“I don’t think I can write a piece of music, no matter what I do and what I will try, that does not have the stamp of my Jewish existence,” said Herman Berlinski during the recording session for his masterpiece Avodat Shabbat, one of only three complete Sabbath services ever written for soloists, chorus, and large orchestra. The eighty-nine-year-old Berlinski returned to his native Germany to attend the world-premiere recording of this major 20th-century sacred work, which he created during the course of many years in America.

Tracklist

Avodat Shabbat, Part I: Kabbalat Shabbat 1 Orchestral Prelude 02:25 2 Ma Tovu 03:29 3 L'kha Dodi 03:26 4 Tov L'hodot (Psalm 92) 04:13 Avodat Shabbat, Part II: Arvit L'shabbat 5 Orchestral Prelude 01:06 6 The 23rd Psalm flute: Silke Uhlig 06:24 7 Bar'khu 01:14 8 Ahavat Olam 02:50 9 Sh'ma Yisra'el 01:44 10 V'ahavta 03:40 11 Mi Khamokha 04:40 12 Orchestral Interlude 01:29 13 V'sham'ru 03:29 14 Hashkivenu 05:14 15 Orchestral Interlude 00:50 16 Yih'yu L'ratzon 01:56 17 Kiddush 03:34 Avodat Shabbat, Part III: Close of Service 18 Adoration 01:46 19 Va'anahnu 01:57 20 Orchestral Interlude 01:47 21 Reader's Kaddish; Adon Olam 08:52 22 Grant Us Peace; Benediction 05:46

Total Playing Time: 01:11:51

"One of the truly great moments in the work is the setting of "hashkiveinu", one of the most intensely moving portions of the evening liturgy. This is a prayer for peace, but Berlinski's setting captures all the trouble of spirit that underlies the supplication. The performance is first-rate."

There are passages in Berlinski’s work of such aching beauty that if you are not moved to tears you are made of sterner stuff than I am.

This is a major addition to the recorded literature, and not to be missed by anyone interested in massed choral/orchestral liturgical works. So magnificent is this music that everyone involved in its performance and production seems awestruck by it.