Schelomo

Bloch’s Schelomo, a powerful and impassioned portrayal of the biblical King Solomon, is one of his finest compositions. Written between 1915 and 1916 and first performed with great success at Carnegie Hall, New York the following year, it was the last work in his so-called “Jewish Cycle” in which he established an exotically coloured musical style that was strongly related to his Jewish heritage. Responding to the desperate political situation that had engulfed Europe during the First World War, Bloch’s composition places the solo cello, depicting the lonely and prophetic voice of King Solomon, in intense dialogue with the orchestra, representing the turbulent environment in which he lived. The music encompasses a vast gamut of emotions, sometimes moving almost spontaneously from the depths of despair to unbridled voluptuousness. Its lush and grandiose sound-world anticipates much of the film music composed for the Hollywood biblical epics during the 1950s and ’60s.