoforte (1943–1946)
Symphony no. 4 (1944–1959)
Ezekiel 34, for violin and quarter-tone organ (1945)
Orah no. 3, for string quartet (1945)
The Song of Songs (Sonata no. 3), for violin (1945)
Three Sonatas, for violin (1945–1948)
A Little Palestinian New Year’s Festival:
1. Zeman Simhatheinu (The Season of Our Gladness; a Sukkot song), for baritone solo and pianoforte; 2. In Thy Pavilion, O Eternal (Psalm 15), for see original work list; 3. Happy Is Everyone Who Reveres the Eternal (Psalm 128), for see original work list; 4a. Orah “Elul” (I Am My Beloved’s and My Beloved Is Mine), for violin, violoncello, and pianoforte; 4b. Orah “Elul,” for soprano, alto, tenor, and bass and pianoforte; 5. Kaddish, for violoncello or trombone and pianoforte (1946)
Sonata no. 6 in C, for bichromatic organ (1946)
Orah, for orchestra (1947)
Jerusalem (hymn), for violin and pianoforte (1948)
Sonata in A, for pianoforte (1948)
Three Sonatas, for viola (1948)
Symphony no. 3 (1948–1953)
Psalm 130, for English horn and pianoforte (1949)
Quintet (The Five Points), for string quartet and pianoforte (1951)
Sextet, for clarinet, string quartet, and pianoforte (1951)
Symphonic Psalms, for soprano, alto, tenor, and bass and orchestra: vol. 1, Psalms 1–5; vol. 2, Psalms 6–10; vol. 14, Psalms 120–135 (1951–1955)
Psalm settings, 625 items (unpublished)
Settings of other biblical texts, seventy-six items
Liturgical texts, fifty-six items
Published Musical Compositions
Symphonic Psalms : the original text of the book of Psalms, set to music in its entirety, in 15 volumes, 1951
The Visions of Isaiah-For Baritone, Voice and Organ
Prayer for Peace-For Soprano, Tenor, Baritone and Organ (or Piano)
"The Lord, The Lord.."- For Baritone and Organ (or Piano)
Koheleth (Ecclesiastes)-For Voice and Piano
Tel-Aviv-For Voice and Piano
Elisha (Fantasy) For Violin and Piano
Ezkerah=I remember: Oratorio published in New York by the Institute for New Music, 1953
A Little Palestinian New Year's Festival published by the Institute of New Music Jerusalem/ New York 1946
Sextet : for clarinet, two violins, viola cello and piano in 3 movements 1951
The song of songs : sonata no. 3 for violin solo
Zeman Simchatenu (the Season of our Gladness) : a Succoth song : for baritone and piano
The Eternal has consoled his people, he has freed Jerusalem : hymn, for viola or voice, and piano or orchestra, New York; Jerusalem : Institute of New Music,1948
Orah "Elul" I am my beloved and my beloved is mine : for violin cello and piano
Instruments
In 1926 Straube built a Bichromatic Quartertone Harmonium for Mordecai Sandberg with white keys for the whole tones, black keys for the half tones and brown keys for the quarter tones. This instrument is now in the museum at York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Articles
Tafkid Hamusika Bevinyan Haaretz (The purpose of the music in the erection of the land) published in "Hallel No.1, Jerusalem, 1930 p23
Die Tondifferenzierung und ihre Bedeutung, Leipzig : Kistner & Siegel, 1930
Sources
Austin Clarkson, Karen Pegley and Jay Rahn, MORDECAI SANDBERG: A CATALOGUE OF HIS MUSIC, Musica Judaica, Vol. 13 (5755/1993-94), pp. 18–8
C. Heller: Mordecai Sandberg: his Compositions and his Ideas, Journal of Synagogue Music, xiv/1 (1984), 9-26
J. Mandelbaum: Mordecai Sandberg Musica Judaica, x/1 (1987-8), 81-91
R. Brotbeck: Volkerverbinderde Tondifterenzierwng: Mordecai Sandberg-ein verkanter Pionier der Mikrotonalit Neuezeitschrift fur Musik (1991), 38-44
A. Clarkson: Mordecai Sandberg: a Catalogue of his Music, Musica Judaica, xiii (1993–94), 18-81
References
External links
- "Sandberg Centennial at York University". York University. February 13, 1998. Retrieved 2007-12-24.
- Sitsky, Larry (2002). Music of the Twentieth-Century Avant-Garde: A Biocritical Sourcebook. Greenwood Press. pp. 420–424. ISBN 0-313-29689-8. Retrieved 2007-12-24.
- Karim, Nishat (October 27, 1999). "Sandburg (sic) work remains vibrant". York University Gazette. Retrieved 2007-12-24.