Etz chajjim hi Choral single edition SATB

The French composer and pianist Charles Valentin Alkan ranks among the most fascinating Musical personalities of the Romantic era. He often went beyond the formal and technical boundaries in his virtuoso piano works and, as far as the content of his works is concerned, was in every way the equal of his contemporaries Franz Liszt and Frédéric Chopin. Alkan dealt only very rarely with vocal music – therefore the two Choral pieces Halleluja (Helbling, C7404) and Etz chajjim hi (The Tree of Life) fascinate us all the more. In Jewish religious services, the reading of the Torah concludes with the singing of this important prayer, a powerful declaration of belief in life. This succinct and easy-to-sing choral piece is marked by strong emotion, and, within a limited space, it manages to be melodically, harmonically and dynamically highly varied, while at the same time radiating a festive atmosphere and zest for life in complete accord with the text. This new edition contains singable English lyrics, too.