Composer Samuel Adler was born into a Jewish family that fled Germany after Kristallnacht. He studied music in the U.S. and is sometimes classified with the "Boston school" of Irving Fine and others, but really his music is sui generis. It may include anything from the purest diatonicism to serial techniques. Adler's choral music makes a good entrance point into his work in general, for one can hear the range of expressive purposes to which various musical styles may be put, set against texts that are themselves diverse. ...
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Composer Samuel Adler was born into a Jewish family that fled Germany after Kristallnacht. He studied music in the U.S. and is sometimes classified with the "Boston school" of Irving Fine and others, but really his music is sui generis. It may include anything from the purest diatonicism to serial techniques. Adler's choral music makes a good entrance point into his work in general, for one can hear the range of expressive purposes to which various musical styles may be put, set against texts that are themselves diverse. Some works, such as the closing How Sweet the Sound here (a re-setting of Amazing Grace), are nominally Christian, but in general, the music might be termed ecumenical in spirit. The centerpiece is the title work, with texts in German, Hebrew, Latin, and English, written to mark the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht and first performed in Dresden. Beginning with a prelude in the general mode of the Second Viennese School, Adler deploys a host of styles in recounting the events from...
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